Monday 7 October 2019

The Autumn Three

With the end of the season slowly starting to creep up and many species season over, there are at least a few species left to enjoy here in east Kent. With some sunshine over the weekend, I made an afternoon visit to Nethergong where good numbers of Willow Emerald Damselfly, Migrant Hawker and Common Darters were to be seen enjoying the late sunshine. It was nice to just have a wander around the site and with the camping season now over, I had the site to myself. I was able to spend time at the stream watching the Willow Emerald Damselflies and capture a few photos of males waiting for passing females.
 



Willow Emerald Damselfly (Chalcolestes viridis) - male
 
Migrant Hawkers were to be found patrolling along the stream and woodland edges and a check of a few areas found a few perching males which gave a few photo opportunities as was a mating pair which was not far away.
 


 Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) - mating pair

 Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) - male
 
In the sunny glades, Common Darters suddenly sprang up unnoticed from the paths but soon landed nearby again. It was one of those afternoons do just simply enjoy the dragonflies. The weather appears to be on the turn now but I have to hope that the weekends deliver the sunny days with a decent temperature to tempt out the dragonflies to coincide with my visits. Hopefully, there will be at least a few more visits to enjoy the rest of what the season has to offer.
 


Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) - female

 


6 comments:

  1. I love the Willow Emerald Damselfly, it is beautiful.

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    1. Many thanks Bob. They are starting to look quite worn now but still full of beautiful colours.

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  2. Hi Marc, I've found myself a spot for dragonflies, so who knows, you may have competition next year. It may take some time to catch up with you though.

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    1. I'm glad you've found somwhere that you can see dragonflies and look forward to seeing some results next year.

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  3. Cracking shots as always, Marc! I'm hoping to have a shot at the dragons tomorrow but, although some sun is forecast, it's also going to be breezy and the temperature looks as if it will struggle to get into double figures, so I might just end up with a bird or two - which will make a change!

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    1. Many thanks Richard. It seems the days will be few and far between now. Just got to hope that I get the odd weekend to enjoy what's left of the season.

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