here there be dragons

...hooray, we woke up to sunshine and warmth!

Yesterday's forecast suggested that the best of the weather would be in the morning so, after breakfast, we drove over to Studland Heath to see what the sun would coax out of the gorse and heather.

The reptiles were still being shy, with only two common lizards putting in any appearance. What there were, in huge numbers, were dragonflies, including Black-tailed Skimmers, which was a first for this year. I had two quarries in mind for today's blip - either a male Sand Lizard or a male Blue Emperor Dragonfly - and you can see which one stepped up to the mark. Emperors love settling in this cruciform position as you can see if you compare him with this female that I blipped on the 22nd June.

This afternoon, we watched AM's exciting match. I wonder how things might have turned out if he could only have converted his opportunities and taken that second set...