Just wondered

[Surreybirder]

I saw an emperor dragonfly 'parked' on a sedge across a pond the other day (about 25m away). It struck me that the only way to photograph this and other unapproachable subjects might be by digiscoping.
I just wondered whether anyone has had any success at digiscoping dragonflies.... I couldn't find anything on the forums.?
:bounce:

[Ashley beolens]

It sounds very tricky to me, I struggle to find large birds sometimes, let alone a little dragonfly!! I wish anyone who tries the best of luck though.

[Richard Ford]

Yep certainly have Ken; it’s no different to Digiscoping birds.
Though they can be even harder to find in the scope, if they are perched (is that the right word) then they do tend to stay still, and as you say sometimes it’s the only way to do it. The teneral very dark Damselfly I asked about in the emergence thread was digiscoped, I watched it fly high into a pine and got the scope on it, I could not id it so I Digiscoped it. I have Digiscoped other species sat out on Lilies that I could not get to.

The Four spotted Chaser on my site is Digiscoped, though the quality is not as good as I could get now, as this was prior to upgrading my scope.
http://members.lycos.co.uk/digitalwildlife/odonata/frspchaser.htm
I think in some cases Odonata could be easier to digiscope than birds as not only do they stay still when they land, with some species such as the Four spotted chaser, even if they do fly off, they will return to the same favourite perch.

Digiscoping to my mind has no reason to be restricted to birds, I have certainly digiscoped a few mammals as have others, there’s no reason not to digiscope butterflies etc. Some of these things can be so jumpy its the only way to get a close up shot.

Regards

Richard
www.digitalwildlife.co.uk/dragonflies/

[Surreybirder]

The Four spotted Chaser on my site is Digiscoped

Case proven! :t:

(It might be the best way of photoing red-eyed damselfly, for example, which seem to specialise in staying in the middle of ponds!)

BTW am I the only one who cannot get smilies above #15?

[Richard Ford]

Originally posted by Surreybirder
Case proven! :t:

(It might be the best way of photoing red-eyed damselfly, for example, which seem to specialise in staying in the middle of ponds!) ]

Ken, point me in the direction of some Red eyed Damselflies and I will give it a go, I have not connected with this species yet. ;)

[
BTW am I the only one who cannot get smilies above #15?


I may be telling you what you already know but I assume you have clicked the "get more" link under the initial 15 smiles, then the rest open in another window.

Regards

Rich

[Surreybirder]

No, they haven't been out drinking all night. They are resting on a lily pad near you.
Seriously, the red-eyed like to stay away from the bank/shore line and are usually to be seen on floating vegetation. At first glance they look similar to blue-tailed but--they have red eyes.
They are not uncommon around East Surrey, so check out some ponds in your area with lily pads or similar aquatic plants and you'll surely see some. Though they don't seem to be as numerous as, say, azure and blue-tailed.
(Might be worth keeping an eye out for small red-eyed, too, recent invaders of the UK; not yet seen in Surrey but as near as the Bluewater shopping complex in Kent! See the BDS web site for more info. Identification is not too tricky if you are careful. They are smaller but also the pattern of the blue on the abdomen is different when seen from the side.]

PS When I click on 'get more' smilies nothing happens.
good luck
Ken

[Richard Ford]

Originally posted by Surreybirder


PS When I click on 'get more' smilies nothing happens.
good luck
Ken

Ken, do you have something restricting popup windows, to avoid pop up advertising perhaps?

[Surreybirder]

I seem to have wandered off topic--I hope one of the moderators doesn't zap me!

I have a firewall which is supposed to block pop-up ads (Norton Internet Security) but I'm almost certain that I've been able to access the smilies in the past. But it doesn't matter. I can live without them :D