With some pleasant sunshine, light winds and a nice temperature, I spent a lovely four hours at Sandwich Bay yesterday where the plan was to try and see my first Dainty and Scarce Blue tailed Damselflies of the year. Despite being early in the season for both species, they had been seen earlier in the week so I was hopeful of seeing them. I spent most of the time there with the place to myself. With quite a bit of patience I ended up seeing 5 Scarce Blue tailed Damselflies, 2 mature males early afternoon patrolling the pool and 3 'aurantiaca' phase females. Despite their stunning orange appearance, they were hard to find in amongst all the vegetation and grasses. I spent quite while studying and photographing them which is always a challenge with something so small, but quite happy with the results. I also found at least 4 Dainty Damselfly and within the next few weeks or so, the males will be colouring up in all their glory. Also seen there were a few Azure, Variable, Common Blue and Blue tailed Damselflies, 2 Broad bodied Chaser and at least 3 exuviae of Emperor Dragonflies. There were c20 unidentified teneral damselflies leaving the pools throughout my stay. I also collected a few damselfly exuviae from the waters edge in the hope one might be from a Scarce Blue tailed Damselfly, which I still need for my collection. All in all, a very nice session. Fingers crossed next weekend is sunny and warm so I can get out again to enjoy these beautiful insects.
Hi, nice photos of the insects. Very sharp. I don't see them often. Greets
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Caroline for looking in. Take care.
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