Red veined Darters in Kent

Red veined Darter

Sympetrum fonscolombii

With the season slowly starting to draw to a finish in Kent, my daughter returned home one day from school a few weeks ago having took a photo on her phone of a dragonfly on a path near to where we live. To my amazement, it was a Red veined Darter. With this in mind, I decided to visit a site nearby where they occur and the next morning I was on site in the sunshine where I managed to find 4 newly emerged Red veined Darter. during the following week I returned a few times to capture some of my best photos of this species before they leave and hopefully migrate back south.

 I decided one in one last challenge that I would try to get a few early morning shots of one so the night before, I watched one go down to roost and planned to return the next morning for hopefully some 'dewy' shots. On arrival the next morning, it was indeed quite dewy and after a brief search I managed to find 1 Red veined Darter and spent the next hour capturing some very pleasing images of this very scarce Kent dragonfly.

Red veined Darter (immature male)

 I shall endevour to post a few more times throughout the quiet winter period and share some of my photos of the season which has been photographically very good indeed.

Marc Heath

Damselflies at Dawn

Common Blue Damselfly

Enallagma cyathigerum

Its been a while since I last posted for which I apologise but I have been so busy with the dragonflies this year, that I have struggled to keep on top of it with so many photos taken. I shall post some of my other photos in due course but I thought I would start with some particular favourites of mine. A few weeks ago when I was out early looking for damselflies I noticed as I was looking at some Common Blue Damselflies that the sun was rising behind them and this gave me an idea. I set about arriving the next few mornings quite early before sunrise and trying to locate some damselflies at rest and with the aid of a tripod I was able to get into a good position and await the sun. Just before sunrise the sky would turn a brilliant red/orange and with the damselfly in place I was treated to a superb few minutes photography as the sun rose in the distance.

Common Blue Damselfly at Dawn

The results were very pleasing indeed and I returned on the next few available mornings when the skies were clear. I was really surprised how much the damselflies head resembled a human shape and with the added droplets of water, I think they are some of my better shots, I even got one done on a canvas and its now on my wall at home. 

Common Blue Damselfly at Dawn

Marc Heath

'Hairy' Encounters in England!

Hairy Dragonfly

Brachytron pratense

The last few days in Kent I have been on the look out for the Hairy Dragonfly, our earliest Hawker to appear in England. Luckily near me I have a few sites where this species can be seen so on a sunny day I made a visit to Shuart, just east of Reculver where I spent a few hours wandering along the hedge line in the sun looking for this species. I have often found that this species can spend a lot of its time quite high up in the trees resting so hoped if any were emerging I would be able to get some nice views and hopefully a few photographs. In the couple of hours I spent on site I saw 3 male Hairy Dragonflies flying around busily feeding and occasionally resting. Getting near to them for some shots were quite hard but eventually I found 1 male which performed very well for the camera and allowed me to put the Sigma 150mm macro lens on and approach quite closely. You can clearly see why they are called Hairy Dragonfly from these shots and I was pleased with the results with the lens. Hopefully the next few weeks I can return to various locations and monitor their numbers and progress. The last few days have also seen the Large Red Damselfly emerge in the area but I will leave these shots for another post.

Male Hairy Dragonfly 

Shuart near Reculver

Marc Heath

Skimming Back to Last Summer!

Black tailed Skimmer

Orthetrum cancellatum

One of the commonest Skimmers around in late summer is the Black tailed Skimmer. Often found sunning themselves on paths they can be quite hard to spot until they suddenly take flight. I spent some time last year at Highstead Gravel pits, near Reculver, Kent trying to get a decent set of photos of this species which was actually quite hard as this species does not often allow for a close approach. Thankfully a few individuals returned to the same spot in the sun allowing me to already be in position. As ever I will no doubt be back this year trying to obtain better images than last year if I can!

 Male Black tailed Skimmer

 Immature Male Black tailed Skimmer

 Male Black tailed Skimmer

 Immature Male Black tailed Skimmer

 Immature Male Black tailed Skimmer

Immature Male Black tailed Skimmer

Marc Heath

The Last Few Dragonflies!

Sympetrum striolatum

Common Darter

The last few Common Darters were just about hanging on last weekend at Reculver. I managed to see a few not in the greatest condition but it was nice to see them at least flying around in the sunshine. This week in Kent, England has seen the rains arrive and the temperatures start to drop off sharply. I would imagine I may not see another dragonfly until next year but if the sun appears I will keep looking out. Seeing my last Common Darter last week prompted me to have a look through some photos of this species earlier in the year when the warm sunny days were with us. Its certainly nice going back through some images and thinking of next year already. 

