Even Colder News - 2009
This page contains items of "Hot News" sent to the BDS in 2009. You can also go to 2008's "Hot News".
| March 31st | Kent | HS |
| Large Red Damselfly (female) on inside of polytunnel - Photo available |
| April 11th | Gwent | HR |
| I just disturbed a newly emerged large red damselfly and watched as it took its first flight away from my garden pond. |
| April 11th | Devon | R&CC |
| 1 Large Red Damselfly (mature male), Exminster Marshes (on path near RSPB car park). |
| April 13th | Berkshire | MTu |
| Took advantage of the sunshine to check out a couple of ponds in Sonning-on-Thames. 2 exuviae with emergent Large Red Damselflies next to them on one pond and 1 exuvia on the other pond with an adult Large Red caught in a spiders web on the side of the pond. |
| April 13th | Dorset | RLa |
| On a walk near Witchampton Dorset grid ref SU 001 075 we spotted 3 Large Red Damselflies. |
| April 14th | Derbyshire | JAL |
| Report of a teneral Large Red from Calke Abbey Estate in south Derbyshire, seen by estate warden. Earliest ever record for county by 3 days (to best of my knowledge). |
| April 15th | Hampshire | SMo |
| Female Large Red Damselfly seen at Bartley Heath near junction 5 of the M3. |
| April 15th | East Sussex | PBo |
| A teneral Hairy Dragonfly, newly emerged judging by the colouration and crumpled wings, weakly flying and basking to dry in the sun at Playden, East Sussex, TQ 921216. |
| April 13th | Wiltshire | SC |
| I have belatedly found out today that a Large Red Damselfly was seen in Swindon on Easter Monday. The lady who informed me runs a cafe which is close to a couple of small lakes in the Rodbourne Cheney district of the town. The female [from her description] got trapped in her cafe and she had to shoo it out with a newspaper [without injuring it I hasten to add!] This is the first reported odonata record for the county this year. |
| April 15th | Essex | RoyW |
| Two teneral Large Red Damselflies. (male + female). |
| April 15th-18th | Norfolk | PT |
| Large Red Damselflies reported from Roydon Common on April 15th (unconfirmed) and Upton Fen on the 18th. I had three emerge from my pond south of Hickling Broad on the 16th, with more the following day. |
| April 18th | Lancs. | CA |
| Two female Large Reds emerged today at Mere Sands Wood (plus several other exuviae). |
| April 18th | Devon | HJE |
| We found 2 exuviae with emergent Large Red Damselflies next to them and 6 other exuviae at our garden pond in Exeter today. |
| April 19th | Cheshire | IJW |
| Hi, saw my 1st today, 5 large red damselflies at Rixton Claypits, Cheshire. SJ 685907. One was emerging on a reed as well. |
| April 19th | East Sussex | PBo |
| A female Broad-bodied Chaser watched and photographed today at Playden, East Sussex. |
| April 19th | Monmouthshire | IS |
| First of the year Large Red Damselfly (male) emerging in my Monmouth garden today. Very early for this site, but we have had some very hot days of late. |
| April 19th | Cumbria | AHS |
| Newly emerged Large Red Damselfly in my garden at Thwaite Head , Rusland |
| April 19th | Hampshire | GD |
| 100+ Large red damselflies around the edge and on the heath next to the long pond in Bramshill plantation. This was my 4th site of the weekend and I found nothing at the other three, a bit of a micro-climate here I feel. |
| April 20th | Notts. | NW |
| 1 teneral and 1 mature Large Red Damselfly at Naturescape, Langar. |
| April 21st | Berkshire | LG |
| 1 Large Red Damsel at Paworth Common (West Berks) and 2 Broad-bodied Chasers at Greenham Common (not far from Newbury) |
| April 21st | Cornwall | CMo |
| Porthcollum Lane, St Erth. 20+ Large Red Damselflies. |
| April 22nd | Berkshire | DMcE |
| There was a further male Large Red Damselfly at a private site, on the artificial ponds at the back of Shinfield Park (SU 727689) about 30 minutes ago. There is a favourable micro-climate around these ponds, with surrounding woodland providing shelter and extensive areas of glass reflecting heat and light. To be honest I'm a little surprised that it's taken till now for them to start to emerge, given the warm weather we've just been experiencing. |
| April 22nd | Leicestershire | LE |
| To get Leicestershire on the list of sightings - two Large Red Damselflies resting on vegetation in the garden pond in Wymeswold. They had just emerged. |
| April 22nd | Northants | MT |
| Seven Large Red Damselflies emerging at Southfields Farm Marsh SSSI. I saw three take their first flight while the rest soaked up the glorious sunshine. |
| April 22nd | Essex | RoyW |
| 60-70 Large Red Damselflies + 1 Hairy Dragonfly (and 2 additional Hairy Dragonfly exuviae) at the same pond as the 2 Large Reds seen on April 15th. Nothing yet at other sites (including one searched this morning). |
| April 22nd | Dorset | JohnH |
| 2 Broad Bodied Chasers 1M, 1F Stanpit Marsh Christchurch |
| April 22nd | Essex | JD |
| I received reports today of a Hairy dragonfly and a female Broad-bodied chaser, both of which were earliest dates for Essex. The first large red was reported on the 15th. |
| April 22nd | Devon | DSm |
| At my garden pond in Chudleigh, 10 Large Red Damselfly exuviae (3 with adults emerging) and 2 Broad-bodied Chaser exuviae this morning. |
| April 22nd | Gwent | WRJ |
| Two Large Red Damselfly seen today at Newport Wetlands Reserve. |
| April 22nd | West Sussex | PMa |
| A female Broad-bodied Chaser at Rewell Wood, near Arundel. |
| April 22nd | Essex | RoyW |
| A male Blue-tailed Damselfly at Rainham Marshes RSPB reserve. "Fully coloured so presumed to have emerged at least a couple of days ago" - reported by Howard Vaughan, who won't mind me passing the record on. |
| April 23rd | Devon | NH |
| Hairy dragonfly just emerged, still sitting on its exuvia at about 1.30 pm. RSPB Exminster Marshes reserve, where Station Road crosses the main river. |
| April 23rd | Berkshire | DLl |
| At Wildmoor heath BBOWT reserve, 1 adult male Large Red Damselfly on the heath, 3 teneral over boggy areas and ditch lines. |
| April 23rd | Berkshire | LG |
| At Greenham Common today in a sheltered pond came across 2 Broad bodied chasers and a newly emerged 4-spotted Chaser (489646) |
| April 23rd | Norfolk | BON |
| Two Four Spotted Chasers seen today at Upton Fen. Photographs available. |
| April 21st-23rd | Glos | IT |
| 10 Large Red Damselflies - 8 female and 2 tenerals seen along the Green Lane alongside WWT Slimbridge 100-Acres. Wardens reported seeing 2 the day before.
17 Large Red Damselflies, again mainly females, seen on 23 April 2009 at the same spot. No sightings of the Hairy Dragonfly as yet.
These are the first reported sightings of odonata of the year in Glos. |
| April 22nd | Hants | CW |
| One adult male Common Blue Damselfly, between the golf course and the sand dunes at the southern edge of Hayling Island. |
| April 20th-23rd | Glos | MJMcG |
At WWT Slimbridge we had a Hairy Dragonfly emerge next to us which flew off to the Green Lane at c1440 yesterday, 23rd April. Also 6 Large Reds in the ditch between 100 Acre gates.
I had 15 Large Reds and three Blue-tailed Damsels today at Gardners Pool, Saul also in Glos. The bluetails consisted of two tenerals and a mature.
Our first Large Red Damselflies were on Monday 20th April with two adults noted. |
| April 23rd | Hampshire | B&CW |
Thursday's visit (23rd April) to Flash Pond, a SINC within East Hampshire's acid heathland revealed no Large Red Damselflies but one departing dragonfly, flying skywards.
Atypical of Brachytron (not skulking in reeds) and atypical of Cordulia (not holding territory).
Last year in same site had an early (but in May) Libellula quadrimaculata.
I do not/did not have accurate identification but it WAS a dragonfly and I am fairly sure it was L quadrimaculata. |
| April 24th | Surrey/Hants | C&JD |
| 1 male Banded Demoiselle, 5 Azure Damselflies and 70+ Large Red Damselflies at Lakeside NR near Ash. |
| April 23rd | Berkshire | DMcE |
| Whilst conducting a BTO survey, one of my colleagues in the Theale Group (Ken Moore) found a male beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx Virgo) at Woolhampton Gravel Pits at SU 565662, on the south side of the Kennet. The damselfly was seen about 11.30pm in fine weather. |
| April 24th | Wiltshire | SC |
| Found what may be the first Ischnura elegans of the year for Wiltshire today. At Semington Bypass balancing ponds. It was a mature male so had obviously been around for a few days. No anisoptera yet however. Last year saw the first L. depressa at this site - none today! |
| April 24th | Cumbria | JMa |
| Four large red damselflies at Bowness-on-Solway Cumbria Wildlife Trust reserve |
| April 25th | Lincs | SRo |
| A visit to Kirkby Moor today got a decent early count of 80 Large-red Damselfly, our first of the year. |
| April 23rd | Surrey | SD |
| 2 large red damselfly seen/photographed not far from the river in Walton-on-Thames |
| April 25th | Devon | DSm |
| Two Hairy Dragonfly exuvia found today at Stover CP. |
| April 26th | Norfolk | RWi |
| 2 Large Red Damselflies at Dersingham Bog |
| April 26th | Cambs | HC |
| At 9am we visited Woodwalton Fen NNR and saw a male Large Red Damselfly, fully coloured so not today's emergent, then saw a teneral still on the exuvia. |
| April 26th | Cambs | MP/SP |
| We went to Castor Hanglands at 2pm today and saw three teneral Large Red Damselflies take flight, this is just a few days later than the emergence date at this site last year. |
| April 26th | East Sussex | PMi |
| 2 Broad-bodied Chasers emerged from small garden pond. Spotted by my son Mathew |
| April 25th | West Yorkshire | SGr |
| A teneral Large Red Damselfly was in my garden in Shelley, nr. Huddersfield. By far my earliest ever sighting of the species locally. |
| April 26th | Berkshire | DMcE |
At Moatlands Gravel Pit today (3pm) just south of Reading & close to J12 or the M4, there were considerable numbers of teneral Common Blues - some obviously newly emerged, but some having already developed some blue coloration. At the spit at SU 668704, pointing towards the main island, there were 8 Common Blues, some alongside their exuviae (in all, 5 larval cases were counted). At this point we also found 3 mature Large Red Damselflies - 2 female, one male.
