Todays pics...

[glsammy]

Some excellent shots there, the Brown Hawker is a female and she's in the process of laying eggs (Ovipositing) which will hatch next spring. The larvae develop over 2-4 years before emerging. All future sightings for you.
Just to make it clear, I'm reading this from my guide book as I type!

[Fourwings]

Nice work Simon - you did very well & should be pleased with the results.

Quite often ovipositing females are the best chance you will get at photographing Brown Hawkers, unfortunately they usually do it in strange places that are difficult to get at with a camera,
Their main requirement is that they like to lay their eggs in/on rotten wood so you can partially engineer a good photo opportuntity by floating an old log in a more convienient location, as long as there are Brown Hawkers in the area they will soon find it as the females are often seen patroling the waters edge looking for suitable egg-laying sites.
The trick is to get into a position where you are level with the Dragonfly which isn't always easy, I got my best image of an ovipositing Brown Hawker by wading into a lake upto the top of my thighs then standing there for half an hour or so, very wet & smelly but the end result was well worth it.


The exuvia you photographed certainly looks like that of a Brown Hawker, keep your eyes peeled, if you are lucky you could still find one emerging.

Steve.

[Satchmo]

Thanks for all your comments guys, it's a real motivator

The weather had been glorious today, not a cloud in sight, which made it a little difficult though I shouldn't complain now we finally got some sun.

Mark, thanks for your comments. I can't wait to get out again tomorrow, maybe a little earlier this time. I also saw another Dragonfly although I'm not sure what it was. It didn't come close enough to the bank for me to get a good view of it but it had clear wings and some Blue on it's body so with a bit of luck I might get a snap of that. I also saw the craziest insect today but could not get a pic unfortunately. It had what looked like the body of a small Dragonfly but it was a very vivid Blue colour. As for it's wings they were not like that of a Dragonfly, they were smaller and looked similar to the shape of Butterfly wings and were Black. Do you all think I'm mad I saw it twice!

Thanks for the info Graham, it's always good to know a little about what it is your shooting. So, will that Exuvia be 2-4 years old then or do they shed them as they grow?

Simon

[Satchmo]

Cheers Steve, that's some commitment you have there but that fantastic picture was more than worth it I bet. It makes sense that you should mention rotting logs because I saw another Brown Hawker ovipositing in a different part of the lake on a rotten log. They didn't seem to frequent that area as much but the lighting was less harsh so that maybe worth a stakeout tomorrow too.

Will keep an eye out for more Exuvia. To be honest, my stomach sank when I saw it. It did scare me slightly but I quickly realised what it was. What a fantastic picture that would be though.

Simon

[Fourwings]

The insect you saw was either a Banded or Beautiful Demoiselle, which one will depend on where in the UK you live, check out the species by doing a search in the Dragonfly Gallery here on WAB, you should be able to decide which species it was then.

As for my commitment, those who know me will tell you that I'm a fully paid up nutter when it comes to taking images, theres no such thing as can't when theres a good image to be taken.

Steve.

[Satchmo]

Cheers for the heads up on the Demoiselle. I'm not too sure which it is was that I saw to be honest, hopefully I will get another view of it tomorrow. I live in Lancashire which may help decipher what it was. I don't think I'm ready to get in with the fishes just yet, there are Eels and Leeches in this particular lake amongst God knows what else

[Cazzie]

I think your piccies are great Satchmo and especially love the peacock. You're somewhat like me - I don't like to fiddle around with my pics either. I may crop one for ID purposes but other than that they stay as the camera caught them, good or bad lol!

Can't wait to see what you bag tomorrow!

[mh68]

I think a reluctance to alter pics too much is a good thing, it encourages you to get the shot right in the first place as opposed to putting it right in photoshop or similar later on.I know my own photography has improved a lot since I began making a conscious effort to get the shot as i want it straight off the camera and not rely on post-processing to get the desired result.

Good luck tomorrow Simon, look foward to seeing your pics

Mark H