Common Darter

Marc Heath

'X' Marks the Spot!

Erythromma viridulum

Small Red eyed Damselfly

The last few years in Kent, England has seen an increase in the Small Red eyed Damselfly and luckily I only have to travel a few minutes from home to appreciate them. Nationally they are a very scarce Damselfly and can only be seen in the South East of England. There are a few colonies at Reculver, the Stour Valley and I even saw them in west Kent at Cliffe Marshes earlier in the year. Normally photographing them can be a challenge as they often spend their time over the water and don't seem to often come to close, especially when I am watching at least. One of the most reliable features to look for is the black 'X' on segment 10 which can just about be seen in some of the photos. I had a call from a friend saying that there were a couple of Small Red eyed Damselflies on show away from the water so with the sun trying to come out which it never really did I paid a visit to Highstead, just south of Reculver. After a brief search in the area I eventually found one and was soon taking a number of photos of this species, it was just a shame the sun never decided to come out when I was there. One of the shots worked out very well as it looks like the Damselfly is walking a spiders thread tightrope, an accidental shot but a nice capture I think. Hopefully this species will continue to spread in the area, it seems to be currently doing so anyway.

Small Red eyed Damselfly

Marc Heath

The Four Spotted Chaser

Libellula quadrimaculata

Four Spotted Chaser

This year in England seems to have been very good for the Four Spotted Chaser. On a trip to Thursley Common back in Surrey in mid July they seemed to be everywhere and I cannot remember seeing quite so many before at a single site. Back nearer to home at Highstead, just south of Reculver, there were a few showy individuals which allowed me to grab a few pleasing images and take the time to study this species. As with a lot of Chasers, they would fly out and often return to the same perch. This thankfully made the task a little easier to take some photos. 

Four Spotted Chaser

Marc Heath

First Red Veined Experience!

Sympetrum fonscolombii

Red veined Darter

Until this year I had never seen a Red veined Darter in England and it was one of those dragonflies on the wanted list. I received an email in early July alerting me to a dragonfly to try to id at a site a few minutes from home. To my amazement, on looking at the photo I could see it was a male Red veined Darter. The weather forecast did not look good for the next few days but with a few brighter spells in between showers I made a few visits to Highstead, just south of Reculver to a small gravel pit. To make things worse my camera was in being fixed so I had been kindly lent a Canon 10d for a few weeks, not the quality of my usual camera but it was better than nothing. I spent some time looking for the Darter without much luck, just a quick glimpse of what might have been the Darter flying past quickly. The rain started to fall and I had all but given up luck when I decided to make one more walk through the long grasses. I soon saw a small red Darter take to the wing in front of me and land a few metres away. Through the grass I could make out the Darter and scanning the lower blue eyes, yellow pterostigma and obvious red veins I was happy to confirm my first Red veined Darter in England.

Male Red veined Darter

I took a few shots but as can be seen the rain was falling and catching the wings nicely. Nonetheless some shots were better than none. I returned for a few more visits in the next few weeks and took a few more shots, some of them quite pleasing despite the borrowed camera. Thankfully I did get my camera back and made some more visits later in the month but I will save these photos for another day!

Male Red veined Darter

Marc Heath

Flight of the Hawkers!

Aeshna mixta

Migrant Hawker

One of those challenges taken on some of the visits this year was to try to photograph some Migrant Hawkers in flight, a task that is sometimes easier said than done. Occasionally you come across a few individuals that pose for you and give you that opportunity to grab a few shots. There is still work to be done but a few pleasing images were obtained at Reculver, England this year and last.

Migrant Hawker

Marc Heath

Hairy Encounters!

Brachytron pratense

Hairy Dragonfly

One of the most awaited signs of spring is the first Hairy Dragonfly, the first hawker dragonfly to be seen flying in England. The noticeably 'hairy' thorax helping to give this dragonfly its name. I spent some time this year trying to photograph this species at Reculver which proved to be quite hard as they would only settle high in the tree branches. Thankfully persistence paid off and after a few visits I soon located a male flying around which landed nearby and allowed me to get a few wanted shots of this species. Hopefully the winter will pass quickly and I already look forward to seeing the first Hairy Dragonfly next year.

Hairy Dragonfly

Marc Heath