Dragons and Damsels in Egypt

Dragons from El-Fayoum and luxor

2010-10-26T04:59:00.000-07:00

FAYOUM DRAGONS

damsel and dragons of Siwa

2010-10-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

Dragons in Siwa oasis Egypt

2010-10-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

16 17/ 9/10

2010-09-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

blue tiled damsel here you can see how small they are next to a fag butt.

lots of dragons again today but only saw 5 species

blue tailed damselfly in macro

September dragons and damsels

2010-09-05T05:14:00.000-07:00

10 different dragons Today

This one bellow has to be the smallest of the dragonflies I have seen to date.

showing how small the blue tailed damsels are

chest deep in the polluted nile river

2010-09-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Bubbles in the Nile

A bubble from the camara lens when switched on under waterl

This is the prompt for an underwater shot of the dragonfly it kept coming back to land on this piece of reed , but its sods law that when I got close enough it went to another landing place,

no decent shots of the red tailed skimmer dragonfly,
the blue damsels where much more obliging got to within 6" to take the next shots while I was up to my chest in the Nile river

Laying its eggs just below water line

damselflies

2010-08-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

About half a dozen species of damsel flies occur in Egypt. Called "bluetails," the common species is Ischnura senegalensis, which is found abundantly all over Egypt including the Western Desert, but not in Sinai, The eyes are prominent and the colored tail is distinctive. Their legs catch insect prey in flight.

11/ 12 . August. 2010 dragons and damsels

2010-08-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

on the base of this page I have an,Ant lion (family Myrmeleontidae)
it would be nice to be able to put a name to some if not all the 42 species I have on this blog.
Please Click on the photos to enlarge.

red tails the most common of the dragons,
This bright red dragonfly is widespread all over Egypt around small lakes and ponds. They like perching on and returning to particular twigs while hunting for their prey. Like all members of the Dragonfly family, they are predacious. The nymphs molt about twelve times and climb out of the water to undergo the last molt into the adult stage.

meal time

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Ant lion (family Myrmeleontidae)

Adults are common desert residents, coming to lights at night. Species vary enormously in size, and there are some very large ones. The larvae of some species are well known because they dig circular pits with sloping sides in the sand to trap ants, which they knock down to their huge jaws by flicking sand at them.

10 august.2010

2010-08-11T02:19:00.000-07:00

Three different species of dragonflies

and a grasshopper.

5th August dragons

2010-08-05T08:59:00.002-07:00

30 20 10 dragons and damsels

2010-07-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

A Damsel for breakfast.

2010-07-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

lots of damsels this month

click on to enlarge

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Breakfast time is damsel eating time.

damsels and dragons

2010-07-18T11:48:00.001-07:00

Notice all the ants on the stem of the plant

July 12th dragonflies

2010-07-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

Todays total 14 species

July damsels and Dragons,

2010-07-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

I have never seen so many Damselflies on my walks along the Nile. here are just a few of them

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There are several black winged darters on this branch

dragons and damsels June 12th

2010-06-13T06:41:00.000-07:00

There are over 30 species if dragonflies and damselflies on my blog.in future I will update when I see a new species or if I get a better photo of the ones I have already taken, best way to see what is on the blog is to go to the side bar and click on the months or year. in the month of June as the Nile waters recede there are hundreds if damselflies and black winged skimmer & red darter dragonflies, the damselflies are quite small maybe 1 1/2 inch in total length. and its almost impossible to get macro shot unless one is dead or maimed, that is not what my blogs are about, I harm none of the species if I can not get a good shot I try another day, my blogs include birds of which I have photos of 72 defferent species all the photos have been taken in and around the Luxor Egypt area, another one of my blogs is on bees, bugs & butterflies there is only 5 species of butterflies, hence the bugs and insects on wings. I try and get names for all the wildlife
it is a hard job as the only book I can get is on the birds, so help identification is much appreciated, My plant blog is doing quite well with id, thanks to Sap , Mary and others who put names to some of the photos they share. please enjoy my photos as much as I have had taking them, my main website is myegypt.co.uk the name my egypt speaks for itself.

