Dragonflies at Windmill Farm

It was a fine day here in Cornwall and after my usual early morning out and about I decided to make an afternoon trip to Windmill Farm on the Lizard Peninsula to see if the warm sunshine had attracted a good variety of Dragonflies to its ponds which have excellent waterside access for Photography,

On arrival at one of the ponds I was pleased to meet Dougy Wright the warden of the reserve who was very enthusiastic about the amount of wildlife attracted to the ponds so far this year,

I soon got busy with my camera and started with this slimline Newt that had come to the surface to breath.

Next up were a pair of coupled Azure Damselfly which were showing in good numbers

I was pleased to see the four spotted Chaser below land on a dead reed stalk that also neatly showed the husk of a Nymph casing still holding its position from when it had crawled up out of the water to turn into a beautiful dragonfly,

Male broad bodied chasers are good to work with as they so regularly return to the same location time after time when not flying which makes it easy to prepare for a portrait shot

I had to wait a lot longer for this Male Emperor to settle down for a portrait, They seem to have an amazing endurance for continuous flight while looking for females and seeing off all rival males.

Finding an opportunity to photograph a mating pair of Emperor Dragonflies is not and everyday occurrence but is much appreciated when it does come along.

Following the mating it is so good to see the Female Emperor laying her eggs and doing her bit for future generations of dragonflies at this fine location.

Windmill Farm, The fine weather and the dragonflies created a splendid way to spend a peaceful and very interesting afternoon shoot,   HAPPY DAYS !!