Southern Emerald Damselfly (Part 1)

I had a 'wellbeing' day off work Friday where I spent most of the day touring a few Kent sites to see some of the rarer species that Kent has to offer. The plan was to visit Cliffe RSPB for Southern Emerald Damselfly, West Kent for Golden ringed Dragonfly and Hothfield Common for Keeled Skimmer. In very hot conditions, I was successful in seeing all the target species but this post will feature my first stop of the day to look for the Southern Emerald Damselfly at Cliffe. I arrived at 08:00 and walked the 30 minutes to one of the areas where they are usually seen. Frustratingly, there were quite a few livestock in the fields and the farmers were not too far away, so I couldn't really check some of the ditches that I normally would have. I spent a couple of hours searching some of the dried up ditches where I managed to find 3 Southern Emerald Damselfly. I think these have to be my favourite damselfly, stunning to look at and quite rare nationally as well. With the macro lens on, I then set about trying to get a few images to show off this species and after finding a showy individual, I was able to move in and spend some time photographing from different angles. The bi-coloured pterostigma stood out well with the eye initially when I first found them and is a good identification feature if you are unsure of your larger Emerald damselflies. With c300 photos taken and the temperature getting warmer, I decided to make the journey back to the car and move on to the second site of the day. I will probably post some more shots of the Southern Emerald Damselflies in due coarse as there are hopefully a number of other pleasing images to share. 

Southern Emerald Damselfly - male

Red Arrows in North Kent!

With a number of Red veined Darters being seen on a pool at Swanscombe Marshes, I thought I would give it a go yesterday and after getting some excellent directions from Barry Wright, I made the 50 minute trip arriving about 09:30. I thought I would wouldn't be there too long but the weather as ever had other ideas. I soon found the pool and had a wander around in breezy and cloudy conditions which was not at all ideal. The next hour, the weather continued to be against me and I thought I was going to draw a blank with this superb little red darter but the weather very slowly showed some improvement. Eventually a couple of hours after arriving, I found the first of at lest 15 Red veined Darters. All of a sudden, the pool come to life with males flying out over the water chasing each other and then returning to the shore where they perched on the warming floor. This gave me the chance at last to try for a few photos and in the next hour, I was able to get some lovely views and appreciate their finer detail and get a few pleasing images. Three pairs were seen in tandem ovipositing but there could well be more at this site than I counted easily. Also seen were 1 Lesser Emperor, c10 Black tailed Skimmer, 1 Emperor Dragonfly and a few Blue tailed and Common Blue Damselfly. What started off as a tough morning was soon forgotten with plenty of dragonfly action over the pool. On my way back home I called in at a very breezy Oare Marshes for an hour where I found c25 Scarce Emerald Damselfly, 1 Emerald Damselfly, 10 Dainty Damselfly which included 6 tenerals. It seems they are still emerging so hopefully their numbers will be a bit more encouraging in a week or two. With the weather not too good this week, it was good to get out and have a bit of sunshine for once this week. Back to work next week so back to weekend visits again weather permitting. 

Red veined Darter - male
 

Patience Well Rewarded

A visit to Westbere on the 1st June was very productive with good numbers of Norfolk Hawker and Scarce Chaser to be found. Arriving mid morning, I was hoping to find a few resting up before they become too active and a check of a few areas produced a few Norfolk Hawker which flushed up as I walked by, but thankfully come to rest a short while after. It was then a case of creeping up and firing a few shots before moving steadily nearer and nearer. In the end I was able to achieve a few pleasing shots and spent some time studying the finer details of this species. As I walked up the path checking the ditches later on, I found a few individuals flying up and down and coming to rest occasionally on some reeds. I settled in nearby and hoped they would land nearby which they did. Again the camera was soon into some action and being nice and fresh, they certainly do make for a good subject to photograph. With my Norfolk fix achieved, I then went in search of a few Scarce Chaser which were quite numerous in certain areas. Most were quite skittish but with some patience and fieldcraft, I was able to photograph a few males from different angles. Apart from a mating pair seen, I didn't see any females. A very pleasant few hours at this lovely place which does deliver a good range of species. I have a 'Naturetrek' Dragonfly tour next weekend so fingers crossed for some good weather and plenty to see and study. 

Norfolk Hawker - male

Scarce Chaser - male

Scarce Chaser - immature male

The Norfolk Flight Challenge

Whilst down at Westbere earlier in the week, I thought I would try for a few flight shots with the Norfolk Hawkers. They were found in good numbers with 36 Norfolk Hawker seen. As ever, a bit of homework needed to be done so I found a few likely individuals and set about watching them and getting a bit of information about where they were pausing to hover, height, direction and the background behind them. After a few potentials, I did find an area where I was able to settle in and watch a Norfolk Hawker flying up and down. I was able to fire off a number of images using manual mode. I often find that as I'm taking the shots, I am ever so slightly turning the manual focus in the hope one of them will be sharper. You often get out of focus shots but occasionally, you get a useable image. After c20 minutes, they often move off to find other areas to patrol. I moved on soon after where in a couple of hours I noted 9 Black tailed Skimmer, 41 Scarce Chaser, 7 Hairy Dragonfly, 4 Emperor Dragonfly, 1 Four spotted Chaser, 100+ Banded Demoiselle, 1 Lesser Emperor (male) and good numbers of Azure, Variable, Blue tailed Damselfly with lesser numbers of Red eyed and Common Blue Damselfly. A nice session with plenty to see and photograph. 

Norfolk Hawker - male