Dudmaston - Small Red-eyed Damselfly

 I had already managed to see and get record shots of Shropshire's latest addition to the Odonata list, Small Red-eyed Damselfly!

Here's the first images from 10th August, it's very easy to pick them out once you get your eye in! Clearly smaller and with much more blue showing on the flanks at both ends of the abdomen

Closer shots of Red-eyed Damselfly were managed as well today ...

Loving the above raindrops!

Oh those eyes!!

Seen here mating with a Common Blue Damsel keeping tabs!

And more males chasing after the lucky female!

Here we go with the first Small Red-eyed Damsel. A bit nearer than the last visit but that was about to be eclipsed!

Shame this one has a bit of distortion of one wing but I didn't even notice it until reviewing the shots!

You can just about see the small x on segment 10, another useful identifying mark!

Here's one solution to the offending wing, a closer crop! Plus another indicator of the identity, the Coenagrion spur on the thorax is shortened with an obvious dot adjacent in male Red-eyed. You have to exercise caution using this marker as Red-eyed often show a similar pattern!

I was really looking forward to finding more individuals but mother nature stepped in with the forecast rumbles of thunder. Destined to be torrential for the next couple of hours, I headed home...

Venus Pool - Old 'Red-eyes' is here!

This post actually first starts back on the 8th June whilst on 'Osprey watch'! In addition to the Little Grebes performing then, the odonataphile in me noticed at least one possibly two Damselflies perched on the surface scum. I instinctively knew what they were but didn't expect to see them at Venus Pool! On size, appearance and jizz, they could be only one thing - male Red-eyed Damselflies. And now, they had now flown out of view into the bank-side vegetation!!

It took a while but eventually I caught a flash of blue in my bins and yes, no doubt about it - red eyes gleaming back at me!!

Fast forward to the 24th June and having discussed the sighting with Sue Rees Evans, the Shropshire odonata Tsar, this was the first record reported at VP since the only record 10 years ago - in 2007!!

I'd assumed it was a 'one off' but another one caught my eye today and this was surely a different individual! It's not easy to photograph Damselflies over 15m away but the long lens has its uses and not just for birds!

And the sun put a bit of light on those gleaming eyes...

Despite the lack of Lily pads, there's enough surface vegetation and floating scum as you can see to support them. Now all we need is to ID a female or two or even better a pair in cop to cement a more permanent presence?