Earliest - _TNY_4209
First time bringing out the camera this season back in late March yielded a very nice little catch - this common winter damselfly (Sympecma fusca), which initally took the stealth approach and tried to hide.
The winter damsel is always the first species of damsel to fly here as they hibernate as adults unlike the other species which make it through the winter as nymphs underwater.
There are typically two peaks in the observations of these rather discreetly coloured guys, one right now (or normally a little later when the winter hasn't been as mild as in 2020), and then another when the newly hatched adults leave the water which happens in June at the earliest.
Three more shots of the same one here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/49705742782/
here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/49830268133/
Earliest - _TNY_4209
First time bringing out the camera this season back in late March yielded a very nice little catch - this common winter damselfly (Sympecma fusca), which initally took the stealth approach and tried to hide.
The winter damsel is always the first species of damsel to fly here as they hibernate as adults unlike the other species which make it through the winter as nymphs underwater.
There are typically two peaks in the observations of these rather discreetly coloured guys, one right now (or normally a little later when the winter hasn't been as mild as in 2020), and then another when the newly hatched adults leave the water which happens in June at the earliest.
Three more shots of the same one here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/49705742782/
here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/49830268133/