Enter the dragon

I only saw my first 2012 dragonfly yesterday and now suddenly they seem to be all over the place! This little fella posed quite happily for me down by the river today. I think he (or she) is an Emperor Dragonfly, but perhaps someone with more knowledge can set me right?

You know me - I'm not much of an insect/creepy crawlie person, but all I could find today to blip were snails, spiders and this. The swans, coots, moorhens and even the ducks were being very evasive. I spotted a duck on her nest on the far bank, with about 3 chicks, but she'd hidden them all behind grass and the swans flounced off down a tiny stream in the reedbeds where I couldn't follow. But I'm not unhappy in the end - it made me look in other directions and that's good.

Wednesday. Halfway through the week and a long long weekend coming up. That can't be bad either. Have a happy day..