Drangonflies at Hertford Heath & Amwell

As birds settle down to breed there is a lot less activity and movement, so it's an ideal time to turn to Dragonflies. First stop was Hertford Heath on a sunny afternoon with firstly Damselflies, including this Blue-tailed.

Mating Large Red Damselflies.

And mating Azure Damselflies

Four-spotted Chasers were everywhere, and they are very good at perching up for shots.

But the target species today were Broad-bodied Chasers. Quite a few males were flying but when they landed, they were distant. I managed a shot of a distant male and a female ovipositing.

Just as I was about to leave, I spotted a female perched on a Gorse bush, initially low down but then settled higher up.

A great end to the day, and later in the week I popped down to Amwell and managed to find my first Black-tailed Skimmer of the year.

On the Dragonfly Trail were a number of Red-eyed Damselflies.

Patrolling the largest pool was a male Emperor Dragonfly which is our largest species. I was there was quite some time and it never rested once. The only option was to attempt some flight shots.

Norfolk, or as they are known now as Green-eyed Hawkers do tend to rest up more and I got a few shots.

As they do sometimes hover for a short time, getting some flight shots is possible, but focussing can be difficult. With a bit of patience I was able to get some images that I was quite pleased with.

What fantastic creatures!