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| 1 | 2 |  » Stats |
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| | Welcome to our newest member, TransAmDan | |  | | 
29-05-2009, 11:00 PM
|  | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New Forest
Posts: 927
| |  Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
Some of you may have already noticed ive been asking alot about dragon and damselflies recently,well to cut along story short im hooked! 
It all started about 2 weeks ago while i was out birding,i saw (what i now know is) a large red damselfly floating around and ended up chasing it around trying to get a picture,later that day i got home to id it and started to learn more about it and found myself getting deeper and deeper into their world.
As a result me and a friend,who has the same level of knowledge as me on dragonflies (limited!) have set ourselves a challenge,to see and photograph as many dragon and damselflies as possible this year.
Ive decided to turn my travels and findings into a little diary/blog for all to see (well anyone thats interested anyway )
I get evey thursday off work so weather permitting i will be out in the search of anything Odonata (ark at me with the big words!),also (wife permitting ) i'll get out on some sundays,im also lucky enough to live a 5 min drive from a pond in the forest so again if the weather permits i can get up there for an hour or so after work.
The challenge has been made a little easier by the fact that i live in the New Forest where its reported around 75% of britains dragonfly species can be found,so there we have it easy! 
The diary starts. Thursday May 21st
Weather was a bit overcast but that didnt stop us going out to start our new challenge,we took a trip up to Crockford in the New Forest ( reportedly one of the best places in the country for the widest range of odonata,and i only live 20 mins away!  )
The first to get the ball rolling was a four-spotted chaser,there were plenty of Large Red Damsels about and a female Broad-bodied Chaser.
  
Lots more were sighted but didnt hang around for a photo,Beautiful Demoiselle,Male Broad-bodied,Keeled Skimmer and Southern Damsel to name a few. Also a quick note,we took some pics of a pair of Grizzled Skipper which got some local butterfly enthusiasts hopping from one foot to another as they've not been seen in that area before so all in all a good first day.
Last edited by Keith Talbot; 29-05-2009 at 11:10 PM.
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29-05-2009, 11:01 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New Forest
Posts: 927
| | | Re: Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
Sunday May 24th
The wife and i celebrated our 13th wedding aniversary by going up to Stourhead Gardens in Wiltshire (can highly recomend it for a day out )
By one of the lakes there was a long line of hosters (sp?) and that morning loads of Downy Emeralds were emerging,   
it was amazing to see so many,i was also lucky to see this pair of Large Red in a Wheel, 
Last edited by Keith Talbot; 29-05-2009 at 11:12 PM.
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29-05-2009, 11:02 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New Forest
Posts: 927
| | | Re: Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
Bank Holiday Monday May 25th
I had a spare hour in the afternoon so went back to Crockford and got my first pics of a male Broad-bodied and a Southern Damsel  
again all the usual Large Reds and Broad-Bodies were about. |
29-05-2009, 11:09 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New Forest
Posts: 927
| | | Re: Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
Thursday May 28th
Today was a good day for pictures,my friend isnt free until late morn on thursdays so i go out on my own for a few hours,today i went up to my local pond and got my first Azure damselfly pics, 
this picture did come with a price however,while stalking the Azure's i trod on what i believed to be slightly boggy ground only to find i was up to my knee's in water!  ,i naturaly did what and photographer does and held my camera high!,i was more concerned with that than my wellies filling with water .
we decided once again to go to Crockford only this time we would make a few stops on the way,first stop was at a little pond and stream just outside Brockenhurst where we found some Southern Damsels (didnt know they were in that area?) and found this lovely Golden-ringed not long emerged into the world! 
We then move on to Hatchet Pond where we saw plenty of Azure's,Keeled Skimmers and Broad-bodied but also a Downy Emerald and my first Blue-Tailed Damsels     
We moved on then to Crockford,by this time it had started to get cloudy and there was little about the only new picture i got was of this female Beautiful Demoiselle 
so now in a total of 9 days (3 trips out) ive seen 10 spieces
Last edited by Keith Talbot; 29-05-2009 at 11:15 PM.
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30-05-2009, 04:38 AM
| | Knight Grand Cross of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 13,609
| | | Re: Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
A great story/photos there Keith. Dragonflies, as many other WABers will testify, are addictive! |
30-05-2009, 04:58 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New Forest
Posts: 927
| | | Re: Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
Quote:
Originally Posted by aeshna5  A great story/photos there Keith. Dragonflies, as many other WABers will testify, are addictive! | Tell me about it! |
30-05-2009, 05:08 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New Forest
Posts: 927
| | | Re: Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
Friday May 29th
Number 11 crossed of the list to day,i went up to my local pond after work,it was about 6pm so not much activity on the damsel front only a couple of azure's,there were also loads of female Broad-bodied and female keeled skimmers,
The outing was worth it when my first Emperor dragonfly of the year flew around the pond for 5 mins or so,unfortuneatley it didnt pose for a pic but hopefully i will see it again.
Sightings to date,
Beautiful Demoiselle
Large Red damsel
Azure damsel
Southern damsel
Blue-Tailed damsel
Keeled Skimmer dragon
Broad-bodied dragon
Four-spotted dragon
Golden-ringed dragon
Downy Emerald dragon
Emperor dragon |
30-05-2009, 05:11 PM
| | Active Member | | Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 67
| | | Re: Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
Super diary Keith - look forward to more installments. You live in a good area for dragonflies - I am hoping to get down to the New Forest myself sometime this summer, so your diary may prove very useful.
Stephen |
30-05-2009, 05:15 PM
| | Officer of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New Forest
Posts: 927
| | | Re: Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
thanks stephen,
im really enjoying the challenge |
30-05-2009, 05:24 PM
|  | Knight Commander of the Wild Empire | | Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Scotland/Spain
Posts: 5,611
| | | Re: Dragonfly Diary (with pics)
Excellent shots Keith and a nice challenge - who is leading at the moment though and what's the score.
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