The spit is quite exposed but, along the more sheltered path to Burghfield Mill at SU670704 that runs parallel to a shallow stream - we had 52 teneral Common Blues. There were no sign of any larval cases, but it's harder to get to the waters' edge along this stretch (the stream is deep set and surrounded by nettles). There was also a single Large Red male, an immature female Beautiful Demoiselle perched just above the stream, and also 3 teneral Blue-Tailed Damselflies. Even at this early age the slighter build and bi-coloured pterostigma were noticeable. One Blue-Tail was more developed - almost at full adult coloration - which may suggest it has been around a little longer than the others.
At the car park (SU670704) there were approximately 20 Common Blues - all immatures. |
| April 26th | Suffolk | RHa |
| A female Broad-bodied Chaser at Minsmere RSPB. Also a Hairy Dragonfly on 25/04 and the first Large Red Damselfly on 14/04. |
| April 26th | East Sussex | PBo |
| A female Variable Damselfly, a male Azure Damselfly and 50+ Blue-tailed Damselflies, all at Castle Water, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. Photo of Variable on www.rxwildlife.org.uk. |
| April 28th | Berkshire | CW |
| Three Common Club-tail exuviae, by the Thames about 1Km upstream from Caversham Bridge, Reading, at noon. The tenerals had left the scene. |
| April 28th | East Sussex | PBo |
| At least 5 Variable Damselflies, male and female, at Iden Moat. Photos on www.rxwildlife.org.uk |
| April 28th | Hants | NMl |
| Saw Pair of Large Red Damselflies in Tandem and Ovipositing. Bartley Woods Hants |
| April 28th | Leics | NW |
| 20+ teneral Variable Damselflies and 10 teneral Large Red Damselflies on the Grantham Canal at Plungar Bridge. |
| April 29th | Surrey | SD |
| At Thursey Common today, there were many teneral four-spotted chasers, mainly in the heather to the west of Moat Pond. Also 50+ large red damselflies, most on the gorse bushes to the west of Moat Pond, but many over the heather as well. Also a single female blue-tailed damselfly was seen/photographed. |
| April 29th | Lincs. | SRo |
| A visit to Messingham Sand Quarries today revealed my first records of Blue-tailed Damselfly (1 male)and Common-blue Damselfly(5), the Blue tail was a mature individual and the Common blue's where all tenerals. Also seen were 10 Large-red Damselfly. |
| April 29th | London | PF |
First sightings at Mordon Hall wetlands. About a dozern Large Red Damselflies including 2 pairs laying eggs. A few blue tailed damselflies and a single Azure Damselfly (photos available for all of these). I visit the wetlands each week and had not seen anything till now but the Large reds must have been there a while.
There was also a brief glimps of a teneral dragonfly, pale coloured weak flight so I suspect it had just emerged. Could not identify or photograph but suspect it was a darter of some kind from its size |
| May 1st | Beds. | LC |
| Newly emerged and weakly flying Four spot chaser at the heath pond at the RSPB reserve at the Lodge, Sandy. Reasonable numbers of fresh and more mature Large red damsels but nothing else yet. |
| May 1st | Bucks. | KTu |
| Male Large Red Damselfly in ditch at Little Marlow GP. |
| May 1st | Surrey | SE |
| Female Banded Demoiselle, Nutfield Marsh Nature Reserve. |
| May 1st | Northants. | MT |
| I saw a few male and females Azure Damselflies along with the Large Reds at Southfields Farm Marsh, during a windy lunchtime. |
| May 1st/2nd | Northants | MT |
I received a report from the County Butterfly recorder of Common Blue Damselflies on 1 May at Summer Leys.
On 2 May, Hairy Dragonflies were undergoing their characteristic mass synchronised emergence at Yardley Chase, with over 10 adults emerging and a 5 further exuviae. Up to 100 Large Reds were also present including many emerging. |
| May 2nd | Surrey | SE |
| Female Banded Demoiselle, large red and blue-tailed damselflies. Nutfield Marsh Nature reserve. |
| May 2nd | Herts/Essex | SL |
| At Lea Valley Country Park, Fishers Green. 2 male and 1 female Banded Demoiselle and a 'pink' form Blue-tailed Damselfly. All behind the Bittern hide on the River Lea. |
| May 2nd | East Sussex | PBo |
| Male Beautiful Demoiselle (C. virgo) at Bivelham Forge near Burwash. |
| May 2nd | Lincs. | SRo |
| Quite good numbers of Damsel's on the wing today at Messingham Sand Quarries and the first Dragon's of the year: 96 Common-blue Damselfly, 10 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 1 Hairy Dragonfly, 10 Azure Damselfly, 5 Large-red Damselfly and 1 Four-spot Chaser. |
| May 2nd | Essex | AWo |
| A walk this morning on the north marsh of Hadleigh Country Park produced 35+ Large Red Damselfly, 30+ Blue-tailed Damselfly, a couple of teneral Azure Damselfly, 8 Hairy Dragonfly and a teneral Broad-bodied Chaser. |
| May 2nd | Oxon. | ABx |
| 20 Common Clubtail exuviea collected, 7 tennerals observed, on the Thames at Little Witenham Oxfordshire. |
| May 2nd | Warks. | PR |
Two newly emerged Club-tailed Dragonflies, females, were found on the Avon at Marlcliff, one at 12.30 and the second at 13.30.
Further upstream, just below Welford-on-Avon the exuvia of a male was found.
A further male was found emerging just upstream of Welford mill at 17.45. This is the furthest upstream breeding has been proved on the Warwickshire Avon. Banded Demoiselle were also evident.
Web site: http://www.reeve60.uklinux.net/wdg/ |
| May 2nd | Glos. | IT |
| Several teneral Red-eyed Damselflies, several female Azures, a few female Large Reds and a single female Beautiful Demoiselle at The Mythe, between the R. Severn and the Fishing Lake, near Tewkesbury. No dragonflies as yet. |
| May 2nd/3rd | Cumbria etc. | IJW |
02.05 - SD445818, Meathop Moss, Cumbria - 20+ Large Red Damselflies
02.05 - SD416907, Barkbooth Lot, Cumbria - 50+ Large Red Damselflies
02.05 - SD483774, Gait Barrows, Lancashire - 2 Large Red Damselflies
03.05 - SJ684903, Rixton Clay Pits, Cheshire -12+ Large Red & 3 Common Blue Damselflies |
| May 3rd | Leics. | SH |
| Priory Water; 6 species of Damselfly recorded today, Large Red, Azure, Blue-tailed, Common Blue, Variable and Red-eyed Damselfly. No sign of any Dragonflies as yet. |
| May 3rd | Devon | C&RC |
| Little Bradley Ponds, near Bovey Tracey. 1 Four spotted chaser (newly emerged with exuvia), 1 Azure Damselfly, small number of large red damselflies. |
| May 1st-3rd | Bucks. | AN |
| North Bucks reports - Adult Large Red reported 22nd April appeared around typical date for N Bucks. Confirmation of Azure, Blue-tailed, Hairy on 2nd May and a chaser spp reported on 1st May, Red-eyed on 3rd May. Thanks to all who have sent in sightings |
| May 1st | Bucks/London | VL |
| River Colne between Iver and Uxbridge. Dozens of Banded Demoiselle and a few Large Red Damsels. |
| May 2nd | Essex | TC |
| A walk around Wake Valley pond, Epping Forest, Essex this lunchtime revealed 2 Hairy Dragonfly & 2 Downy Emeralds that had emerged. Plus quite a few Large Reds including pair in tandem. |
| May 2nd | Cornwall | CMo |
| Ellenglaze Stream, nr Holywell Beach, Cubert. 1 female, 2 male Beautiful Demoiselles |
| May 2nd | Cambs. | ISh |
| 10+ teneral Common Blue Damselflies near Swavesey |
| May 3rd | Kent | RoyW |
| An immature male darter (Sympetrum) species seen briefly well away from water at Dungeness. It flew off into the distance almost immediately so was not properly identified - something about it made me think of Red-veined Darter though... |
| May 2nd | Berkshire | DMcE |
Following the reports on the BDS website last week, I thought it might be worth checking our local colony of Variable Damselflies. At the time of our visit (3.30pm on Sat 2nd) it was warm and quite humid. Whilst there was nothing along the Kennet itself, once we turned into the Offshoot we found good numbers of damselflies all along our route. Over 20 Beautiful Demoiselles (Calopteryx virgo) were found, many now in full adult colouration and looking quite superb in the sunlight. Surprisingly, there seem to be no sign of any Banded Demoiselles yet.
Most notable finds were a good number of immature Red-Eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) at SU 684708 and again deeper into the Offshoot/Searle's Lane Gravel Pit complex at SU 687708, the first I've personally seen this year. Azures (Coenagrion puella) were also conspicuous, with many males fully-coloured and both blue and green female variants seen. Common Blues (Enallagma cyathigerum) were numerous, especially at SU 687708 but mostly still brown/black immatures.
Blue-Tails (Ischnura elegans) and Large Reds (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) were found in small numbers between the two points.
4 well-developed Variables (Coenagrion pulchellum) were found close to the main colony site at SU 688709, with 3 tenerals close by. No exuviae were found despite a careful search.
