Peter SketchIt's December so welcome to the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar featuring a different species each day for 24 days. We start with a Southern Migrant Hawker. A fairly recent arrival in the UK; this one was at #CanveyIsland #Essex in July. They like ditches with very little water, even if they dry out in summer. They're huge compared to most other UK species. #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography
Day 2 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar and today we have a Keeled Skimmer, a classic species of bogs and wet heaths throughout the UK. This one was at the wonderful #Devon #WildlifeTrust reserve at Bystock Pools in August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates
Day 3 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar Today's photo is a Common Clubtail. Despite the name they're not at all common. They like large, slow-flowing rivers. This one was by the Thames at Goring in late May. Despite the bright colouring they can be hard to spot when hiding like this. #Oxfordshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates
Day 4 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar Time for our first #damselfly and it's the Large Red, which is generally the earliest to emerge each year in April. This one was at the great #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust reserve #Ravensroost Meadows, in early June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates
Day 5 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Brown Hawker is a very fast-flying species which doesn't settle often so I find it very hard to photograph. Except when a female is laying eggs, as here at the fantastic #RSPB #StrumpshawFen in #Norfolk in July. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates
Day 6 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. One of our commonest species, the Blue-tailed Damselfly. This was at #RSPB #StrumpshawFen in #Norfolk in July, but there are probably some at the pond in your local park. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates
Day 7 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Common Darter is a very common species in late summer & autumn. In sheltered places they will last into November if it's sunny; there may even be a few now if you're near the south coast. This one was at #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust #LowerMoorFarm in August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates
Øystein H. Brekke ᚯᛦᛌᛐᛅᛁᚿ ᚼ ᛒ@petersketch A Norwegian cousin for this one as well? (Although the websites say they are hard to identify, so I may be wrong) From Kvamskogen, Hordaland, July 2020.
@oysteib Darters can be very hard to ID from photos, unless you're a serious expert of you've got a photo from just the right angle. It's definitely that genus, and I can't see anything to rule out Common, but Vagrant is almost identical from that angle and then there's Ruddy and Black, as well.