Here there be Dragons

One of the things I wanted to do on our Menorcan holiday was to visit the S’Albufera Des Grau Natural Park, in the northeast of the island. It was declared a Natural Park in May 1995, after years of effort to protect and conserve its ecologically sensitive 5,000 hectares of land and coastal aspect, and forms the nucleus of the Islands Biosphere Reserve. So, at least one part of coastal Spain has avoided being built upon!

So this morning James and I rose at dawn and arrived there just as the sun spilled over the ridge of the eastern hills into the walkways in the natural olive groves which surround the inland freshwater lake S’Albufera Des Grau. We intended to do some bird watching as the area is known for its raptors and waterfowl, but the birds were too far away for even my longest lens to cope with, and anyway we were taken rather by the insects and reptiles. Endemic lizards were abundant, and to our delight we encountered a large adult wild Hermann’s tortoise. So, already a good day out as they are not often seen out in the open. However what really blew us away was the diversity of the dragonflies – there were at least half a dozen species evident and as they had not yet warmed up, were relatively easy to capture on camera. We got so many shots that we agreed between us to do a photo book dedicated to them on our return home. The icing on the cake came at the end of our walk when a few of my old friends the Emperors made an appearance. To our delight, one perfect beautiful giant settled in an olive tree at eye level, and stayed put long enough for us to get perfect exposures and crisp focusing. I noted the differences between my local animals and these which had a more intense blue abdomen with the addition of red.

A memorable trip to a very special and precious place.

I recommend viewing this fantastic creature in Large, if you have the facility.