There were hundreds of damsels in the pools where the Nile is receding

Looks like a face from some sci-fi movie,

June dragons and Damse;s

2010-06-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

June dragons and damsels

2010-06-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

drogons and damsels 6th june

2010-06-06T03:41:00.000-07:00

June Dragons and Damsels

2010-06-02T02:21:00.000-07:00

One of the tiny damsels
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Damsels and Dragonflies,

2010-05-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

One of the smallest damsels On the Nile

This dragonfly was high up in a tree and the shot is from directly beneath, click on to enlarge

More May dragons.

2010-05-25T06:16:00.000-07:00

Again today i went off to shoot some bugs but came back with a completely different species . did not even see a bug. there must have been lots about because I saw 30+ whoopoe together. a flock of sparrows and crows. I have so much to catch up on now I am off for siesta then will try to catch up before the end of the day its 13.30, here in Egypt and 47c I will leave you with the dragons so pleased I waited by the canal I was waiting for the whoopoe's to come back . And its a wonder these even survived where I saw them with all the birds around.

'
then they moved to the fever tree and that was the end of the photo session

May Dragons and Damsels

2010-05-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

notice how these skimmers blend in with their surroundings like most of the wildlife they are masters of disguise. each one is different look carefully you will see they have different types of bodies

these are some of the smallest of the skimmers

No rushing or I miss what I want to photo enlarge this one if you can not see it.

some have to move before I can see them then getting the lens adjusted is another problem,

with my 100x400 lens I have no need to change lens only thing is I have to be at least 1and 1/2 meters from the subject any nearer its blurred.

2 damsel flies today

the swallows are on the http://birdinginegypt.blogspot.com/2010/05/barn-swallows-on-rope.html

May dragons, damsels, butterflies

2010-05-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

these are some of the smallest of the skimmers

No rushing or I miss what I want to photo enlarge this one if you can not see it.

some have to move before I can see them then getting the lens adjusted is another problem,

with my 100x400 lens I have no need to change lens only thing is I have to be at least 1and 1/2 meters from the subject any nearer its blurred.

2 damsel flies today

these are some of the smallest of the skimmers

No rushing or I miss what I want to photo enlarge this one if you can not see it.

some have to move before I can see them then getting the lens adjusted is another problem,

with my 100x400 lens I have no need to change lens only thing is I have to be at least 1and 1/2 meters from the subject any nearer its blurred.

the swallows are on the http://birdinginegypt.blogspot.com/2010/05/barn-swallows-on-rope.html

3/5/10

2010-05-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

April and the dragons are out in force

2010-04-27T03:57:00.000-07:00

This Julia skimmer flew off in front of me on the bank of the nile and flew out on to one of the reeds in the river bed to far to get a decent shot .I stood still for a few minutes and it came to rest again where it originaly flew from it posed nicelly for a few shots then off it went into the river again.

Lots of the scarlet about today to many so I just took the ones who let me get with 5ft.
'
same with the damsels also the sun was low and as usual they stayed in front of the sun

This is a head down shot in one of the dried canals

Dragons 22/4/10

2010-04-23T00:07:00.000-07:00

Damsels and butterflies

2010-04-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

This tiny damsel is taken from the next photo see if you can find it without enlarging the photo?

Damselfly, Dragonflies

2010-04-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

April Nile Dragons and damsels

2010-04-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

'
I went down to the area known as banana island what used to be my favorite place to watch the birds and wild life. gone are the reed beds , in by this corrupt Luxor council gone are the trees that once housed all different spiecies of birds and wildlife. all that remains is the grass that grows in the nile the kingfishers still have the mud banks where they have nested and that was the reason I went there too watch the Pied kingfishers feeding the young ones.
i sat in one place for almost 2 hours just taking photos of anything that came into view of my camera. 7 different spiecies of birds. bees butterflies. and not least these damsels and dragons.