No large anisoptera were found - Club-Tails (Gomphus vulgatissimus) have been recorded here in the past, but I suspect our visit was a little late in the day. |
| May 5th | Bucks. | SMcI |
| Found 4 spotted chaser and took photos. Milton Keynes small man made ponds near to Caldecotte Lake. |
| May 5th | Gwent | WRJ |
| Two male and one female Beautiful Demoiselle seen along with two female Large Red Damselfly near the River Usk on the Clytha National Trust Estate. |
| May 6th | Northants. | MT |
| Two recently emerged female Banded Demoiselle taking their maiden flights on a windy day, on the River Ise between Kettering and Burton Latimer. |
| May 6th | Surrey | DJP |
| Observed at RHS Wisley at lunch time on a sunny and warm day. Male Banded Demoiselle, several Large Red Damselfly, an immature Common Blue and an Azure. |
| May 6th | Hampshire | NMl |
| First sighting of year of (5) White legged Damselfly sighted at Bartley Wood Hants plus first (Blue) Mature Male Broad Bodied Chaser at same site. |
| May 3rd | Kent | PLa |
| Three Brachytron pratense seen within one hour search of dyke boundried orchard at RSPB Northolt, Highhalstow, Kent. Weather sunny, slight breeze 16 degrees. Sighted between 15:15 and 16:15 hours. |
| May 7th | Lincs. | SRo |
| Another visit to the excellent Messingham Sand Quarries nature reserve today saw increased numbers of Damsels and Dragons on the wing: 180 Common-blue Damselfly, 112 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 48 Azure Damselfly, 48 Large-red Damselfly, 6 Hairy Dragonfly, 3 Red-eyed Damselfly and 2 Four-spot Chaser. |
| May 7th | Shropshire | SKn |
| 15 club-tailed dragonflies and 3 white-legged damselflies today at Atcham on R.Severn |
| May 9th | Devon | C&RC |
| Bystock Pools - 3 emerging Downy Emeralds plus 1 exuvia. Large Reds (teneral and mature). |
| May 9th | Lincs. | SRo |
| A visit to firstly the river Eau at Susworth revealed the following sightings: 1 Four-spot Chaser, 89 Variable Damselfly, 9 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 1 Common-blue Damselfly and 1 Large-red Damselfly and then another visit to Messingham Sand Quarries got us excellant numbers of the following species: 305 Common-blue Damselfly, 277 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 12 Hairy Dragonfly, 32 Azure Damselfly, 1 Four-spot Chaser, 9 Red-eyed Damselfly and 30 Large-red Damselfly. |
| May 9th | Leics. | LE |
| Four-spotted Chaser, female, seen midday just outside Wymeswold. Also lots of Large Red, Blue-tailed and Azure damselflies |
| May 8th | Cornwall | CMo |
Boscathnoe Res. (SW Lakes) 20+ Blue-tailed damsels, teneral many still beside exuviae on yellow water-lily flower stalks.
Ventongimps Moor : 5+ Blue-tailed damesls, 5+ Azure Damsels, Large-Red Damsels of which 5+ pairs ovipositing at pond. |
| May 9th | Essex | TC |
| I had a walk round Wake Valley Pond, Epping Forest, Essex today around the middle of the day. This revealed at least 15 Downy Emeralds at various stages of emergence, including two with theirs wings fully spread ready for their maiden flight. Two Hairy Dragonfly exuviae was also found. Good numbers of Damselflies were also emerging, mostly Large Red & Blue Tailed. |
| May 10th | Northants. | MT |
I went to Yardey Chase again, following promises of great weather and saw 7 species (not bad for early May):
Downy Emerald - 1 female emergent & 4 exuviae.
Large Red - 100+ adults inc oviposting and emerging.
Four-spotted Chaser - ~20 emerging and 1 adult.
Broad-bodied Chaser - 2 Adults (M&F) and 1 emerging female.
Azure - 50+ adults inc emerging.
Hairy Dragonfly - 10 including emerging, males at territory and 1 pair in-cop.
Blue-tailed Damselfly - ~10 adults. |
| May 10th | Fermanagh, NI | RNo |
| Today, 10 May, at Lough Coole, Co. Fermanagh, IH2543, there were some Coenagrion puella and Enallagma cyathigerum. I caught one of each. |
| May 10th | Norfolk | RWi |
| Blue tail, Large Red and Azure Damselflies |
| May 10th | Inverness-shire | A&BT |
| Over 50 Large Red Damselfies - Pyrrhosoma nymphula - were seen at Uath Lochans in Glenfeshie, grid ref NH8301. Many were teneral and were basking on the boardwalks and nearby vegetation. Not bad when you consider there was fresh snow on the Cairngorms only 3 days previously! We got some nice photos as well. |
| May 10th | Berwickshire | ICo |
| The first few Large Red Damselfly on the wing at the Oldcastles Railway ponds nr Chirnside. |
| April 19th-29th | Bucks | AN |
| North Bucks sighting thanks to Tony Frost. Early dates for Banded Dem 19 April, Azure 19 April, Common Blue 24 April, Hairy 29 April |
| May 10th | Surrey | SD |
| Single immature male broad-bodied chaser and 2 or 3 four-spotted chasers disturbed from undergrowth on Esher Common.
Many four-spotted dragons and large red damsels at Thursley Common. The damsels were seen in tandem and oviposting. |
| May 10th | Leics. | JHg |
Male Hairy Dragonfly on the Grantham Canal east of Barkestone-le-Vale at SK780356. Good numbers of Variable, Azure and Common Blue Damselfies. A few Blue-tailed Damselfly as well.
On 9 May 2009, Dave Gray found a Four-spotted Chaser at Cossington Meadows adjacent to Tern Pool. |
| May 11th | Berkshire | MTu |
| 1 teneral Club-Tailed Dragonfly (Gomphus vulgatissimus) on the River Thames at Kennetmouth, Reading (just behind Tesco) at lunchtime today. |
| May 11th | Berwickshire | ICo |
| Large Red Damselfly 100+ Billie Mire. 2 Azure Damsels same locale. |
| May 11th | Shropshire | PCo |
At Whixhall & Fenns Mosses:
5 four spot chasers
1 newly emerged white face darter
60+ large red damsels
1 male black darter- orange blocks on body instead of yellow?
2 un identified darters, probably male blacks |
| May 11th | Devon | TBr |
| First Black-Tailed Skimmers of the season at the "Orchid Pond" at Braunton Burrows. Two very recently emerged insects stuggling in extremely high winds this afternoon. |
| May 11th | East Sussex | SDa |
| Friston Forest. A walk to day along the sheltered rides produced the following, 1 Male Emperor, 3 Hairy, 1 Blue-tailed Damselfly and 1 Common Blue Damselfly. |
| May 11th | Midlothian | L&HC |
| Two Pyrrhosoma nymphula tenerals and four Coenagrion puella tenerals observed Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. |
| May 5th | Glos. | IT |
| Green Lane, Frampton: A belated record of a female and a male Hairy dragonfly, both photographed at rest. Also a mating pair disturbed from grasses which flew off into the nearby trees alongside 100 acres Slimbridge WWT. |
| May 9th | Oxon. | ISh |
| Little Wittenham Woods. 14 Club-tailed Dragonflies, all recently emerged, perched on vegetation within 20m of the Thames. |
| May 9th-12th | Glos. | IT |
9th May: The Mythe - Newly emerged female Club-tailed Dragonfly, 1 male Banded Demoiselle, 1 male and 2 female Beautiful Demoiselles, as well as approx 30 Blue-tailed damsels (also a few seen on 2nd May)and other damsels previously mentioned on 2nd May.
10th May: The Mythe - 1 male and 1 female Club-tailed Dragonflies, approx 40 Red-eyed damselflies at all stages - teneral to mature, 8 Banded Demoiselles - male and female, as well as other previously reported damsels.
12th May: Twyning - 21 male and female Banded demoiselles, 10 Common blue Damsels and 1 Blue-tailed damsel, on a blustery but mainly sunny late morning. |
| May 10th | Cambs. | HC |
| First emergence of Scarce chaser at Woodwalton Fen NNR (pics available), seen by Tina Lindsay of Flag Fen; this is a little earlier than recent years. |
| May 10th | Bucks. | SMcI |
| I captured an emerging sequence of a four spotted chaser in photos. During a 3hr period I took a number of photos. Some of the photos are available at www.flickr.com/photos/8465314@N08/sets/72157618003629820/. The emergence took place at the small man made ponds in Milton Keynes near Caldecotte Lake. |
| May 11th | Surrey | SD |
| Single hairy dragonfly seen/photographed at Lakeside Nature Reserve. May also have been an emerald and a broad bodied but not seen long enough for a positive id. |
| May 12th | Barkshire | KTu |
| Lavell's Lake: Male and female Banded Demoiselle, Large Red Damselfly, Lots of Common Blue Damselflies. |
| May 12th | Cambs. | ISh |
| Wicken Fen. 8 Hairy Dragonflies, 1 Four-spotted Chaser, 30+ Variable Damsels (inc. 8 ovipositing pairs), 1 Red-eyed Damsel, 3 Large Red Damsels plus a few Azures. |
| May 12th/14th | Hampshire | RC |
12th: 4 Beautiful Demoiselles at Durley Mill - my first this year.
