I am well into my quest for a Kingfisher photograph and at lunchtime today the weather took a surprising turn for the better and I quickly got my gear together and headed out to the ponds to try my luck. if I am out on a photographic quest then there is very little point unless the light is bright and this was too much of an opportunity to miss. I checked the Rare Bird Alert Web site before I left just to see if there had been any sign of the Spoonbill on Exminster, you never know. Well imagine my disappointment when I got back to discover that there had been a Spoonbill on the marsh this afternoon and I had missed it yet agaim.As far as the Kingfisher was concerned, I drew a blank but there was plenty of Dragonfly and Damsel activity to enthral, but missing the Spoonbill was a hard pill to swallow. Still, there is always tomorrow.
I am pleased to say that I took my first Southern Hawker Dragonfly photo of the year. The photo is a young newly emerged insect and I am not sure of the sex as it hasn’t fully coloured up yet. In this state it is known as ‘Teneral’ and after 3 days or so it will ‘harden’ and the colours become fixed. The Blue-Tailed Damselflies seem to be very voracious and I have often seen them eating their prey this last few days. Always have a look if you see one perched because they are quite often tucking into a gnat or small fly. This one was very engrossed in his meal. There were a few buuterflies on the wing including a Comma, Ringlet, Gate Keeper and the Meadow Brown pictured here.