Banded!

OFSTED at work again today, so I was pleased to just chill out this afternoon as it was my half day. Mr U&L and I went to the River Arun at Newbridge, just outside Billingshurst a renowned location for Dragons and Damsels !!
Last time I was at this location it was under about 15 feet of water! and as there had recently been cows in the field the area beyond the style was a bout 4 inches deep in mud - and cow poo! oh Joy!!
I managed to negotiate the mud with no help from Mr U&L, and I was pleased to see there were still plenty of damselflies around despite the winter floods.
There were plenty of Banded demoiselles Calopteryx splendens, but for some unknown reason they were very flighty, taking off before I could get anywhere near them, let alone take any shots!! I did eventually manage to persuade this female to sit on my finger for a quick pic, but it was difficult believe me!!!
The Banded demoiselle is a large damselfly with a total length of up to 4.8cm . the male is dark iridescent blue, with clear wings with a dark band across them. The female, and this is a female is metallic green with translucent pale green wings. They are found throughout the UK and are really quite plentiful around Sussex.