Dragonflies and Damselflies

[capercaillie]

The fascinating world of Odonata. I've always enjoyed watching dragonflies and damselflies, but having gone digital this year, have only just started photographing them, as with the old slide film, it would have been too costly and by the time you got your pictures back, species could easily be gone for another year.
Here's the first batch from my efforts this year, hope you find some you like.
A male Ruddy Darter, the all black legs are a key identification point.
ruddy darter by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

A female Common Darter in the obelisk position
common darter by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

A couple of shots of an old male Common Darter in my garden at Shobdon
common darter 1 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

Eight-winged Dragonfly
common darter 2 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

Male and female Emerald Damselfly and then a pair in tandem, this group of damselflies often perch with the wings half open
emerald damselfly male by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

emerald damselfly female by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

emerald damselfly pair by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

Small Red-eyed Damselfly was first recorded in the UK as recently as 1999, but has quickly colonised small pools with floating vegetation across Southern Britain. It is presently known at only one site in Herefordshire.
small red eyed damselfly 2 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

small red eyed damselfly 4 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

small red eyed damselfly 3 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

Blue-tailed Damselfly is one of the commonest species, here we have a male and a female of the form rufescens.
bluetailed shobdon by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

bluetailed rufescens by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

An old tatty looking Four-spotted Chaser photographed in August, looking well past its best.
four spotted chaser late by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

The Hawker dragonflies are among the largest and most impressive of their kind. We start with a male Emperor Dragonfly, the largest of all UK dragonflies
emperor by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

Souther Hawkers are almost as long as Emperors but not as robust. Here we have a freshly emerged adult, followed by one hovering right next to me, a well known trait for this inquisitive species
southern hawker wgp by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

southern hawker by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

I'll end this section with the Migrant Hawker, a species that can be seen through to mid October. First a perched male and female and then a territorial male over his patch of sedges.
migrant hawker 2 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

migrant hawker 3 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

migrant hawker 5 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

migrant hawker 4 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

[psquiddy]

There are some great shots there - getting in flight shots takes some doing.

[MetMan]

Absolutely excellent photographs - all the better for being labelled. I have seen quite a few of the big blue ones (about the limit of my knowledge) on Dartmoor this summer. Never in a month of Sundays did I imagine anyone could get an inflight shot - you either have phenominal reactions or they move more sluggishly in your part of the world. I'm not really an insect fan but I did enjoy those pictures. Thanks for posting.

[Mad Dan]

Very nice indeed...

[Airwolfhound]

Super shots, I've always been fascinated by these insects. I often go to Fowlmere to see them around the reedbeds.

[Skylinerworld]

A fan of dragonflies/damselflies here too so enjoyed looking at these.

[Beefy]

A lovely collection of photos, they are great subjects!

There are some great shots there - getting in flight shots takes some doing.

It's not actually that difficult, a couple of mine from earlier this year. These are actually from my first attempt at photographing Dragonflies on the wing...

[psquiddy]

A lovely collection of photos, they are great subjects!

There are some great shots there - getting in flight shots takes some doing.

It's not actually that difficult, a couple of mine from earlier this year. These are actually from my first attempt at photographing Dragonflies on the wing...



Like someone else said - you must have slow dragonflies where you are - they never stay still long enough for me to focus.

Or is it a time of day/time of the year thing?

[Beefy]

Well my shots were taken in Norfolk and I think Caper's are in Herefordshire(?) so I'm not sure if location has anything to do with the speed they fly at, they sure seem quick enough

It's more to do with knowing your subject The Migrant Hawker, which my photos show, often hover when hunting so by watching them you can almost predict this, thus giving yourself time to focus on the dragonfly and fire off a few shots.

My shots are taken hand held with a D7000 and Sigma 150-500mm lens @ 400mm.

[FarnboroJohn]

Migrant Hawkers set up fairly regular patrol lines and as Beefy says, hover frequently so they are relatively easy to photograph in flight. Emperors do it less frequently but are well worth the effort.

These are nice pix. I hope you keep going next year, plenty more to go. All too soon you will be considering a trip to Norfolk for Norfolk Hawker and Willow Emerald!

John

[capercaillie]

Very many thanks for all the positive comments and a special thanks to Beefy for giving away the secret of flight shots very nice shots as well, lovely with a bit of sun on them.

A few more starting with a much tidier freshly emerged Four-spotted Chaser photographed in May, compare to the tatty late one in the previous post.
four spotted chaser by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

The demoiselle damselflies are perhaps the most elegant of all our species and usually found near slow moving streams and rivers. Firstly a male and female Beautiful Demoiselle
beautiful demoiselle male by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

beautiful demoiselle female by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

And my personal favourite the Banded Demoiselle
banded demoiselle male by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

The Black-tailed Skimmer is seen commonly at my local gravel pits, always moving and fast and difficult to track down for a picture as they're not keen on close approach. This is a male.
black-tailed skimmer by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

On the opposite end of the scale Broad-bodied Chaser perches conveniently on sedges on very small ponds, again this is a male.
broad bodied chaser by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

Finally a specialist of slow moving rivers and found on stretches of only a few major rivers in southern Britain, the Club-tailed Dragonfly (or Common Clubtail) disperses into nearby woodland, such as Haugh Wood near the River Wye where these shots were taken. Note the eyes do not meet in the middle, diagnostic among British dragonflies.
club tailed dragonfly 4 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

club tailed dragonfly 3 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

club tailed dragonfly 1 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

[Mad Dan]

My eyes don't meet in the middle either - and I'm British too!

