tarboat's photos with the keyword: hawker

Today I spent the afternoon surveying ponds on the moors and had hoped that I might see a few Common Hawkers ( Aeshna juncea ) even though there wasn't a lot of sun about. In the event I very nearly trod on this male before I spotted it. It was well settled and not warm enough to fly off immediately and this gave me the opportunity to take a few shots. The blurred forewings are due to the insect indulging in some vigorous wing whirring to generate enough heat in its muscles to allow it to escape. A few seconds after I took this shot it was off in search of a less disturbed place to roost until the sun returns.

It may have been a poor summer in the UK but a trip to the Lancashire moors yielded one of the highlights when I found this pair of Common Hawkers (Aeshna juncea). Best viewed large.

The first Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) that I have seen this year was this female that posed obligingly in the gorse of Newchurch Common, Cheshire.

A pair of Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) dragonflies at an acidic pond high up on the moors at the edge of the Peak National Park in Cheshire. This species is often very wary and a long patient stalk was required to obtain this shot.