With most of the weekend seemingly dominated by strong winds and rain, I only had a small window of opportunity on Sunday morning where the sun was shining but the wind remained quite strong still. I spent an hour and a half at Nethergong where I was able to find a few sheltered sunny areas which were quite productive. Although I didn't venture far to find any Willow Emerald Damselflies, it was pleasing to find c15 Common Darter where in the warmth of the sun, I spent some time capturing a few pleasing images of these autumnal dragonflies.
Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) - male
As I moved from one sheltered area to another, I soon found 6 Migrant Hawker including one mating pair which I managed to photograph.
Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) mating pair
The only other dragonfly seen was a male Southern Hawker before time was up and I ventured back to the car. It seems to be the habit at the moment that throughout the week, the sun shines with quite warm temperatures and then the weekend arrives... cloud, wind and rain. Its been a few weeks now since I have made a count of the Willow Emerald Damselflies but weather permitting (which already doesn't look good for the weekend), I hope to get an opportunity to spend a few more sessions in their company before time is called on them for the season.
Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) - male
Beautiful dragons Marc, one more day of them, then they will be gone.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Bob. Hopefully the weather will be kind to them and let them fly for a little longer yet. Frustrating that I can only get out at the weekends when it seems the weather often has other ideas.
DeleteSo pleased to see your still finding the dragons, Marc. There are some beautiful shots there. A few days ago we still had Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker, and Common Darter. Maybe in a few years time there will also be Willow Emerald in these parts too?
ReplyDeleteForecast looks brilliant for tomorrow here, so I'm hoping to have a full day out in the field - I wonder what it will bring!
Best wishes - - - Richard
The perils of working. Always nice in the week and often cloudy, windy and raining at the weekend. Good luck tomorrow, I wish I could also get out for a look around. Fingers crossed for the weekend then.
Delete