'

Mid April Dragons

2010-04-13T00:57:00.000-07:00

finding a dragonfly is quite easy hear in Luxor Egypt the art is being patient. once you see a dragon lifting take two steps back more than not it will land back where it took off from as long as you do not make sudden moves it will stay for you to get quite close. damsels are the same but spotting them in the first place is the hard bit because they are so small. these too if you are slow in action will let you get within a few inches for taking macro. all of todays species have been taken with the canon zoom lens ef 100x400 mm , its a fantastic lens a bit pricey at £1400.00 but I find it so easy no changing lens for a distant shot or a near shot I do not need to get too close to the subject minimum distance is about 4ft as most of these shots where taken.

Can you find it. no point in walking about in top gear when dragon hunting this one waited until I was right by it before it lifted and flew behind me some land up high in the trees and wait for me to go before it comes back on the ground .

April 9/4/10

2010-04-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

April dragonflies

2010-04-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

the red darter is always around even in the winter months

I have not seen this species before its quite small and hard to see when in flight. there was a lot about in the wetlands today see http://egyptswildlife2.blogspot.com/

this one is the hardest dragon I have tried to photo its either in the middle of the canal or in a place where there is water but no access to it. it skims over the water back and fro then disappears after a while these next shots are all taken with my 100x400 lens at a distance of about 40ft.

March dragonflies

2010-03-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

Golden dragonfly

2010-01-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

only saw one dragonfly today.

January Dragons

2010-01-01T04:41:00.000-08:00

Red-veined Dropwing

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Red-veined Dropwing

Egypt dragonflies

2009-12-30T05:37:00.000-08:00

Dragonfly

2009-12-28T06:55:00.000-08:00

We still have a few dragonflies about but the damsels soom to have gone we have had a spctacular show this year with 30 Species i have managed to photograph and I only started in July. let us see what beauties there are in 2010.

Dragons in Luxor

2009-12-25T04:31:00.000-08:00

Drogons in Egypt

2009-12-22T05:16:00.000-08:00

Dragons in December

2009-12-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

myegypt.co.uk

2009-11-30T07:17:00.001-08:00

The best of Egypt blogs

Click on the photos to enlarge
http://egyptwildlife.blogspot.com/ birds of Egypt
http://egyptswildlife2.blogspot.com/ birds of Egypt
http://www.nilelife.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypt
http://www.nilelife2.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypt
http://egyptdragonflies.blogspot.com/ Dragons and damsels
http://insectsonwings.blogspot.com/ butterflies and bugs
http://myegypttours.blogspot.com Tombs and temples of Egypt
http://mydeserttrip.blogspot.com/ new in the process of building lots of photos of the white desert already on. 30/11/09
http://reflectionsofegypt.blogspot.com/ A trip down the Nile
http://tonythevolunteer.blogspot.com/
www.myegypt.co.uk my website

Dragonfly & Damselfly

2009-11-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

Unlike the grasshoppers and the kind the dragons and damsels are easier to Identify the dragon always has its wings open and it has a pair of wings, by pair I mean 2 on Each side of the body
the damsel always closes its wings on landing. like the last picture in this blogspot.

The big Dragon is in town.

2009-11-15T10:56:00.000-08:00

All the season I hoped I could get a good photo of a dragon and I got one at end of season in the most unexpected of places the center of Luxor town.
I hope you like it. I managed to get it in macro so I could cut it into four sections . but I think its large enough in one frame. after seeing it in the first cut, this is the largest of all the dragons I have seen here in Egypt about 3" in length.

Damsels in Macro

2009-11-13T02:47:00.000-08:00

Dragons in Macro

2009-11-13T02:43:00.000-08:00

More dragons

2009-11-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

2009-11-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

Close up dragons

2009-11-10T23:02:00.000-08:00

I was down by the canal at 6.30 trying to catch some sleeping dragons.
Either there are not many about or they sleep down the bank of the canal
not a place I fancy falling into there are a lot of rotting carcases in the canal at the moment.
I managed to find 2 species of dragons and many small insects and managed to get them in macro. see the. http://insectsonwings.blogspot.com/
click on to enlarge the photos.

