I was back at the pond today, this time with the macro lens. Unfortunately the broad-bodied chasers weren't around. Well that's not quite true. I did see one, but it only just evaded a goldfinch swooping from a nearby tree and trying to grab it on the wing. That has to count as a perfect shot that I'll never take! Fabulous to see though. Needless to say it thought better of staying around for too long.
A pair of Emperor dragonflies were in fine form though, and I was able to get a couple of decent shots of the female. These were taken with the macro lens, but were far enough away to have worked with the 300mm. The photos are of the female egg laying. Apparently it takes three years for the larvae to achieve maturity.
I did eventually swap the lenses over as I been watching the goldfinches from a distance and wanted to get a closer look.
The goldfinch is one of the more colourful local birds
A female chaffinch also flew in
SittingFox
15 Jun 2007Two more excellent dragonfly shots :up: :up:
In the North Downs, greenfinches seem to be the most common finch. Nothing like a goldfinch for beauty though 🙂
Words
15 Jun 2007The goldfinches are absolutely lovely. We get plenty of greenfinches too but the local male chaffinches are without doubt the boldest of the lot.
gdare
15 Jun 2007Reflection on the water in the second photo of the dragonfly….