14th: 3 Banded Demoiselles at Meon Canal, Titchfield - seen by Carole Dennis. |
| May 14th | West Sussex | SDa |
| A walk along a short stretch of The Rother at Shopham bridge produced 3 Scarce Chasers, 19 Beautiful & 67 Banded Demoiselles, 1 Red-eyed & many Azures, Blue-Tails, Common blue, Large red, and a few Variable Damselflies. |
| May 10th | Kent | THa |
| Broad Bodied Chaser on a small private fish pond. Blean Nr Canterbury |
| May 14th | Devon | TBr |
| 6 Emperors emerging on Typha angustifolia early this morning at our pond nr. Torrington. Conditions were humid warm and overcast and all had taken their maiden flights before 9:30 A.M. |
| May 16th | Northants | MT |
| I have received a call from Darryl, who has recorded this year's first Scarce Chaser at their usual site on the Nene. This is the exact same date they were first seen last year - emerging like clockwork! |
| May 16th | W. Sussex | THa |
| R. Arun where it crosses the A272. Good numbers of Banded Demoiselles and a few Beautiful. Many Large Red and Azure damsels. An unidentified immature chaser probably Scarce heading for the tree tops. One Hairy patrolling the adjoining canal. |
| May 16th | Dorset | RLa |
| On a trip to Arne RSPB Reserve in Dorset today 16th May we found 8 L-Red & 1 Common Blue damselflies. 4 Broad-bodied Chasers, 12-15 Four-spotted Chasers, 3 Downy Emeralds, & 2 (1) Emerging Hairy Dragonflies. |
| May 16th | Hampshire | RGr |
| At Titchfield Haven, Hants, on Saturday 16th May - an ovipositing female Hairy Dragonfly on the pond near the middle hide on NW side of the reserve. Also a Four Spotted Chaser, pair of Large Red Damselflies in tandem and a few Common Blue Damselflies. Not ideal conditions for odonata! but the above pond was out of the wind. |
| May 17th | Cambs. | CPu |
| Woodwalton Fen. Cambridgeshire: 12 scarce chaser and 1 hairy dragonfly. Ccommon blue, blue tailed, azure, variable and red eyed damselflies. |
| May 9th/14th | Aberdeens/Highland | SCc |
09/05/09: Aberdeenshire: First sighting of damselflies in the north of Scotland this year - 2 teneral Large Red Damselflies in Bog Woodland at the Forest Enterprise Cambus O'May site near Ballater.
14/05/09: Highland: First sighting of a dragonfly in the north of Scotland with a teneral Four-Spotted Chaser seen at one of the ponds in Revak Estate near Grantown, along with 20+ Large Red Damselflies. |
| May 17th | Inverness-shire | A&BT |
Around 10 Four-Spotted Chaser - Libellula quadrimaculata - at Uath Lochans, they were recently emerged and basking in the vegetation.
Also a Common Blue Damselfly - Enallagma cyathigerum near Feshiebridge. |
| May 18th | Suffolk | CJa |
| One Male Banded Demoiselle Waveney Meadow Beccles Suffolk. TM4190 |
| May 18th | Cambs. | HC |
| Four-spotted chaser emerged in the wind and rain from my garden pond; we've found four exuviae in the last few days but this is the first adult seen. |
| May 18th | Norfolk | BD |
| Several newly emerged Keeled Skimmers seen on Holt Lowes Norfolk, late morning. Surprisingly there does not appear to be much else on the site at present apart from Large Red Damselflies. |
| May 17th | Kent | LB |
| One male Hairy Dragonfly, possibly another, seen at Elmley Marshes RSPB reserve in Kent. One photo can be seen here. A very windy day, hence a slightly blurred shot. |
| May 19th | E. Sussex | SDa |
| A walk along The Cuckmere south of Arlington produced, x46 Banded and x10 Beautiful Demoiselles, x4 Hairy, x1 Broad-Bodied, x8 Scarce Chasers. Lots of Large Reds, Azures & Blue-Tails, some in tandem and ovipositing. |
| May 12th-19th | Berkshire | LO |
| Numerous libellula depressa, three or four daily, over the past week. All brown colouring. Would these be females or young males? Resting on various plants. Not easily dislodged as I found out when cutting some aquilegia! They are quite beautiful. |
| May 20th | E. Sussex | SDa |
| On the drainage ditches North of Exceat on The Cuckmere I saw the following, x4 Four-spotted, x6 Hairy, (inc 1 female ovipositing), x1 emerging Scarce Chaser. A few Common Blues and many Azure, Blue-tailed, Large Reds, some in tandem. |
| May 20th | Shropshire | PCo |
At Whixhall & Fenns Mosses - 1 female white face darter & 1 4 spot chaser, 30+ large red damsels. Cold windy & raining, nothing flying.
|
| May 20th | Surrey | SD |
| Teneral black tailed skimmer seen at Hampton Wick pond. Also red eyed damselflies seen for the first time this year. |
| May 21st | Essex | IP |
| Pristine four spot chaser in meadow at Willow Park; at least 50 yards from water |
| May 21st | Hampshire | NMl |
| Bartley Wood, Hook Hants. First sighting of year of Four Spotted Chaser. 20+ Azure Damselfly in Tandem and Ovipositing. 20+ Large Red Damselfly again in Tandem and Ovipositing. 10-20 Broad Bodied Chaser 3 females Ovipositing |
| May 10th/20th | Wiltshire | SC |
Belated news [I've been away on holiday]. A report of a Club-tailed Dragonfly in a garden in Oaksey on the 10th May. An experienced recorder so reliable sighting. Some distance from nearest Thames colony so possibly a local outlier. If weather suitable I'll investigate at the weekend.
On 20th, Beautiful Demoiselles in strength on R. Biss near Trowbridge. Also on 20th, 3 teneral Scarce Chasers on Bristol Avon at Whaddon. |
| May 22nd | Northants. | MT |
| At Ditchford today, despite the poor weather, was a single male Variable Damselfly - a first for Northamptonshire outside of the area that is in modern-day Cambridgeshire. I have posted a photo on my blog, accessible via the website. |
| May 22nd | W. Sussex | SDa |
| On a Sunny but windy walk along The Rother I saw my first Club-tails today, 4 emergent females. Also x10 Scarce, x7 Broad-bodied, x2 Hairy, Circa 200 Banded Demoiselles, with many Azure, Large Red and Blue-Tailed Damselflies. |
| May 23rd | Notts/Leics | NW |
Langar, Notts: One each of female Broad-bodied Chaser, male Banded Demoiselle and female Blue-tailed Damselfly in Oilseed Rape field next to Langar Hall Hotel.
Grantham Canal, Leics: 7 Hairy Dragonflies including 2 females ovipositing on the stretch eastwards between Jericho Bridge, Barkestone and the pipe bridge. |
| May 23rd | Lincs/Yorks | SRo |
| A visit to the excellent Crowle/Thorne Moors NNR today resulted in an excellent count of 1925 Large-red Damselfly and 82 Four-spot Chaser,with smaller numbers of Azure,Common-blue and Blue-tailed Damselfly. |
| May 23rd | Devon | DSm |
| At the first Devon BDS Group meeting of the year, and indeed at the start of Dragonfly Week, 9 members gathered at Stover Country Park. Despite a cool and mainly cloudy morning, we found nine species, including at least 5 Hairy Dragonflies and 18 Red-eyed Damselflies; most unusual, though, was an emerging Southern Hawker - my earliest ever. A quick look at Little Bradley Ponds later revealed another two species, including at least one Downy Emerald. |
| May 23rd | Cornwall | CMo |
Lizard - Croft Pascoe Pool: mid-day 20+ 4-Spots, inc. many couplings and females ovipositing. Many Large-Red Damsel pairs, also Azure and Blue-tailed.
Brays Cot, Lizard NNR: 10+ 4-Spots, 1 Male Broad-bodied Chaser, same Damsels.
Windmill CWT: Late afternoon - 2 male Broad-bodied Chasers, 20+ 4-Spots over ponds and heath, same Damsels. |
| May 23rd | Beds. | KFu |
Along a half-mile stretch of Great Ouse riverbank, from Roxton to Roxton lock: Scarce Chaser, 45 (all orange); Banded Demoiselle, 100+; Common Blue Damselfly, 20+; Blue-tailed Damselfly, c15; Red-eyed Damselfly, 2; Hairy Dragonfly, 3 (including 2 mating).
Some images here.
Katie Fuller, John Day, Darren Oakley-Martin |
| May 24th | Oxon. | SFB |
| 2-3 Hairy Dragonflies in the pools beside the main track at Otmoor. Also numerous Four-spotted Chasers. |
| May 24th | Cambs. | BW |
| Observed a scarce chaser in our garden in Ely near our pond.I have some photo's if required. |
| May 24th | Cheshire | IJW |
| There were plenty of Club-tailed Dragonflies along the river Dee near Alford (SJ415596) today, easily two dozen, along with double that in Banded Demoiselles. Also Hairy Dragonfly and several Large Red damselflies. |
| May 16th | Dorset | AN |
| Near to Ashley Heath species noted Emperor exuvia, 4spots +exuvia, Downy, Large Red, Azure, Red-eyed and Blue tailed in less than favourable conditions |
| May 24th | Devon | C&RC |
| Bystock Pools, near Exmouth: 5 Beautiful Demoiselle, 2 Keeled Skimmer, 1 Four Spotted Chaser, 5 Downy Emerald, 2 Hairy, 70+ Large Red and 10 Azure. |
| May 24th | Cornwall | CMo |
| Windmill Farm CWTR: 1 male Emperor over water, several Emperor exuviae. 1 teneral Black-tailed Skimmer, 5+ Broad-bodied Chasers-male, also coupling - females ovipositing. Numerous 4-Spots, couplings, females ovipositing. Many Damsels: Large-Red, Azure, Blue-tailed, Common Blue. |
| May 23rd/24th | Cambs/Bucks | AN |
23rd, Cambs: All day team trip to Woodwalton Fen produced 10 spp - Scarce Chaser 80+ only 2 blue males, Hairy 30+, 4-spots 10, BTS 2, Banded 1, high numbers of Azure, C Blue, Red-eyed and a few Blue-tailed
24th, Bucks: North Bucks sitings; first record of white-legged and BBCs also on the wing Banded, Azure, Common Blue, Large Red, Red-eyed, Blue-tailed, Hairy, 4-spots and unconfirmed reports of BTS |
| May 24th | Cambs. | JOw |
| Plenty of dragonflies on the wing at Wicken Fen. Four-spotted Chasers, Hairy Dragonflies, Azure, Variable, Large Red and Red-eyed Damselflies in abundance. |
| May 24th | Cambs. | ISh |
| Wicken Fen: Scarce Chaser (female or immature male). This is apparently a relatively new species at this site (since 2005 according to the Wicken Fen website). |
| May 25th | Cheshire | IJW |
| Although very warm the sun only burst through several times during a visit to Rixton Clay Pits SJ685907. First this year for myself were a couple of Four-spotted Chaser. Large Red, Common Blue, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies were all present and in good numbers. |
| May 25th | W. Berkshire | LG |
My first Emperor of the year recorded on Greenham common.
