Bad timing and a tip-off

With rain forecast for late on I popped out on an errand at lunchtime, taking a camera with me and intending to catch some damsel or dragonflies while the sun was out. By the time I got to the litter pit the sun had changed its mind. There were a few damsels around the small ponds, and quite a few small skippers but I didn't get much that was any good. The male blue-tailed clinging to a horsetail was about the best. The emperor was in evidence, as was the one on the Litter Pit itself.

One that looked sharp on the LCD

While walking round to the bay where the emperor flies I heard a racket in the willows at the back of the path. It turned out to be two juvenile wrens, which perched close enough for long enough for me to get a clear shot of one. Even though the ISO was high with them being in the shade on a dull day they turned out not too bad.

ISO2200 with Neat Image noise reduction

The emperor was chasing around and proving impossible to photograph. The wind wasn't strong enough to force him to fly in a straight line and he was all over the place. He was also duelling with the mystery dragonfly, which I thought was a brown hawker. As chance would have it this was confirmed by a chap carrying out a dragonfly survey for the landowner. Chatting to him was enlightening, and he told me of two small ponds that are out of the way and worth a look.

A few minutes after we went our separate ways there were spots of rain on the surface of the pit. I beat a hasty retreat to the car. As I got in the rain eased off so I went to look for the new ponds - apparently dug for the benefit of great crested newts. They took a bit of finding, but they will be worth another visit on a sunny day. Not just for the insects but the birdlife too. I'll be able to sit a while and wait, hopefully undisturbed by other humans. While I was wandering around I saw a few damsels and watched another brown hawker chasing commas. There were quite a few other butterflies around too, not to mention bees and various flies. A nice secluded spot alright.

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