Stephen Burch's Birding Website Dragonfly and Damselfly photos 2026

Dragonfly and Damselfly Photos 2026
M	Migrant Hawker, Lockinge, Oxon 5 September 2026 with the improved weather, I went back to this local site for a further attempt at Migrant Hawker in flight photos. It was less windy this time, but the dragonflies were not cooperating. Their periods of hovering were usually extremely brief, and generally in the wrong direction. This is the only frame which gave a reasonable angle to the camera, just at start of a very rapid turn to its left. By the time of the next frame, 1/30sec later, the head and eyes were out of focus. Click to enlarge
	Migrant Hawker, Lockinge, Oxon 24 August 2026 To the north of the village, a public footpath runs east/west and where it crosses the brook there is a small weir with a pool behind, a corner of which can be viewed from a nettle and thistle ridden patch of ground! When I visited this site briefly two days earlier, without the camera, there were several Migrant Hawkers around in the hot, still conditions, with some coming very close. Today the wind had got up, and although the Migrant Hawkers were still around, they were generally more distant and not hovering well. This is a considerable crop but I liked the background and angle to the camera. Click to enlarge
	Migrant Hawker, Lockinge, Oxon 24 August 2026 Another shot which was slightly closer but with a less pleasing background. For this shot I used pre-capture in an attempt to get it in flight when it departed from the reed it was settled on. This is the first frame after it departed! Click to enlarge
	Common Darters, Tar Lakes, Oxon 11 August 2026 Not a lot to get excited about on this visit in the continuing hot weather. Although there was still the odd Lesser Emperor around they were all hyper-active. Only this distant tandem pair of Common Darters briefly provided any photos. Click to enlarge
	Southern Migrant Hawker, Whitecross Green Wood, Oxon 31 July 2026 After my largely unsuccessful visit on the 19th July, I went back today armed with updated information about the location of a "new" pond for me, at which James Wainscoat had recently managed to photograph Southern Migrant Hawker. The "new" pond turned out to be called the Woodland Pond according to a BBOWT display board. It was along the main ride on the left, beyond the Main Pond. Here I found 3 or more of the desired Southern Migrant Hawkers but they were very difficult to get onto in flight. However I managed to get this sideways on image with an uncluttered background. This is a partially focus stacked image, aiming to get the whole body sharp but the wings were moving too much in the slight breeze so I left them un-stacked. Click to enlarge
	Southern Migrant Hawker, Whitecross Green Wood, Oxon 31 July 2026 After a visit to the Main Pond, I decided to head back to the Woodland Pond (see above) in the hope of more photos. Almost immediately on arrival, this individual hovered obligingly in front of me, with a shaded area behind, giving huge contrast. Fortunately, I had turned the exposure compensation right down so managed to avoid blowing the highlights (just!). Click to enlarge
	Southern Hawker, Whitecross Green Wood, Oxon 31 July 2026 At the Main Pond, this hawker was very friendly coming right up to me many times! More usually I find Southern Hawkers come to check me out once or twice but then move away. Not so this one! Often it was too close to focus on, but for this photo in was just a little further away! Click to enlarge
	Common Darter, Trap Grounds NR, Oxford, Oxon 25 July 2026 Recent reports of Southern Migrant Hawker at this site prompted me to visit for the first time in a few years. Indeed the late, and sorely missed Nicola Devine showed me round last time I was here back in 2022. Unfortunately for this visit I found no sign of the Southern Migrant Hawker, and the only species I could find to photograph was Common Darter. Here is a shot about 1/30sec before it came into land. Click to enlarge
	Willow Emerald Damselfly, Boundary Brook Nature Reserve, Oxford, Oxon 24 July 2026 My first visit to this compact site in 2026 and a single relatively early male Willow Emerald was very much the highlight. This is not a species I have seen here before, but it has been recorded by others previously. This is a focus stacked image, for increased depth of field. Click to enlarge
	Southern Hawker, Boundary Brook Nature Reserve, Oxford, Oxon 24 July 2026 There was a Southern Hawker on each of the two larger ponds today. This one, on the Kidney Pond, was being more obliging, even hovering fairly well at times. Click to enlarge
	Ruddy Darter, Boundary Brook Nature Reserve, Oxford, Oxon 24 July 2026 In my experience, Ruddy Darter is much more difficult to photograph in flight than Common Darter. However this one was being more co-operative than most over the almost dry Garden Pond. I believe this is my first in-flight photo of this species. Click to enlarge
	Lesser Emperor, Tar Lakes, Oxon 22 July 2026 There were several Lesser Emperors around today, but none were performing well. This briefly hovered in front of me, but it was facing away from me into the wind. This shot was just after it was starting to move away and is at a slightly better angle. The next frame was even better angle wise, but only half the dragonfly was in the field of view! Click to enlarge
	Southern Hawker, Whitecross Green Wood, Oxon 19 July 2026 For this visit I was hoping for some more Southern Migrant Hawker shots, as I had had some success here last year. But it was not to be. While I saw a few none were showing for photos. Towards the end of my visit, this Southern Hawker appeared, often far to close for photography, but just once if was in a good position in the sunlight. Click to enlarge
	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. Click to enlarge
	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. Click to enlarge
	Red-veined Darter, Blenheim Park, Oxon 3 July 2026 Another view of the same individual. Click to enlarge
	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. Click to enlarge
	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 Click to enlarge
	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. Click to enlarge
	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. Click to enlarge
	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! Click to enlarge
	Red-veined Darters, Blenheim Park, Oxon 25 June 2026 The same tandem pair as above but sideways on!
	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. Click to enlarge
	Lesser Emperor, Blenheim Park, Oxon 23 June 2026 As above - the sideways on view. Click to enlarge
	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. Click to enlarge
	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. Click to enlarge
	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! Click to enlarge
	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. Click to enlarge
	White-legged Damselfly, Goring, Oxon 23 May 2026 As above, but this is not a focus-stacked image. Click to enlarge
	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. Click to enlarge
	Downy Emerald, Orchard Lake, Radley, Oxon 22 May 2026 As above, but on a bluer background. Click to enlarge
	Downy Emerald, Orchard Lake, Radley, Oxon 22 May 2026 Caught in mid turn - just before it zoomed out of focus! Click to enlarge
	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

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