Dragonfly ID Please - Northern Ireland (2 Viewers)

[AliCat]

My husband has been practicing taking shots of dragonflies in our garden, during the last weeks' sunny weather, but I just can't ID what sort they are, even after reading threads on how to ID them. They never land so we can't get any better shots of heads or their backs, so I'm not even sure if ID is possible.

Any help is gratefully appreciated!

 

[pdwinter]

That's a female Migrant Hawker.

 

[Swindon Addick]

Migrant Hawker, Aeshna mixta. The markings on the side of the thorax don't lend themselves to easy description of the differences between the various hawker species, but once you get your eye in a nice clear photo of the side of the thorax is enough to identify the UK species. Good photos like these make it a lot easier; this species is a real pain to photograph in flight because they don't hover much, and photos sometimes make the colours look very different to the colours shown in the books, but the shape of the patches of colour is reliable.

 

[AliCat]

Migrant Hawker, Aeshna mixta. The markings on the side of the thorax don't lend themselves to easy description of the differences between the various hawker species, but once you get your eye in a nice clear photo of the side of the thorax is enough to identify the UK species. Good photos like these make it a lot easier; this species is a real pain to photograph in flight because they don't hover much, and photos sometimes make the colours look very different to the colours shown in the books, but the shape of the patches of colour is reliable.

Thank you so much! I was guessing a Common Hawker, so delighted to discover exactly what it is!

 

[AliCat]

That's a female Migrant Hawker.

Thank you! Delighted to discover what she is!