Tuesday 27 July 2021

A Taste of the South

Last Saturday saw me at Nethergong for the day where I was showing around some clients on a dragonfly tour for Naturetrek. The forecast which was for thunder and showers thankfully never arrived and we ended up seeing c10 Southern Migrant Hawker, c15 Willow Emerald Damselfly, c40 Emerald Damselfly, 2 Brown Hawker, 2 Migrant Hawker and a few other damselflies. With the Southern Migrant Hawkers still on site, I'm making as many trips as  possible to enjoy and photograph them as I'm not too sure whether this year is just a lucky year to have them or if this is a sign of things to come. The dried up pool where they can be seen looks excellent and I suspect a pair oviposited there a few days ago when I saw them go down in the reeds together. With the holidays now here and a bit of time to get out, I have made two visits in the past few days where the aim was to see if I could try for a few flight shots. They are a species which does like to hover but it's never easy as you can imagine. Time was spent watching a few individuals and noting their movements and after moving into a good position with the sun behind me, I spent a while firing off a number of shots. As ever, there were a whole selection of blurry and bits out of focus shots but in there were also a few pleasing efforts showing off this stunning species. The Willow Emerald Damselflies are at last emerging and in the past few days, I have had c40 emerging from the ditches which has also provided some more photographic action. Happy days. 












Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis) - male


6 comments:

  1. Would love a few hours on a tour with you Marc, and don't forget to let me know if you ever get up'tnorth please.
    Enjoy the summer break, I'll be keeping an extra eye out for your reports and excellent photography.

    By the way, you do know I'm not likely to see a Southern Migrant Hawker or Willow Emerald Damselfly in our area any time soon, if ever....don't you!

    Take Care Stay Safe.

    Pete.

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    1. Many thanks Pete for your kind comments. Both the Willow Emerald Damselfly and Southern Migrant Hawker are spreading North at speed. You may well see some sooner than you realise. Keep checking and you never know. You do have some amazing species I would love to see more. Take care.

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  2. Wow, number 1 is astonishment, how do you that close. I love all them Marc.

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    1. Many thanks Bob. By moving very slowly a bit at a time until I'm where I need to be. Then you just fire away and hope something comes out. Take care.

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  3. From your title I started to wonder if youd got so many dragonflies there, Marc, that you were harvesting them and frying them up for dinner!

    A fabulous series of shots of 'blue-eyes'. I hope I may have the privilege, one day, of seeing one of the beauties myself.

    Stay safe - - - Richard

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    1. Thank you Richard. You will have to travel south next year and see them although they are being seen up north at a few sites I believe. Take care.

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