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Aeshna mixta
Corrected species during edit. Corrected again following new information from John Curd.
Flying over lakeside reedbed.
First time I have successfully managed to get a photograph of a dragonfly in flight.
Spotted on Sep 7, 2012
Submitted on Sep 8, 2012
6 Comments
Quite right, Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta). The distinguishing features in a side shot like this are the shapes of the coloured side panels on the thorax. A top view would reveal several more distinguishing features from the Southern Hawker (A. cyanea) and Common/Moorland Hawker (A. juncea).
I have changed the first picture of this spotting and added a second. Editing on my main PC improved the quality somewhat. I have also corrected the identification from Aeshna cyanea, Southern Hawker. The Common Hawker was not in my book or the internet reference I used, apparently the Common is actually not very common at all, a bit of a misnomer perhaps.
Ashish, I think it is slightly bigger than most other Dragonflies with a length up to 70mm.
Great spotting Malcolm... Is it bigger in size compared to other Dragonflies...?
Thanks LoisStacey
Great shot too!