Along with numerous Broad-bodied chasers and 4-spotted chasers |
| May 25th | Norfolk | ATo |
| Many newly emerged male and female Keeled Skimmers at Holt Lowes today. Emergence continued throughout the day and was on going when I left at 4.30pm. Also present were good numbers of Large Reds also found in tandem and ovipositing. Only three Quads and two Azures which seemed surprisingly low. Would Bernard Dawson whom I met today and who left the posting here on 18th May re Holt Lowes please contact me as I have some emergence pics he may like. |
| May 24th/26th | Merseyside | DSc |
24th: First Anax imperator (female) emerged in our pond today
Also, eight mating and ovipositing pairs of Azure Damselflies. Many more males (20+) looking for females
26th: Four Emperor Dragonflies (two male, two female) emerged in our garden pond in the morning. Five Emperor Dragonflies emerged in the evening (gender unknown)
I may be wrong, but it looked like frogs were hunting the nymphs - luckily without success. |
| May 25th | Norfolk | Rle |
| An early morning visit to Catfield Fen produced good numbers of Variable Damselflies (70+), 20+ Large Reds, 5+ Four-spots, 2 Hairies & a teneral Norfolk Hawker. |
| May 26th | Hampshire | NJ |
| While watching butterflies with David Walsh at Martin Down we came across a male Red-veined Darter on one of the paths. It gave excellent views, showing off red veins in wings and the partial blue to the lower part of the eye. Perhaps associated with the large Painted Lady influx? |
| May 26th | Cheshire | PCo |
| On the river dee at Aldford, 6 common club tail dragonflys, 2 hairy dragonflys, 30+ banded demoiselle,plus reds ,blue tail and common blue damsels. couple of red eye damsels. |
| May 27th | Merseyside | DSc |
| During quite heavy rain nine Emperor Dragonflies emerged by about lunch time. One female was unable to fly due to a curly rear wing. One male pumped up its body before its wings, but both front wings were malformed and had no structural strength. |
| May 28th | Berkshire | AEDH |
| Male Red-veined Darter at Greenham Common at small pond along course of old runway at approx SU49652 64784, west of the runway "cross". |
| May 29th | Herts. | DSn |
My first authenticated record of HAIRY DRAGONFLY
(Brachytron pratense) along the north bank of the Stort Navigation at THORLEY WASH, Hertfordshire. A pair was seen in Tandem, then the female was observed ovipositing. Some photographs obtained but they are not of a good quality. |
| May 29th | Kent | CP |
| Seen around Buxford Meadow, Ashford this morning, a single Broad Bodied Chaser, two Emperor Dragonflies, and several Banded Demoiselle & Common Blue Damselflies along with a couple of Large Red Damselflies & Blue Tailed Damselflies. |
| May 29th | W. Berkshire | LG |
| My first golden ringed dragonfly of the year patrolling on Padworth common. There were also Broad-bodied chasers, Black tailed skimmers, Common blue and large red damsels. |
| May 29th | Cheshire | IJW |
Absolutely roasting today at Rixton Claypits SJ685907.
First this year for myself and children was a female Broad-bodied Chaser. This was constantly getting chased by one of a dozen Four-spotted Chasers. The youngest saw the Broad-bodies Chaser first with the remark "that's yellower than the other". Sure enough it was! Pleased to say we also noted three Banded Demoiselles. Also present were Large Red, Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies. The latter being the commonest species of the day.
Due to the number of Painted Ladies, I was hoping there might be a Red-veined Darter or two! There is a pond there that would be attractive to them, gave it a good search, but found nothing. |
| May 29th | Guernsey, C.I. | JMe |
| One male Lesser Emperor Anax parthenope at St Pierre Park Golf Course + Two Emperor Anax imperator. |
| May 29th | Hampshire | PWi |
| Dave Holt and I watched a very active mature male Red-veined Darter at Slufters Pond (SU222095) around 2pm today. I'm reliably informed that superfinder Les Stride saw it on 28/05! Also present two Downy Emeralds, Broad-bodied and Four-spotted Chasers, Emperor, Common Blue, Large Red and Blue-tailed Damsels. |
| May 29th | Sussex | KT |
| Blackhole and Burton Pond Sx WT Reserve. Several Scarce chasers and a Golden Ringed female and numerous Large Reds at Black Hole; at Burton Pond many Variables and usual blues, also several mating pairs of Scarce Chasers as well as Downy Emeralds, Red eyed and Broad-Bodied Chasers. |
| May 29th | Cornwall | CMo |
| Windmill Farm CWTR, Lizard: 3 immature Common Darters, 2 Emperor females ovipositing, 4 Emperor males, 3 teneral Black-tailed Skimmers, 6 Broad-bodied Chasers male, 2 Broad-bodied Chasers female, 20+ 4-Spots. Also numerous Large-Red, Common Blue, Azure and Blue-tailed Damsels. |
| May 29th | Cumbria | MAE |
| Scalesby: 15 White faced Darters, 40+ Teneral White Faced Darters, several still emerging 14:00hrs today. 2 ponds quite productive last year have dried up. |
| May 29th | E. Sussex | SDa |
| A very sunny morning along the Cuckmere at Frog Firle I found, x2 Scarce, x6 4 Spotted, x6 B-Bodied, x3 Hairy, x3 Emperor, x3 Banded Demoiselle, Many Azure, Blue-tailed, and a few Large Red and Large Red-eyed Damselflies. |
| May 30th | Dorset | JJ |
| Male & Female Four-spotted Chasers mating (none last year). One Emperor flying (had several earlier emergences, but all with severe wing damage/loss, apparently due to emerging in strong winds). Two Emperors emerging this evening. In comparison, last year had large numbers of Emperors emerge (100+ from one small patch of rushes, but majority lost in subsequent cold spell). One male & female Broad-bodied Chaser earlier in the week, not evident today. |
| May 28th | Gwynedd | EU |
| A broad-bodied chaser on a small (10 square metres?) pond at LL53 7PN (= SH317342, iirc) |
| May 29th | Merseyside | DSc |
| Four Emperors emerged in the morning (one got eaten by a bird). In the evening and during the night, however, a further 34 emerged, of which six failed. This brings the total up to 76 Emperors so far this year - all from a pond measuring 3 x 4 x 1 metres! Not to mention the 450 odd damselflies that have emerged so far. |
| May 30th | Glos. | PHa |
| The Mythe, Tewkesbury. Large number of Banded Demoiselles. White-legged Damselflies greatly outnumber Large Red, Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies. Single imm. male Scarce and Broad-bodied Chasers. |
| May 30th | Devon | DSm |
| In two-year old ponds at Finlake, near Chudleigh, there were at least 2 male Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies. The site is not far from likely breeding sites in the Bovey Basin clay workings, but the Finlake ponds are raw enough to have them breeding for a year or two. Also there, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, 7 Broad-bodied and 4 Four-spotted Chasers, plus lots of Large Red, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies. Other recent Devon news: on 28 May a male Hairy Dragonfly patrolled a West Hill garden pond and Southern Hawker emerged from my garden pond in Chudleigh. |
| May 30th | Leics. | PWh |
| Earl Shilton: One Broad-Bodied Chaser in our garden. |
| May 30th | W. Sussex | PMa |
| At Woods Mill (SWT Reserve) I saw 2 Emperor, 1 Hairy Dragonfly, 4 Downy Emerald, 20+ Banded Demoiselle, lots of Azure, Blue-tailed, plus a few Large Red and Large Red-eyed Damselflies. |
| May 30th | Somerset | LMcC |
| Waldegrave Pool, Priddy Mineries: Large numbers of small red damselflies - several mating pairs, also blue tailed damsels and several unidentified other blues. 10+ Downy Emeralds patrolling and hunting on water (one came very close and buzzed me), 10+ four spotted chasers. Day very bright and sunny. |
| May 31st | Merseyside | DSc |
| Another 41 Emperor Dragonflies emerged since last night. Only one failure. |
| Last week of May | S. England | AP |
| There has been a significant influx of Red-veined Darter into southern England during the last week of May, with records currently from at least seven sites (no doubt they have been accompanying the Painted Lady butterflies!). Observers are encouraged to be on the lookout for the species. |
| May 31st | Cambs. | SBo |
| At least two Scarce Chasers at Milton Country Park |
| May 31st | Shropshire | PCo |
| At Fenns/Whixall mosses: 40+ white face darters, 6 + in tandem, others laying. 40+ 4 spot chasers, 12+ in tandem, 4 broad body chasers, 3 common hawkers & 1 unidentified all pale green dragonfly with a very thin abdomen, slightly larger than 4 spot chaser. |
| May 31st | Cornwall | CMo |
| Boscathnoe SWLT: 1 male Emperor, 1 female Broad-bodied Chaser, 2 teneral Black-tailed Skimmers. Much activity with damsels pairs - Azure, Common Blue and Blue-tailed. 1 male Red-Veined Darter seen - then in tandem with female, ovipositing together minutes later. |
| May 31st | W. Yorkshire | DPr |
| 4 Banded Demioselles at Bradley Hall Farm. 1 Broad Bodied Chaser at Elland gravel pits. |
| May 31st | N. Bucks. | AN |
| Milton Keynes area First Emperor and Downy Emerald of the season. Very good numbers of Hairy Dragonflies to date only a few BBC's. |
| May 31st | Cambs. | HC |
| A female Red-veined darter was observed and photographed at Wicken Fen today. Also the 17th 4-spotted chaser emerged from garden pond only to end up as blackbird food! |
| May 30th | Pembrokeshire | DFam |
| Female Emperor dragonfly spotted on busy pavement alongside noisy, busy road in Tenby. Very reluctant to fly or move at all. Kids were fascinated by the huge size ... like something from Alien! We spent a good 20mins on hands and knees identifying her and watching until a small bird (sparrow?) came down and snatched her!! The kids cried. |
| May 31st | Hampshire | DP |
| One adult male Red-veined Darter on a gravel track at Martin Down. |
| June 1st | Merseyside | DSc |
'Only' 11 Emperor Dragonflies emerged from our pond between last night and this morning.
