Monday 30 August 2021

Migrants Everywhere!

My last few visits to Nethergong have seen an increase in Migrant Hawker numbers. From mid morning when the temperatures start to rise, good numbers can be found either hanging up in the grasses or bare branches on the trees or flying around sheltered areas. This has given me the opportunity to take a number of images of the immatures through to the mature adults. With some basic fieldcraft, I am often able to get quite close to them in the morning before they warm up.








Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) - immature male



Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) -  female





Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) - male

With the Southern Migrant Hawker season coming to an end and with the dried up pool receiving a good bit of rain last week, the Migrant Hawkers have moved in and even seen ovipositing at times. This will make dipping interesting next year if I encounter both species next year as nymphs. I have also managed to encounter a few Emperor Dragonfly which have so far eluded the camera this year so it was nice a few days ago to find a male patrolling which at times, flew in and perched. I surprisingly was able to get quite close and capture a few images showing some nice detail. I did have a brief spell Sunday where I was attempting a few flight shots of Migrant Hawkers but have not looked at them yet so all being well, my next post may include a few flights shots of this species. 








Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) - male

7 comments:

  1. Reminded me of 54 Migrant Hawker seen along a 2 mile stretch of the canal during the peak in the early half of the month of September 2019....Brilliant images as always Marc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks Pete. Their numbers can be quite impressive and are often the species I find that are noticed by others. I often hear the campers at Nethergong talking about all the dragonflies flying above their heads. Take care.

      Delete
  2. Excellent shots as usual, Marc. When I used to regularly visit Rutland Water, at this time of year I occasionally found Migrant Hawkers lined up side-by-side on a twig - my record was four in a line.

    I'm guessing that it's a bit warmer in your neck of the woods. It's been cold, cloudy and breezy here for days now, with maybe a couple of half hour spells some days where the sun pokes through. We've even got the central heating on. Looking at the weather forecast several times a day and it currently looks cold and cloudy with a bit of rain right through to Saturday. Getting desperate to get out and do a bit of dragon hunting!

    Stay safe - - - Richard

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks Richard. Like you I think most of summer has been rubbish. We had floods a few weeks ago and since then, it's been mostly cloudy and very windy most days. Certainly won't go down as a good summer I don't think. Take care.

      Delete
  3. Hi Marc.
    Up to your high standard of photo's as usual. My garden which never has such creatures in was suddenly invaded by several dragonflies but they disappeared before I had a chance to grab my camera. I havn't the faintest idea where they came from. People in the village looked at me in amazement when I told them. Nobody knows where they could have come from. they were flying and I was unable to see their colouring. Take care.
    Mike.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suspect your dragonflies were Migrant Hawkers as in my post. They often appear in numbers together and can be seen well away from water. Take care.

      Delete
  4. Absolutely stunning Marc, Emperor Dragonfly is taken with passion, love them.

    ReplyDelete