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Dragonfly
and Damselfly Photos 2026
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Lesser Emperor, Dix Pit, Stanton Harcourt, Oxon
5 July 2026
I timed my visit to the west shore of this flooded gravel pit
to get the sun more or less behind me.
There were plenty of
Lesser Emperors as well as Emperors around but all were moving
very fast in the hot afternoon sun, so I found it almost
impossible to get onto them. Just once I got a sustained
in-focus burst, but again the target was distant so this is a
heavy crop.
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Red-veined Darter, Blenheim Park, Oxon
3 July 2026
Now that the weather had warmed up again, it was time for
another attempt on the Red-veined Darters at Blenheim, especially
as they had been found to settle around the edges of the large
Queen Pool.
However to get some close-up photos of what I was
sure was a Red-veined Darter took me several hours. Prior to this
encounter I had found two other red darters along the shore but
on-site I wasn't 100% sure they were my target species, with
possible confusion with mature Ruddy Darters.
On viewing
all my photos when I got back, it was clear all were Red-veined
Darters but this one was more obliging than the others, allowing a
close approach with a good background. Nearly 5 hours after
arrival, I found it a short way
along the east shore from the northern pedestrian entrance.
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Red-veined Darter, Blenheim Park, Oxon
3 July 2026
Another view of the same individual.
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Emperor, Blenheim Park, Oxon
3 July 2026
Prior to the above, along the west shore I came across this
Emperor cruising back and forth only a short distance out. This
was taken somewhat into the sun which doesn't produce the best
results.
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Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Faringdon Folly Park Pond, Oxon
26 June 2026
My first visit this season to this fairly local site. No sign
of any Lesser Emperors or Red-veined Darters but there was a good
selection of the commoner species, being very active in the heat.
This species is a favourite of mine and I think this is
the first time I have managed to get a photo of one in flight
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Red-eyed Damselfly, Faringdon Folly Park Pond, Oxon
26 June 2026
From the same spot as the SRED above. This is a focus-stacked
image.
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Black-tailed Skimmer, Faringdon Folly Park Pond, Oxon
26 June 2026
This dragonfly briefly landed very close to me. I find it
difficult to get clean shots of this species, as it tends to only
settle on the ground.
But this individual was well placed,
with a nice plain background. This is a two image composite, with
the abdomen taken separately, and then blended into the main
image, to get it in focus.
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Red-veined Darters, Blenheim Park, Oxon
25 June 2026
Thanks to Gareth Casburn, I was successful in my first attempt
to see and photograph the Red-veined Darters that he had found at
Blenheim a few days earlier.
However views were very
distant and into the sun. So this is a huge crop! I was fortunate
to catch the moment that this tandem pair were ovipositing.
Probably the first breeding record of this species in
Oxfordshire!
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Red-veined Darters, Blenheim Park, Oxon
25 June 2026
The same tandem pair as above but sideways on!
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Lesser Emperor, Blenheim Park, Oxon
23 June 2026
My main target for today was the Norfolk Hawker that had been seen
again this year by Gareth Casburn, following his discovery of two
in the same place last year.
Although we saw the Norfolk
Hawker today, the views were very brief before it vanished, not to
reappear.
As some compensation there were some Lesser
Emperors around that were performing better. This however is a
heavily cropped photo of a distant one.
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Lesser Emperor, Blenheim Park, Oxon
23 June 2026
As above - the sideways on view.
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White-legged Damselfly, Goring, Oxon
19 June 2026
My main target for today was again Clubtails but this
time I couldn't find any, possibly because it was too late in the
season for them.
But again there were some White-legged
Damselflies in Little Meadow, just upstream from the
railway bridge. This time they were mainly adults, like this one.
This is a focus-stacked image.
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Large Pincertail, Canamero, Spain
12 June 2026
The main purpose of my trip to the Extremadura area of Spain was bird
photography from various well placed hides. The one I was in for
this photo was intended for Dipper photos. But the Dippers had
fledged and so there were none to be seen!
However there
were several of these interesting dragonflies around and over a
pool in a rocky stream. According to my European Dragonfly book,
these were probably Large Pincertails, although they are very
similar to Small Pincertails. So I am not 100% confident on the ID
at present.
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Large Pincertail, Canamero, Spain
12 June 2026
A lucky shot of one in flight - I was trying to photo one
below settled on a rock!
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White-legged Damselfly, Goring, Oxon
23 May 2026
My main target for today was of course Clubtails. Although
there were some distantly patrolling over the water, photos were out of the
question.
There were however some teneral White-legged
Damselflies in Little Meadow, which is just upstream from the
railway bridge. These were somewhat more obliging subjects.
This is a focus-stacked image.
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White-legged Damselfly, Goring, Oxon
23 May 2026
As above, but this is not a focus-stacked image.
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to enlarge |
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Downy Emerald, Orchard Lake, Radley, Oxon
22 May 2026
This little corner of Orchard Lake was good for Downy Emerald
last year, and so I went back today at the start of the developing
hot spell.
I wasn't disappointed but it took some time to
get onto this individual that barely stopped moving for most of
the time. Just occasionally it would hover for long enough
to allow me to get onto it.
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Downy Emerald, Orchard Lake, Radley, Oxon
22 May 2026
As above, but on a bluer background.
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Downy Emerald, Orchard Lake, Radley, Oxon
22 May 2026
Caught in mid turn - just before it zoomed out of focus!
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Common Blue Damselfly, Standlake Common, Oxon
23 April 2026
Good to get the new season up and running!
I managed to find my first damselfly of the season today - on
Standlake Common by the gate to the Langley Lane Hide.
This
teneral
briefly settled on this fence post allowing a sequence of
hand-held shots for focus stacking later on the computer.
This is a large crop of the full image.
Click to enlarge |
| © All pictures
copyright Stephen Burch |