The Azure ovipositing phase seems to be coming to an end, to be replace by the Blue Tailed phase |
| June 1st | Powys | JWa |
| A number of large red-eyed damselfly seen on short stretch of Montgomery canal at Berriew. Several tandem pairs seen and one pair with semi submerged female ovipositing. Also Azure damselfly and banded demoiselle. |
| May 31st | Cambs. | TC |
Had a wonderful day watching dragonflies at Wicken Fen on Sunday. Highlights were large numbers of Hairy Dragonfly, Four Spotted Chaser, 1 Scarce Chaser, 1 Banded Demoiselle. A fleeting glance of I think a Southern Hawker, but cannot be sure. Plus a wide range of Damsels, Large Red, Azure, Variable, Blue tailed & Red Eyed damselfly with a few of the "Petit" form. Its worth looking carefully when observing this (Petit)red eyed as it can look at first glance a small red eyed.
The star of the day was a Female Red Veined Darter which I was able to photograph.
A visit to this site is highly recommended if you get the chance. |
| June 1st/2nd | Avon | PHa |
1st: "Reservoir" at Cabot Park, Avonmouth. A number of Red-veined Darters showing very well and being harassed by Black-tailed Skimmers.
2nd: "Reservoir", Cabot Park, Avonmouth. At least six male Red-veined Darters holding territories around the reservoir edges. One female seen briefly. |
| June 2nd | E. Sussex | CBo |
| Exuvia of Golden-ringed Dragonfly in Brede High Woods at same site as adult in flight last year. |
| June 2nd | Cornwall | JFo |
| Red Veined Darter - 54 males, including 5 which were in egg-laying pairs along West bank of Drift Reservoir. |
| June 2nd | Herts. | SL |
| Visited King's Meads near Hertford this morning and saw 3 Hairy Dragonfly, 5 male Emperor Dragonfly, 1 Black-tailed Skimmer, lots of Broad-bodied and Four-spotted Chasers, 4 Red-eyed Damselfly, 6 Banded Demoiselle, lots of Azure, Large Red, Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselfly |
| June 2nd | Worcs. | GP |
| Eckington Bridge (River Avon): 2 male Scarce Chasers, 3 Club Tailed Dragonflies, 1 male Emperor, Good nos of White Legged Dragonfly & Banded Demoiselle and a few Large Red Damselfly & Blue Tailed Damselfly |
| June 2nd | Hampshire | CB |
| Immature Scarce Chaser at Testwood Lakes this evening. |
| June 2nd | Leics. | LE |
Cossington Meadows - 1 Black tailed Skimmer, lots of Banded Demoiselles, White-legged, Blue-tailed, Red-eyed, Large Red, Azure and Common damselflies.
Wymeswold - Emperor male patrolling garden pond, with Broad-bodied Chaser pair and Four-Spotted Chaser female also egg laying. |
| June 2nd | E. Sussex | SDa |
| In the drainage ditches north of Exceat on The Cuckmere today I saw the following. x12 Hairy, x5 Emperor (4 male 1 female), x14 4-spot, x1 Scarce (new emergent) x8 Broad-bodied (2 pairs cop and females then ovipositing). Many Blue-tail, Azure Dams and a few Large Red Dams. |
| May 29th | Norfolk | AR |
| At Hawk and Owl Trust nature reserve, Sculthorpe Moor (transect results): 28 Large Red Damsels, 3 Red-eyed Damsels, 11 Common Blue Damsels, 23 Azure Damsels, 2 Blue-tailed Damsels, 2 Hairy Dragons, 10 Four-spot Chasers, 1 Broad-bodied Chaser, 4 Black-tailed Skimmer. Nearby, at Sculthorpe Mill, 2 Banded Demoiselle. |
| June 2nd | Hampshire | CRH |
| Over 1100 Odonata counted in four hours at Eelmoor SSSI, 16 species including the first Ceriagrion tenellum of the year (38, most still pale form), one Platycnemis (from adjacent canal) and almost 600 Pyrrhosoma nymphula. Brachytron pratense (five, one oviposting), Anax imperator (13), Cordulia aenea (1), Libellula quadrimaculata (116, a site record) and Orthetrum coerulescens numbers building well (91). |
| June 2nd | Essex/Gtr. London | CJu |
Bedfords Park, north Romford. 11 species of Odonata today. On lake: 1 male Red Veined Darter (present 1.15pm - 2.00pm), 1 male Hairy Dragonfly, 4 male and 1 female Emperor, 6 Black Tailed Skimmers, 3 Broad Bodied Chasers, 2 Four Spotted Chasers (both chaser species declining here), many Common Blue, Red Eyed and Azure Damselflies, small numbers of Blue Tailed and Large Red Damselflies.
On Damselfly Pond: 175+ ovipositing and tandem pairs of Azure Damsels and 25 pairs of Large Red. |
| June 2nd/3rd | Cornwall | CMo |
2 June, Windmill Farm CWTR: 8 adult male Emperors, 2 female Emperors ovipositing. 50+ 4-Spots, males & females ovipositing, 5 male Broad-bodied Chasers & 2 females ovipositing, 6 adult males Black-tailed Skimmers & females in tandem, ovipositing, 3 adult & 1 immature male Keeled Skimmers, 10+ male Red-Veined Darters. Many Damsels - Azure, Common Blue, Blue-tailed & Large Red.
3 June on Penzance model boat pool 25+ male Red Veined Darters, 2 tandem pairs. |
| June 3rd | Devon | TBr |
| 10 species present this afternoon at our pond site near Torrington: 8 x Emperor, 4 x Broad-Bodied Chaser, 6 x Four-Spotted Chaser, 20 x Large Red, some Common Blue, 500+ Azure, a few early Blue-Tailed and Red-Eyed Damsels, 25 x Beautiful Demoiselle and (for the first time ever) a solitary male Banded Demoiselle. Also, whilst photographing the swarms of ovipositing Azures, I found a female Common Blue Damsel in tandem with a male Azure. Many hundreds of Painted Lady's in the garden this last week but sadly no Red-Veined Darters arrived with them. |
| June 3rd | W. Yorkshire | DPr |
| 6 (2m 4f) broad bodied chasers at Elland gp also 7 blue tailed damselflies (first of the year for this site) |
| May 30th | Beds. | DA |
| 2 Red-veined Darters seen at Marston Vale Country Park by Dave Ball & Martin Palmer. |
| June 3rd | Devon | DSm |
| At least 2 Scarce Blue-tails still at Finlake, where a Common Darter emerged. (A few Scarce Blue-tails have also been seen at a pond in Devon Exmoor recently.) At Little Bradley Ponds, 6 Downy Emeralds and 2 Red-eyed Damselflies. |
| June 3rd/4th | E. Sussex/ Hants | SDa |
3rd: Sussex/Hants Boarder: While walking part of the South Downs Way today just above Buriton Pit I was very surprised to see a male and female Beautiful Demoiselle sunning themselves in some trees. How far from running water?
4th: E. Sussex: This afternoon at Old Lodge Res, Ashdown Forest the following were noted, x7 Male, x6 Female Broad Bodied,(Cop & Ovipositing) x6 Exuvia found. x6 Four-spotted. x4 Male & x1 Female Emperor, (Ovipositing) plus x5 Exuvia found. x1 imm male and x1 emergent Female Keeled Skimmer. Many Large red and Azure Damselflies in tandem and ovipositing. |
| June 3rd | Breconshire | KNo |
| About 10 male Red-veined Darters at Brechfa Pool, Brecknock Wildlife Trust nature reserve. Also Broad-bodied Chasers, Black-tailed Skimmers, an Emperor, and Common Blue and Azure Damsels. |
| June 4th | Glos. | IT |
| The Mythe, Tewkesbury: Excellent 3hrs+ observing 11 species of odonata - 5 Clubtails including a newly-emerged on its maiden flight, 6 Emperors with 2 males chasing one female and then one pair in cop, 2 immature/female Scarce chasers, 5 male and one female Black-tailed skimmer, approx 1000 Blue-tailed damsels (I've never seen so many)- many in cop, approx 50 Red-eyed - with many cop pairs/ovipositing, approx 50 Azures - with many cop pairs/ovipositing, approx 30 Banded demoiselles - male and female, approx 10 White-legged, approx 10 Common blues and 5 Large reds. All accompanied by the call of the cuckoo, the song of Cetti's and many more warblers, as well as a singing male Yellow wagtail. An ace place! |
| June 4th | Hampshire | KTa |
| Observations at Crockford Bridge, New Forest include Keeled Skinmmer, Broad-Bodied, Emperor, Southern, Large Red, Small Red and Blue-Tailed. |
| June 7th | Beds. | SCh |
| This afternoon the first Southern Hawkers of the year are emerging at our garden pond. This is a week later then the last two seasons. Their delayed emergence has almost certainly been effected by the cool wet weather and heavy rain. The sun is now shining so this maybe gave them the opportunity they needed. |
| June 6th/7th | Hampshire | PWi |
| On 6th I managed to find 11 White-legged Damselflies in the Clumbers area of the Ober Water - all teneral except one male. Also a single Banded Demoiselle amongst the 100s of Beautiful. On 7th there was a teneral male Emerald Damselfly at Rushbush Pond - my earliest ever. |
| June 7th | Devon | RBi |
Drakelands Corner: Enallagma cyathigerum - plenty including several mating pairs, Pyrrhosoma nymphula - several, Ischnura elegans 1, Ischnura pumillio - 1, Anax imperator - 10+ (and 18 exuviae), Libellula depressa - 4, Orthetrum cancellatum 1, Sympetrum sp - 5, Sympetrum fonscolombii - 1 adult male.
