[...At last - this week the sun has appeared and with it a load of different insects have descended on my garden. Bees, butterflies and hover-flies of all types are now busy buzzing round the flowers. However, this afternoon we had an unexpected but seemingly-friendly visitor.Female Southern Hawker DragonflyI’d been trying to film grasshoppers in the “top meadow”. I say meadow, it’s really just a small patch of uncut grass with a few wildflowers. Anyway, I was lugging my lump of a camera and]
At last - this week the sun has appeared and with it a load of different insects have descended on my garden. Bees, butterflies and hover-flies of all types are now busy buzzing round the flowers. However, this afternoon we had an unexpected but seemingly-friendly visitor.
Female Southern Hawker Dragonfly
I’d been trying to film grasshoppers in the “top meadow”. I say meadow, it’s really just a small patch of uncut grass with a few wildflowers. Anyway, I was lugging my lump of a camera and tripod back down the garden past the new pond when I spotted something sitting on one of the small trees.
It was massive (no exaggeration!) and definately the biggest dragonfly I’ve seen, about 75-80mm in length (about the length of a small mobile phone). I’m not kidding, as it sat there it literally shimmered in the late afternoon sun. Such a show off - but hey I think I’d do the same if I looked like that!
Anyway, I hastily set up the camera and started filming. Then I crept nearer, then nearer, then even nearer. It didn’t seem to mind at all.
In the end I went in to make cauliflower cheese for dinner (a speciality of mine - who said cooking was dead…) but popped out again (while the pots were bubbling) to take a few stills photos. It seemed more than happy for me to get almost within touching distance to take these couple of shots - however I’ve read that people have actually been attacked by Southern Hawkers (they go for your eyes, don’t you know). Pretty wimpy being attacked by a dragonfly.. don’t you think?
Lastly, here is the film I shot, it’s only a minute long (so worth watching!) and edited together so that you hopefully get some idea of it’s size and beauty. Fingers crossed now that it comes back… and soon!
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New pond, new stunning drag...
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