Dragons and Bugs at Aldford river Dee june 2014

A quick  trip down to the river Dee at Aldford to see if any Clubtail Dragons can be found ,   i think they are quite ugly for a dragonfly but they are elusive and always nice to see.  my last trip failed to see any so i dont really expect to find any but its always worth a walk :)

Walking onto the river side path just past the Blue bridge i start to look in the first fields edge and amazingly i have spotted a female Common Clubtail , cant believe my luck sometimes :)  unfortunately its starting to spit with rain and the light levels are very low but i will do my best in the breeze to get a sharp image or 2 .

 as its cold i have moved it onto a plant for better picture but with the wind movement i just cant get a sharp image, so will try a finger shot............

 There are a few Banded Demoiselles but as usual i just cant get close to them , this is the best i have managed  today.

Continuing down the river there are hundreds of Scorpion flies , but the light is not good enough to get any decent sharp shots.   this is only one i have managed but it is not very sharp , time to put the mpe-65 lens and flash on now

                            That's better :D                   an  Aliens  head lol

Now i will just shoot a few flies then head off home.  loads of Doli flies   love their green eyes :)

these tiny flies are so difficult to photograph, they seem to react to the cameras pre flash and move before the image is taken , it is quite a common problem but i have managed a few good shots.

                                                                                just a fly 

                          a Clegg Horsefly , amazing eyes they have , so beautiful but deadly  lol

                                                              a focus stacked portrait

                that's a great way to finish the morning just as its started raining fairly heavy now.

Dragons & Damsels on the river Dee May 27th 2012

The weather this year has been really bad so far , hardly any dragons or damsels around. the common Clubtail dragonflies should be emerging now, so a quick trip down to Aldford near Chester on the river dee is a good place to see them.  i always think they are an ugly dragonfly , with broad eyes and head! lol

any how , i arrive in Aldford and make my way down to the river,  here is the bridge over the river.

It is fairly bright with sun and a slight breeze but still quite cold as i start walking along the path from the bridge.   the first field is always a good spot to find Banded Demoiselles and straight away i find 2 or 3 males perched up!  but they are very flighty and are proving a bit tricky to get near, also the bright conditions make shooting good exposures on these dark mettalic species a nightmare!!!!      but!  i manage this shot :)

Plenty of flowers along the path , but strangly very few insects around!

I continue down the river looking for clubtails but not a sign of any, quite a few damsels around but not being very obliging  lol.   managed to shoot this female banded demoiselle :)   but look at her dented eye!!!

i have just found this female nursery web spider with her egg sac ,  tried my best to get a good image!
                                      but failed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   arghhhhh 

Getting near the end of the stretch and still no clubtails!!   but found a few more banded Demoiselles

                                                                                take off!!!!!

    Then a freshly emerged Damselfly , time to get the mpe-65 macro lens out for a portrait on my       
finger :)                                       wonderfull subjects to photograph :D

                                  A quick shot of a cat feeding on nettle, probably smll tort

Making my way back now, given up on seeing any clubtails when suddenly i spot one perched up!    3 quick frames  and it was gone!!!!!!!!

The end of a short trip, a few shots taken  but not the numbers i was expecting.  really do need warmer weather!!