|
| June 7th | Devon | SW |
| Lower Bruckland Ponds; 4 male Red-veined Darters, 8 Red-eyed Damselflies and 1 male Scarce Chaser. Nearby on River Axe by A3052 2 Scarce Chasers (1 mature male) and large numbers of White-legged Damselflies. |
| June 4th | Merseyside | BH |
| Pond near Hale village. Four-spotted Chaser 10, Azure Damselfly 300, Blue-tailed Damselfly 40, Large Red Damselfly 50. Breeding activity noted for all species. |
| June 9th | Suffolk | CJa |
| Minsmere RSPB Reserve old car park Pond: Aeshna isosceles (Norfolk Hawker) one (quite an attraction for the visitors); Libellula quadrimaculata (four Spot Chaser)>5; Anax imperator (Emperor) Female egg laying; Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Large Red Damselfly)<10 |
| June 11th | E. Sussex | SDa |
| Cuckmere just south of Arlington Res. x11 Male Scarce Chasers. x3 Hairy. x2 Male Beautiful Dem. Many Banded Dem (cop). x20 White-legged Dam (a few tenerals). x30 Large Red-eyed Dam ( in tandem and ovi). Along with large numbers of Azure, Blue-tailed and Large Reds all with lots of signs of breeding(tandem and Ovi). |
| June 7th | IOW | MHt |
| Male Red veined darter at the Needles headland area of coastal chalk downland. I was able to watch it at close range through binoculars for about 10 minutes at 17.30. |
| June 11th | Northants. | DS |
| First Brown Hawker for the county seen adjacent to the River Nene at Higham Ferrers gravel pits, Northamptonshire. |
| June 12th | Lincs | SRo |
| A visit to Messingham Sand Quarries today revealed slightly lower numbers of the common Damselfly species, but a few dragons were seen. The following is what I saw: 10 Hairy Dragonfly, 2 Black-tailed Skimmer and 3 Four-spot Chaser. |
| June 12th | E. Sussex | SDa |
| At a private farm pond today near Southease I saw x7 emergent Common Darter, x2 4-spotted, x2 Male and x1 Female Emperor (ovi). x8 Male and x2 Female Black-tailed (cop and Ovi) x1 Hairy. With just a few Common Blue, Variable, Azure and Blue-tail Damselflies. |
| June 7th | Suffolk | RR |
| 2 female Scarce Chasers on River Gipping, just downstream of Alderson Lake, Needham Market. |
| June 11th | Berkshire | JWS |
| I visited 5 sites in Swinley Forest south of Bracknell. At Mill Pond I saw my earliest ever Brown Hawker (imm) and at Rapley Lake recorded Brilliant Emerald, first of the year. Overall, there were 12 species around including Downy Emerald, Keeled Skimmer (imm), Broad-bodied and 4-Spot Chasers, Emperor, plus Common Blue, Azure, Large Red and Red-eyed Damsels, and a wandering Banded Demoiselle. Incidentally, the whole area is swarming with activity associated with the filming of the latest Harry Potter film. |
| June 12th | Kent | CP |
| Seen at Buxford Meadow pond, Ashford, a pair of (large) Red-Eyed Damselfies, a Male Hairy Dragonfly and a Male Downy Emerald, there were several others flitting about, but were to fast to ID. |
| June 13th | Norfolk | JCe |
| 1 female broad bodied chaser adjacent to woodland pool at St faiths (N. Norwich); 8 four spot chasers and 2 hairies plus numerous damsels |
| June 13th | Derbyshire | JAL |
| 2 males Red-Veined Darters seen on the main lagoon at Pleasley Pit Country Park. This is third successive year for RVDs at this site Large nos (20+) seen in 2007 with several pairs seen ovipositing. A possible breeding population? |
| June 13th | Carmarthenshire | CJo |
| 3 male Red-veined Darters at Skateboard Pond east of Burry Port harbour this morning. Also one seen in the last few days at Starfish Pond in Pembrey forest. Unconfirmed report of Lesser Emperor and Red-veined Darter at Dinefwr Park, Llandeilo |
| June 13th | Argyle | CDS |
| Black Lochs nr Oban: Beautiful Demoiselle a stunning male found in Bracken nr Kilvaree Farm, with a fresh female Highland Darter nearby. Downy Emerald and Four-spotted Chaser's were very common, for instance 100+ individuals of both species were seen within one 100 yard stretch. Brief views of a male Hairy Dragonfly also. |
| June 13th | Devon | RBi |
| Coxside, Plymouth: 1 Sympetrum fonscolombii |
| June 14th | Breconshire | KNo |
| At Brechfa Pool 4 male Red-veined Darters, 3 Black-tailed Skimmers, 2 Broad-bodied Chasers, an Emperor and many Common Blue Damsels. |
| June 14th | Bucks | AN |
| In North Bucks Milton Keynes: The first Common Darter of the year to date. Good numbers of BBC reported and recorded another good year for this spp. |
| June 11th | Devon | DCh |
| I saw 10 Scarce chasers, 5 black tailed skimmers, 2 Emperor dragonflies, 5 red eyed Damselflies, 100+ Azure damselflies, 100+ Blue tailed Damselflies all close to Halberton bridge on the grand western canal. |
| June 13th | Berkshire | DMcE |
Had a walk along the Kennet Offshoot on Saturday that proved pretty interesting. There are still quite a few Variable Damselflies in the usual site along the footpath on the northern end of the Searles Lane complex, with 60+ at SU 688709 (including several breeding pairs). Common Blues were extremely common, with so many breeding pairs over the lake that they formed a blue haze over the water! There must have been several thousand at least. Mixed amongst them were good numbers of breeding Azures and Red-Eyed Damselflies, with others amongst the water lilies or in the long grass adjacent to the path. Four-Spotted Chasers, Emperors, Downy Emerald (2), Broad-Bodied Chaser, Large Red Damselfly and good numbers of Banded & Beautiful Demoiselles were also present. Blue-Tailed Damselflies were also common, and seemed more numerous than in previous years.
There was a fresh exuvia of Club-Tailed Dragonfly on a wooden post on the Kennet & Avon (the jetty adjacent to the Cunning Man pub) at SU680707. Unfortunately there was no sign of the dragonfly itself, but it was the first time in several years that I've come across the species on this stretch.
There was also a very nice view of a passing kingfisher. |
| June 15th | Surrey | GHi |
| Thursley Common: Black Darter 1 teneral |
| June 16th | Northants. | MT |
| I saw our first Emerald Damselflies of the year at Pitsford Nature Reserve this lunchtime. They were all female! |
| June 16th | Leics. | NW |
| Cossington Lock, Grand Union Canal: 100+ Banded Demoiselles including pairs in cop, females ovipositing and tenerals. Large numbers of Red-eyed and Common Blue Damselflies also present. Surprisingly, not a single dragonfly was seen during 1 hour at the site. |
| June 16th | Surrey | THa |
| Thursley Common. 12 Species seen once the clouds had passed. On the paths and boardwalks: Four spotted chaser, keeled skimmer, black-tailed skimmer, large red damsel and azure damsel. Amongst the grasses towards pine island: Teneral black darter and small red damsel plus mature looking common blue damsel. On the moat pond small red eyed damsel and common blue tailed damsel. |
| June 16th | Hampshire | CRH |
| North Hampshire: Recorded on southern parts of Eelmoor SSSI in two hours before cloud stopped play: One Calopteryx virgo near Cove Brook. At pools and mire areas Pyrrhosoma nymphula(170), Ischnura elegans (19), I. pumilio (4), Coenagrion puella (126), Ceriagrion tenellum (83), Brachytron pratense (1), Libellula depressa (2), L. quadrimaculata (38), Orthetrum coerulescens (101). |
| June 16th | Glos. | IT |
| Coombe Hill Canal and Meadows NR: A total of 11 species seen - the first female Emerald Damselfly and the first female Common Darter - both tenerals, as well as excellent photo opportunities of a mating pair of Emperors. The other species seen were Four-spotted and Broad-bodied Chasers, Black-tailed Skimmer, Banded Demoiselle, Red-eyed, Azure, Common Blue and Blue-tailed damsels. After the floods of Summer 2007, the damselfly numbers seem very depleted, but showing some signs of recovery. The dragonfly numbers seem to have recovered more quickly. |
| June 17th | Notts. | NW |
| 1 Brown Hawker and large number of Azure Damselflies near pond on Newlands Farm, Langar. |
| June 16th | Glamorgan | WRJ |
| Kenfig NNR: A few hours on the pools shoreline saw 30+ Red-veined Darter, 40+ Black-tailed Skimmer, 12 Emperor Dragonfly, 5 Hairy Dragonfly and excellent numbers of the commoner damselflies after what must have been a major hatch period. Highlight of the day though was a Lesser Emperor. |
| June 19th | Monmouthshire | MCa |
| We observed a nymph in our tropical fish tank after setting it up with new substrate and plants (possibly how it got in). It disappeared for a while and we thought the fish had got it, but today we noticed a damselfly sitting on the spraybar still drying its wings! Having looked through your site we believe it was a "small red damselfly" or Ceriagrion tennellum. After taking a few pictures we then released it in our garden by our pond. |
| June 18th | E. Sussex | CBo |
| Brede High Woods: Male Broad-bodied Chaser, and exuvia of Southern Hawker at same small pool. |
| June 16th/17th | Norfolk | AR |
16.vi.2009. 1 imm male Scarce Chaser at Strumpshaw Fen. Also 3 Norfolk Hawker.
