Dragonfly

I saw my first dragon this year, they are very late compared to last year.

I think this one must have just emerged as he was hiding in the bushes and exercising his wings while I was photographing him. He zoomed off quickly after that so unfortunatly I didn't get an unobstructed full body shot, but here is what I did get.

#1 Broad-bodied Chaser, Libellula depressa, male

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Lovely shots Lester. I've only glimpsed 3 dragons so far this year, one chaser and 2 darters- no chance of a shot though.
Brian V.

Dont you just hate it when you cant get an unobstructed shot! Love the close-up of the head.

I think the wet weather we had in March and April has pushed them back a month or so. Was at Thursley Nature Reserve a couple of weeks ago and there werent that many around. Thursley has 26 recorded species of dragonflies - the most in one place in the UK (more info here http://www.english-nature.org.uk …t_reserve=0&X=&​NNR_ID=158 (sorry for the long url)). Well worth a visit Lester - you arent that far away.

Great shots! Which lens did you use, I would hazard a guess at the 200/F2.8L (possibly with a 1.4TC)?
I have always found that July to September are the best times for Dragons, and May to August for Damsels.

Excellent captures, ours are just starting to show up as well.

Nice shots, I have not seen any yet, but summer has just started here

Thanks for your kind comments everyone. Lets hope we all get a bumper crop of dragons soon!

red_fan: Thanks for the link - that is not far from me.

ianj: In fact I was setup to mop up a few shots of the more shy bugs having worked through the MP-E 65mm and EF 100mm macro, so here I was using the EF 100mm with the EF 2X and a 13mm tube between for compatability reasons and the MT-24 flash. I normally use the EF 300/4 IS + tubes for natural light shots of larger shy bugs, I just got the shot with what I had on. As he was unwilling to fly at first I could have got away with just the 100mm.