Tuesday 27 June 2017

A Trip to Norfolk!

Well actually, just a 10 minute drive down the road to Westbere Lakes where there is a thriving colony of the nationally rare Norfolk Hawker. This dragonfly in the past few years continues to go from strength to strength with plenty of sightings this year in the Stour Valley and beyond in east Kent. I have spoken to a number of observers this year who have seen groups of 7-10 at different locations around the area and it really looks likely now that they are breeding or attempting to breed away from the Westbere Lakes stronghold. I would really like to spend a day in the area doing a count as I think we would all be surprised by the number around but its just getting the time to get out for a good number of hours. However, please feel free to continue to email or tweet me with your sightings of this dragonfly. They are all very much appreciated and help build up a picture of how this dragonfly is doing in east Kent. With a number of sightings being seen, I made a visit to Westbere Lakes for an hour or so Sunday afternoon in sunny but quite windy conditions. As I neared the dykes near the river, I soon saw the first of c10 Norfolk Hawker flying up the channels and across the paths chasing other males around. I spent some time having a good study of them before the camera made an appearance and a good number of photos were taken. I found one male which was showing quite nicely in flight and I spent some time firing off a number of photos. A few turned out quite nicely but with the wind being quite strong, it was quite challenging and hopefully I can return for another attempt at this. Weather permitting this weekend, I can share my time between looking for Emerald and Willow Emerald Damselflies emerging and another visit to Norfolk to take in the experience once again. Its certainly worth a visit if you have the time. 








Norfolk Hawker (male)

8 comments:

  1. I'm almost speachless, Marc! They're stunningly beautiful - images and dragonflies. I'm totally in awe of the way that you've captured them so perfectly in flight. I hope that, one day, I will get to see this species.

    With my best wishes - - Richard

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks Richard for your kind words. Much appreciated. I'm still waiting for that 'perfect ' shot which one day might happen but it's a lovely challenge to capture them in flight. What you don't see is the many shots that don't turn out alright and I assure you, there are quite a few of them.

      Delete
  2. And me, speechless, well captured Marc. Beautiful Norfolk Hawker.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks Bob. They are a lovely species to study, providing plenty of opportunities for photos.

      Delete
  3. Yes, stunning images of the stunning Norfolk Hawker Marc, unfortunately a dragonfly I'm never likely to see.

    My Regards

    Pete.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks Pete. They're just a motor journey away. Might be a distance but we'll worth it.

      Delete
  4. I must try to get up to your area sometime Marc. Really impressive shots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks Bob. Peak time about now. Get in the car and take the journey. Might just be worth it.

      Delete