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

'Scarce' Search at Sandwich!

Whilst down at Sandwich Bay last week photographing the Dainty Damselflies, I spent a while searching for the Scarce Blue tailed Damselfly. After a thorough search, I found 3 Scarce Blue tailed Damselfly which included 1 male and 2 female aurantiaca phase. I didn't expect to see any aurantiaca females and one looked like it was newly emerged as well due to the very dull colours. I also found one which was very orange indeed and despite the colours, they can be tricky to find initially. As ever, I set about trying to capture these beautiful bright insects and with some good weather, I ended up with a few pleasing images. This species continues to do well at this well managed site and hopefully, they can continue to thrive and expand in the area. 

Scarce Blue tailed Damselfly - female 'aurantiaca' phase

Delightful Dainties

A few days ago, I made a visit to Sandwich Bay in warm sunny conditions where I spent a brilliant 4 hours walking around the dragonfly pond area. I wanted to see if I could get a few photos of the Dainty Damselflies and to see what else could be found there. If you have not visited this site, I recommend you do as the habitat is superb for a number of species, and you don't have to walk that far too. In the four hours i was there I managed to see c50 Dainty Damselfly with a good number seen mating and egg laying over the ponds. I must have spent an hour just trying to get a decent image of a mating pair but as anyone who knows me, I am quite fussy. Finding the pairs was easy but some pairs had grass in front of them, some were not perpendicular to the lens and some had a busy background. After a lot of searching, I eventually found a suitable pair and slowly moved in on my stomach towards them. Thankfully they stayed and I was able to take a number of pleasing images. It made the hour searching worthwhile. Also seen were 3 Scarce Blue tailed Damselfly which included a male and 2 aurantiaca phase females (photos to come hopefully soon), 1 Emperor Dragonfly, 1 Lesser Emperor, 2 Black tailed Skimmer, 2 Broad bodied Chaser and Variable, Azure, Common Blue and Blue tailed Damselfly seen. An excellent session and I look forward to returning again soon. 

Dainty Damselfly - male

Showing all black S6 and S7 and half of S5

Dainty Damselfly - female

Bands of Beauty

Every year I look forward to seeing the Banded Demoiselle and in particular, males fluttering across a pathway or river. They really do get my attention and I just love studying and photographing them. They are a very shy species and are easily spooked so some fieldcraft is often needed to get close enough with a macro lens. Most will often fly before you get into a good position but just occasionally, you get an individual that allows a close approach. I sometimes use the Canon f4 300m lens when I cannot get in close but the challenge of getting in close is what I like. I spent a few hours at Westbere Lakes where I saw a few Banded Demoiselle along with Blue tailed, Variable, Azure and Large Red Damselflies which I photographed, but most of my time was spent near the river watching these river butterflies enjoying the warmth of the day. After many near shots, I eventually found a few individuals to photograph with some success I think. The wing veins on this species are just incredible up close and to the normal eye, we don't often get to appreciate their detail so to see these up close through a macro lens is just brilliant. I will hopefully have a session soon where I just focus on these wings and to see whether I can capture their beauty. 

Banded Demoiselle - male

Banded Demoiselle - female