ness gardens recently emerged dragonfly

Hi everyone sorry I've not posted in a while we've had the wifes family up again , did manage a trip to Ness gardens though and took the macro
Recently emerged dragonfly really pleased to see this the first time Ive seen one thats only just emerged
I wanted to stay to watch him spread his wings but had the wifes family with me as well.
I cant decide what he is is, about the size of a migrant hawker but body markings look different

Lovely series of shots- love the colours and light
The DF looks like a common darter to me but they are a lot smaller than Hawkers
Brian V

Thanks Brian , I think you are right about the ID maybe a female, It did look larger than a Darter at the time but I think I was mistaken. It will be the first Common Darter I've seen this year
Pete

I love the shots especially the one with the Tortoishell, the colors of the wings is really brought out by the color of the flower.

Butterfly shot is lovely and vibrant, they all have good DOF.

Nice Small Tortoiseshell Pete. You snapped a little bug on the red stem too.

Lovely set Pete. Love the Tortoiseshell to.

Hiya Pete,

Good to see you back, Great series of shots, the Tortoiseshell is gorgeous & my favorite.

Cheers for now
Mark

Great set of photos, they are all very good indeed - I agree with above posts, the butterfly shot is fabulous.

I can confirm that the dragonfly is a common darter. You may have had a long wait anyway to see the first flight, it sometimes take another couple of hours, it depends on what time of the day they emerge and weather conditions. If you ever get the chance to see the complete emergence (and allow plenty of time), its a fantastic experience.

Linda

Good to see you back Pete. Great series. The butterfly is wonderful.

Irwin

Thanks very much everyone Your comments mean a lot and I'm still learning so are helpful too.
Thanks Nan, RM, Brian, Mark, Alby, Linda and Irwin
I was really pleased with the Small tortoishell shot it made my day when I first saw it on the computer.
I did not notice the bud on the stem Alby well done for spotting it
Thanks for the ID Linda, I am still hoping to see a complete emergence just have to be lucky I guess
Am starting to see a few Common darters now all pale brown ones recently emerged they should colour up in a few days.

Look for the pale stripes on the legs to confirm common darter. Females just go brownish as they age and only males turn red but both sexes have striped legs.
All three posts are nice pics but the small tort is a cracking shot.

Thanks Eccles

All nice but love the tortoishell. The colors and dof are pretty much perfect. Beautiful shot.