Slip Slidin' Away

Very thrilled today to be taken to a secret location to see this Scarce Blue-tailed damselfly in Worcestershire this afternoon. 

I have gone back to my childhood ploutering round in wellies slipping and sliding in the mud looking low down at the insects as they were hunkering down a bit in the light breeze. Difficult to take shots without getting muddy and creeping up on them was tricky too so as not to  spook them whilst skidding. Fantastic fun!

Left to my own devices I would never have found the location or been able to identify it easily but with an expert to point out the minuscule difference between the blue-tail and the scare one it made it a whole lot easier. The tail is still blue on segment 9 but the tip of segment 8 has a tiny bit of blue on it as you can see here. It is a localised and generally an uncommon species preferring shallow water with sparse vegetation. 

We finally found a female at the last minute but it was grey and cloudy overhead, she had been egg laying in the mud and was certainly not looking her best covered in mud. She is an oldish female so her colours have faded somewhat. A flash would have helped.