As remarked earlier, very nice...

[colper]

What a fantastic set of photographs.Really enjoyed looking at these.

Colin

[FarnboroJohn]

Enjoying this thread. The Gomphus shots are great, I only have a few from the Thames at Goring.

A few from this year in the South-east:

Downy Emerald

2014_05_19 (5)_Downy_Emerald by FarnboroJohn, on Flickr

Banded Demoiselles

2014_06_06 (8)_Banded_Demoiselle by FarnboroJohn, on Flickr

Brown Hawker. This one I found terribly difficult because it just would not hover, so I had to blast at it on passes. That is much more difficult with a dragonfly than a Spitfire!

2014_07_26 (1)_Brown_Hawker by FarnboroJohn, on Flickr

And finally the inevitable Migrant Hawker.

2014_09_27 (2)_Migrant_Hawker by FarnboroJohn, on Flickr

Only a few Common Darters and Migrant Hawkers left now, so all over till next spring! The colours and the shine on Odonata are great, I love photographing them. It certainly passes the time though, I look at my watch and its four hours later than the last look.

John

[capercaillie]

Very nice FJ, I've yet to see a Downy Emerald, there is one location in Herefordshire that supported them, not sure if it still does, but I plan to have a look next year. Plenty of Brown Hawkers about this year, but they didn't want to be photographed well done getting a flight shot

[FarnboroJohn]

Very nice FJ, I've yet to see a Downy Emerald, there is one location in Herefordshire that supported them, not sure if it still does, but I plan to have a look next year. Plenty of Brown Hawkers about this year, but they didn't want to be photographed well done getting a flight shot

Of course next year is not a Farnborough International year, but should you be over this way, the Moat Pond at Thursley Common and, for that matter, the Basingstoke Canal from Eelmoor (the girder bridge by the West end of the Farnborough runway) to the A325 are good for Downy Emerald in season. Thursley is Britain's premier dragonfly site with something like 35 of the native species available at the appropriate times during the spring/summer/autumn.

Cheers

John

[tankbuster81]

Beautiful subjects ,beautifully photographed,and a masterclass in Dragonflies, very interesting.I had no idea there were so many species,and have seen more than ever this year,mainly with the blue tail,very large ,and they seem really docile and come closer than before. Thank you for posting. Fascinating.

[Phil Standfield]

Really nice pictures. I know how hard it is to get them so really appreciate the effort that went into them. Looking forwards to more.
Stan

[capercaillie]

Well I'm pleased that I'm not the only one on here with an interest in these fabulous insects. My final postings for this year, I'll try and hunt down a few more species next year. The mild weather meant I still had Common Darters on the wing on November 22nd this year at my local gravel pits, a couple of hard frosts in the following week, probably finished them off!

First off in this post is a female Black-tailed Skimmer
black-tailed skimmer female by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

A freshly emerged Ruddy Darter, drying out in the trees
ruddy darter fresh by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

A female Banded Demoiselle on a thistle by the River Lugg, with careful approach, they can be very confiding
banded demoiselle female by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

And finally a few of the blue damselflies, always a little tricky unless resting. By far the commonest is the Common Blue Damselfly. Here we have a male, a female and a pair together. The male has a "ace of spades" like marking on the segment behind the thorax.
common blue damselfly 1 by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

common blue damselfly female by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

common blue pair by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

Next up the similar but slightly scarcer Azure Damselfly. This is a male and note the elongated U on the same segment, the neat bow tie shape on the last two segments and the narrower stripes on the thorax.
azure damselfly by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

Finally a pair of Blue-tailed Damselflies mating. A very common damselfly, the male viewed from above has an almost all black abdomen apart from segment 8 which is bright blue.
blue-tailed pair by capercailliedownes, on Flickr

Till next year

[RRconway]

Fantastic images are a really good commentary too, like the others I had no idea there were so many species

Out of interest why did it take you so long to switch to digital?, and are you please with your decision or do do you have some regrets?

Thanks for posting these images.

Cheers,
Jeff.

[capercaillie]

Fantastic images are a really good commentary too, like the others I had no idea there were so many species

Out of interest why did it take you so long to switch to digital?, and are you please with your decision or do do you have some regrets?

Thanks for posting these images.

Cheers,
Jeff.

Thanks for the comments Jeff.

To be honest I was always enjoyed the old Kodachrome slides, although the processing standard tailed off a little in later years when it was USA only. Never fully got the best out of Fujichrome and I would have gone digital possibly three years earlier except marriage, mortgage and my lovely little daughter coming along meant money priorities took a slightly different order. Thankfully a nice PPI refund enabled me to switch this year.

Definitely the right move and no regrets, so much easier to get rid of the chaff, no waiting and you can see almost instantly if you've got something right, a big bonus when it comes to aircraft statics and my insects pictures. The quality of digital for detail on the dragonflies and butterflies is so much better than on wet film as well. I'd love a big fast lens for the birds and a really good macro for the insects, but they'll have to wait for now. Just pleased I'm able to record many species now.