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Wednesday 24 July 2013

Black Tailed Skimmer

While at West Hartford looking for Dragonflies I caught sight of  a Black Tailed Skimmer that landed someway off trying to get a little nearer it took off I lost sight of  it for a few seconds till I heard the whirring of wings and saw clasping onto what I htought would be a female but no it was another Male which it had grasped by the back of the head and procceeded to tug it from it's perch . I took loads of shots but the action was so fast and furious most where blurred ,but what determination was invloved the other Male just seemed to sit there , how the first knew of the seconds prescence I don't know unless it witnessed it land , I have watched them chase each other in the air before and always the interloper will fly off to another part of the pond but never seen anything like this before . Saddly one drawback of the fine weather is the rapid drying of ponds  as at West Hartford which is now dried up ?


Common Blue Damselfly coupled with Female
 Black Tailed Skimmer alighted numerouis times but always to far off, you have to track  them vigerously as they fly if you want to see them land which they do frequently




Eventually the aggressor flies off leaving the other Male to it's perch



And that's how I left it ,as far as I could see non the worse for it's ordeal, they have a brief but tough live !!!



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