aye, there be damsels and there be dragons...

Around this time of the year on my local patch I tend to come across damselflies of one description or another, but apart form the odd large red damselfly, males, I have seen very few. I think it is the cold and wet spell we had in April and May and June... mind you, I don't think the dredging helps.

So I had a mooch about 'off site' and came across a couple of locations where I saw one or two blue damselflies, then I saw three or four, five and six... hundreds of the things! 

In actual fact I had first come across two four spotted chasers 'in passing' which led me to a number of return trips and so then the damselflies.

Again, I'm trying this year to get some 'different images' than those I already hold in the locker, and 'flying' damselflies and dragonflies are on the wish list, as you will see from the images, until the sun comes out again I don't think I have much chance and even less chance then – they move so fast.

While I was perched a red soldier beetle passed from a stem to a leaf, so it seemed a shame not to capture the moment – and I have not seen a great deal of the local Kingfishers this year but in early May managed a quick 'snap'. Sadly, I doubt the local Kingfishers survived the cold winter, I know a lot of my garden plants didn't!

note: you may have trouble seing some of the subject matter as they are pretty small in life, double-clicking produces enlargements as a slideshow.