I was up and out of the house at 4.30am yesterday and today where I drove over to Grove Ferry and spent a few hours searching for any Norfolk Hawkers emerging. I have spent most evenings last week from 9 - 10.30pm searching a particular ditch for this species to emerge but so far, I have not been rewarded. I have however seen a few Emperor Dragonfly emerging which were picked out quite easily by torchlight on the reeds so I am still relatively confident that if I keep trying, I may well get to find and photograph the emergence of a Norfolk Hawker. I think I may have been a few days early but the weather looks quite good for this week so I am hoping that I can visit during the week again in the evenings. I also managed to see a few Variable, Azure and Blue tailed Damselflies as I searched the area. I then drove over to Westbere Lakes where in a few hours I noted 7 Hairy Dragonfly, 5 Scarce Chaser, c15 Banded Demoiselle, growing numbers of Red eyed Damselfly and good numbers around of Variable, Azure and Blue tailed Damselfly. This morning, I again spent an hour or so at Grove Ferry unsuccessfully searching for any Norfolk Hawkers emerging or their exuviae. Just a few dewy Variable and Azure Damselfly of note in the long grasses. With no sun forecast until lunchtime , I decided on checking around the entrance at Westbere Lakes in the hope of finding a few dewy dragonflies. I spent an hour walking through a patch of very wet stinging nettles and reeds and got totally soaked for my efforts but all was worth it in the end as I found a dewy Four spotted Chaser, my first of the year. I spent a while taking a number of photos and with the added dew, that made for some lovely photo opportunities. With no sign of any sun, I decided to return home to get some breakfast and if lucky... catch up on a bit of sleep as these late evenings and early mornings are starting to catch up with me. Hopefully I can report back on how the Norfolk Hawker challenge is going (or not) during the week.
'Dewy' Four spotted Chaser (male)
Beautiful 'dewy' dragonflies, cheers Marc.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Bob. Well worth the soaking I got for this... I think!
DeleteSublime images Marc, well worth the soaking i'm sure. I get out early for sunrise at this time of year and know how wet the grasses get with the dew ! Thanks for confirming the parking situation at Westbere for me. I'm heading down tomorrow on the train for Kent and am very excited at the prospect of seeing my first Norfolk Hawker. I managed to see the Scarce Chasers at Westbere a couple of years back but slightly distantly & would be overjoyed if i could capture an image from a wee bit closer. The birding is fabulous in Kent and i'll be alternating between that & dragon humting. I may bump into you. Thanks again for the info .... very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your kind words. I suspect the Norfolk Hawkers will start to emerge this week. That's what I'm hoping for as I intend to go down each night this week to try and find one emerging I can photograph. I'm sure I will be around next weekend at Westbere. Let me know when you intend to go out and if I can, will happily meet up if you want to?
DeleteIt's great to see 4-spot images that are very different to the usual procession of images on the internet of them perched on sticks, Marc. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteI admire your dedication in your hunt for emerging Norfolk Hawkers. I hope to find some a little closer to home than Kent, and am currently intending to go for them in ealry June.
Plenty of WFDs yesterday, but a bit grim photography-wise. An interesting visit, but my fears that there might be as many as a dozen of us were more than justified - there were 25 to 30 of us shoulder-to-shoulder at the pond! Furthermore, I'm not sure what head I put on that morning, but it wasn't my photography head!
Best wishes - - - Richard
Many thanks Richard. Nice to get them at these angles. I'm intending to get out most nights this week about 9 - 11pm. it looks to be a bit more mild this week at night which I hope might make them emerge. I'm still relatively confident that if I keep searching, I will find one. I just hope that I can capture most of the emergence. if they appear in a few areas, I should be able to get some nice images too.
DeleteThat does sound alot of people (getting the shakes thinking about it). I don't think I would like that but on the other hand, nice to see a good number of enthusiasts enjoying the day. I look forward to seeing some of your results.
They are different Marc. Lovely stuff.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Mike. Always like to be out early or as it seems at the moment... very late.
DeleteYou just seem to take photography to the next step,love your work.
ReplyDeleteJohn.
Many thanks John. Your words are indeed very much appreciated.
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