Damselfly

2009-11-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

These damsels are no more than 1/2" in length and are very hard to see, the only time I see one is when I stop to take a photo of something else, IE, a dragonfly.
Todays damsel photos are taken with the macro lens. that means about 3 or 4" from the subject
and needs a lot of patience to get just one picture, not only the lens is in the subjects face but my face behind the camera. its a great hobby teaches patience and that wild life is free anyone can catch a subject and photograph it. I do not harm any of my subjects it it flies away I just follow it, and if I can not get a close up I use the zoom lens, only problem with the zoom is even though most of my photos are with the 85-300 lens I have to be a minimum of 4ft away from the subject. My macro shot of the bird was because it had been injured or so I thought as soon as it wanted to go I let it free.
http://egyptswildlife2.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-post_09.html
the next blog of the dragon in the web I could have saved the dragon but this is nature in the raw its always been like this, I only observe and take photos its my pleasure and pastime.

dragonfly

2009-11-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

10/11/09 and I wonder if i will still be seeing more species on xmas day.

Spiders meal time

Damsels

2009-11-09T04:42:00.000-08:00

Egypt blogspots

2009-11-08T00:49:00.000-08:00

Click on the photos to enlarge
http://egyptwildlife.blogspot.com/ birds of Egypt
http://egyptswildlife2.blogspot.com/ birds of Egypt
http://www.nilelife.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypt
http://www.nilelife2.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypt
http://egyptdragonflies.blogspot.com/ Dragons and damsels
http://insectsonwings.blogspot.com/ butterflies and bugs
http://myegypttours.blogspot.com Tombs and temples of Egypt
http://tonythevolunteer.blogspot.com/
www.myegypt.co.uk my website

damselfly

2009-11-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

golden dragon

2009-11-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

Four different types again today this gold one is similar
to the best of last months but the whole body is a golden color.

suprise yourself

2009-11-04T00:08:00.000-08:00

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Sleeping beauty

2009-11-03T23:26:00.000-08:00

dragonflies 3/11/09

2009-11-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

I doubt if I will ever see another one of these damsels again
I was taking my shoe off in the reed bed. and as I was bent
down this tiny damsel came to rest on a piece of grass almost by my face
Without taking my eye off it I grabed the camera, lucky it was already with the macro lens on even after I took this shot I could not see it .

This dragon was on the other side of the canal and it was
the only decent shot I could get of her laying its eggs.
the reflection is almost as good as the dragon.

drogonflies

2009-11-02T04:27:00.000-08:00

This one was taken in flight it just flew up and down the canal
without landing then just after I took the shot it flew off across the fields

October dragons

2009-11-01T01:42:00.000-07:00

Must remember where I see the dragons these are all on the West bank of Luxor near the village of La Garta. and there was hundreds of them especially near the lane running alongside the Nile.

A completelly different species of dragon to what I have seen before
Not sure if it was injured this was the only one I saw Maybe there will be more tomorrow.

almost weekly there is another species of dragon this one is quite small
and seems to be the one that gets caught in the spiders web.

dragonflies

2009-11-01T01:19:00.000-07:00

Dragonflies and Damsels

Near my home in the East bank of Luxor
Most of the places I have seen these dragonflies Is being filled in, see my blog on Landfill and pollution of the Nile.

then there are these beautifull dragonflies that are always around wherever there is water.

Answer too a posted question,
The aqua damsel fly is about 1" (25mm) long
and its a species that does not stay in one place for a photo as soon as you get 1" closer its gone, so the picture was taken from about 8ft.
the whole photo is as it was taken then the lower photo is a cut out of it.
and that is why the lower photo can not be enlarged when its clicked on.
Most of the bird photos have been taken from about 30ft any closer and they fly off, the bird photos are taken with a lot of patience some times waiting for up to 2 hours for the bird to get used to me being there . there are no hides here, some shots are taken on the move, stop get the lens in focus and shoot. by this time more than not its gone but sometimes i have been lucky or quick enough to get a shot like the one of the Lark.And Scrub Warbler ; scotocerca inquieta, just 2 lucky shots.
also with the damsel flies etc its just patience that gets a good shot.
the mantis was just luck it got blown onto my balcony and I took photos of it while it was recovering. go to my first blog
http://myegypttours.blogspot.com/2009/05/0ut-and-about-cairo.html

dragonfly