
A walk along the Rio at Torre-del-Mar revealed many more dragonflies than birds, perhaps due to the very hot and dry weather for the time of year. I therefore fitted extension tubes to my 400mm lens for some close-up work when a sudden whoosh announced the arrival of a hungry Hobby which swooped past me, whirled and plucked a dragonfly from the air just a few metres away. Anyone who uses extension tubes may know the frustration of a sudden photo opportunity which is now out of range. I removed the tubes as quickly as possible and as luck would have it managed a few distant shots of the bird with its prey, here is the best of the bunch. ![]() I am not sure which dragonfly species provided the hobby´s snack but there were plenty to choose from. Common, red-veined, scarlet and desert darters, epaulet skimmers, orange-winged and violet dropwings, blue and lesser emperors, and some dainty little Iberian bluetail damselflies. While I had extension tubes fitted I photographed this tiny African Grass Blue butterfly, and later a Speckled Wood perched with open-wings in the sunshine.
2 Comments
Taka
26/7/2013 06:53:42
The copula that you have id'ed as "Scarlet Darters" are actually Red-veined Darters.
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10/12/2015 18:45:28
The pair of dragonflies in cop are Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii)
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AuthorRetired seafarer living in Frigiliana, a white village in Malaga Province in southern Spain. Married to Elena. Keen bird and wildlife watchers. Archives
November 2022
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