17.vi.2009. 7 Scarce Emerald Damselfly in poor weather at Thompson Common. |
| June 21st | N. Yorkshire | DPr |
| 3 keeled skimmers at fen bog |
| June 21st | Devon | DSm |
| Only 6 people attended the Devon BDS meeting today, which was a pity, as we saw 16 species! We failed to see Scarce Chasers by the R. Axe, but found about 4 (3 males) nearby at Lower Bruckland Ponds. Also at the ponds was at least one male Red-veined Darter, 3 Red-eyed Damselflies (but no Small Red-eyed yet) and a Keeled Skimmer. |
| June 16th | Oxon. | ISh |
Dry Sandford Pit - amongst other damselflies, 8 Southerns, including 2 pairs.
Parsonage Moor - 2 male Keeled Skimmers, 4 Four-Spotted Chasers plus numerous Large Red Damselflies (and a Scarlet Tiger Moth) |
| June 21st | Norfolk | ISh |
Upton Fen - 8 male Norfolk Hawkers patrolling ditches plus 10+ Black-tailed Skimmers, 3 Four-Spotted Chasers and numerous damselflies (mostly Variable).
Strumpshaw Fen - 4 male Norfolk Hawkers on patrol, 4 Four-Spotted Chasers plus numerous damselflies, incl. 1 immature female Emerald and 1 female Banded Demoiselle. |
| June 21st | Northumberland | MRi |
| A single male Banded Demoiselle on the North Tyne at Haughton Strother. |
| June 20th/22nd | E. Sussex | SDa |
20th: Old Lodge reserve. I saw x2 Downy Emeralds, x1 Broad Bodied, x2 Emperor, x2 4 Spotted Then the clouds arrived.
22nd: Cuckmere, Frog Firle. x1 Beautiful Dem, x3 Banded Dem, x3 Common Darter(Maiden flight) x6 male and x1 female Emperor. x13 4 Spotted(cop), x4 male and x1 female Scarce Chaser. x6 Large red eyed. x4 male and x2 female Broad bodied (ovi) x5 male and x2 female Black-tailed Skimmers (cop&ovi) x2 male and x2 female Ruddy Darter (Cop) Plus usual large reds and blues. |
| June 22nd | Wiltshire | SC |
| Male Southern Hawker patrolling at the unusual location of a retail park car park while I was enjoying a meal al fresco at the adjacent Frankie and Benny's. Mine and possibly the county's first for the year. |
| June 22nd | Berkshire | JWS |
| At Butter Bottom Ponds (restricted entry, fished by Broadmoor Staff Angling Club) there were 10 species in total. This is an interesting site. It is surrounded by high trees but these seem to be no obstacle to new colonisers. The site has the only colony of White-legged Damsels in the area. Just over 50 were recorded yesterday, including ovipositing pairs. A single male Brilliant Emerald was patrolling. Could be a good year for this species as I have now seen singleton males at 4 sites (the others are Rapley Lake, Wellington College Ponds and Crowthorne Wood). I obtained a new record for the site, Keeled Skimmer. There is a short runnel linking the two ponds. A female was ovipositing here, and there were three males about, adjacent to the runnel. Also seen were Downy Emerald, Emperor, 4-spotted Chaser,and Red-eyed, Common Blue, Blue-tailed and Large Red Damsels. |
| June 23rd | S. Yorkshire | DW |
| A single Hairy Hawker this evening on Hatfield Moors nr Doncaster. Although I am not an experienced dragonfly watcher, I have been taking an interest over the last 2/3 years and saw this species recently at Messingham Sand Quarries, so I'm happy with the i.d. Also 3 Emperor, and a few each B-t Skimmer and Four-sp Chaser. |
| June 23rd | Surrey | SD |
| At least 15 species observed at Thursley Common: large and small red, azure and blue tailed damselfly; banded and beautiful demoiselle; downy emerald, brown and common hawker, keeled skimmer, four spotted and broad bodied chaser, emperor, teneral common and black darter. Golden-ringed was also seen by a third party. Water levels surprisingly very low. |
| June 23rd | Berks/Hants | SL |
| Had a day out on 23/6/09, first stop River Thames at Goring, we saw male and female Banded Demoiselles, Blue-tailed Damselfly and a slightly damaged, but still beautiful, female Club-tailed Dragonfly. Next stop Hatchet Pond, New Forest, very active with good numbers of most species. We saw Large Red, Small Red, Common Blue, Azure, Southern, Blue-tailed, Red-eyed (showing characteristics of red-eyed, but slightly smaller than the Commons and Azures in the same area) and a female Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies. Black-tailed and Keeled Skimmers, Broad-bodied and Four-spotted Chasers, Emperor and Downy Emerald. Final stop Crockford Bridge for Beautiful Demoiselle, Southern, Small Red and Large Red Damselfly more Keeled Skimmer and Broad-bodied Chaser and last species for the day, male Golden-ringed Dragonfly. 17 species for the day, brilliant! |
| June 23rd/24th | Essex | TC |
| The Scarce Chaser has been discovered on the river Wid & Can on the Writtle College estate, nr Chelmsford Essex. MH the college recorder on a regular survey on Tuesday found 5 on the river Wid & 2 on the river Can. I walked the rivers yesterday evening & saw 5 females & 2 males on the Wid & one female on the Can. I also saw 3 Brown Hawkers my first of the season. |
| June 24th | Hampshire | SDa |
| A walk from Mill Lawn Brook and Ober Water I found the following. x200 plus Keeled Skimmers (emergent, cop, ovi). x12 Golden-ringed. x50 plus Small Red Dams (tandem cop) Hundreds of Beautiful Dem (cop/ovi). X1 male Banded Dem. x11 4 Spotted. X50 plus White-legged Dams (Tandem/ovi). x5 Broad-bodied (cop/ovi). x2 Southern Dams (tandem) but no sign of any Scarce Blue-tails. |
| June 25th | Lincs. | SRo |
| A visit to Messingham Sand Quarries today revealed a few species on the wing, which included 3 Teneral male Southern Hawker, 4 male Hairy Dragonfly, 1 male Black-tailed Skimmer and 7 Four-spot Chaser. |
| June 25th | Notts. | NW |
| Grantham Canal: Section between Wild's Bridge and Irish Jack's Bridge, Kinoulton. 50+ Four-spotted Chasers, 1 immature male Black-tailed Skimmer, 2 male and 1 female (ovipositing) Emperors in addition to large numbers of Azure, Common Blue and Red-eyed Damselflies. |
| June 25th | W. Yorkshire | DM |
| 3 Large Red Damselfly, 1 mating pair + single male around small garden pond, 5ft x 2ft, (mating pair regularly landing on lily pads)in a suburban housing estate in Leeds. Thought it might be interesting for people to know you don't have to go looking too far to see them. 1st time we've had any damsel or dragonflies. |
| June 16th | Oxfordshire | DEG |
| Oxfordshire, Thames Path 2 miles east of Radcot, 16 June, White-legged damselfly. Also Red-eyed and Common Blue Damselflies, Banded Demoiselle, Emperor and Black-tailed Skimmer. |
| June 25th | Strathspey | ER |
| One male white-faced darter at RSPB Abernethy on the pool just before the osprey centre. |
| June 27th | Northants. | MT |
| I received a call from NR reporting Red-veined Darter at a site just outside Northampton. Needless to say, I rushed off and confirmed the sighting. I have posted photos on my blog site. |
| June 27th | Monmouthshire | IS |
| River Monnow at Osbaston: 3.3km upstream of River Wye confluence at Monmouth. Long hoped for and at last seen were 3 Club-tailed Dragonfly on this slow moving section of the river. Also present were newly emerged White-legged Damselfly plus 100's in cop, 2 Emperors on patrol, single Banded and Large Red Damselflies and 1 female Broad-bodied. 5.1km upstream, Common Blue (less than 10), Banded (2) 1 female Broad-bodied as expected. 100 plus of White-legged in cop and ovipositing is expected, but not the 1000 everywhere in the adjacent meadow (uncut)and even 'spilling out' onto the road verges 170 metres from the riverbank. The final suprise was a single female Black-tailed Skimmer visiting a sandy river beach. Max temp of the day was 31 degrees and this might be the cause of these Odonata explorations? |
| June 28th | Dorset | BSp |
| Found several Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies at a new site in Weymouth at Chickerell rifle range today. Unfortunately there is no public access to the site. At nearby Granby Ponds by the new Chickerell road saw a few Scarce Blue-taileds on 24th May, but none since and this, the only other site for this species in Weymouth, has I fear become too overgrown now. The first Small Red-eyed Damselflies were out at Granby Ponds on 14th June. Also, saw 3 Red-veined Darters at Radipole Lake on 5th June including a tandem pair. |
| June 28th | Devon | RBi |
Smallhanger/Drakelands Corner: 10 species in bad weather: L. sponsa (20+), P. nymphula, C. puella, E. cyathigerum, I. elegans, I. pumillio (10+), A. imperator (+ ~20 exuviae), L. depressa (Ov), O. cancellatum, S. fonscolombii (2).
Also observed a male P. nymphula try to predate/mate with a male I. pumillio! |
| June 28th | Lincs. | SRo |
| Another visit to the excellent Messingham Sand Quarries in good conditions today resulted in the following sightings: 8 Brown Hawker, 7 male Emperor, 24 Four-spot Chaser, 26 Black-tailed Skimmer and 1 male Hairy Dragonfly. |
| June 28th | Surrey | SE |
| Nutfield Marsh Nature Reserve: Emperor, Brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer, Broad-bodied Chaser, Common Darter, Banded Demoiselle, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly. |
| June 28th | Glos. | MJMcG |
At WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre today we have recorded two Brown Hawker, 5 Four-spot Chasers, c150 Black-tailed Skimmer, 12 Emperor, a Banded Demoiselle, 5 Common Darter, thousands of Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies, a few Large Red-eyed, 2-3 Hairy Dragonfly and a male Scarce Chaser without searching very hard, if only I could spend all day looking at them!.
On 23rd June I noted our first Southern Hawker of the year. The last Large Red Damselfly was noted on 16th June. |
| June 28th | Suffolk | JOw |
| Saw my first Brown Hawker of the year at Barham. Also on the wing were Black Tailed Skimmers, an Emperor, some Common Blue, Red-eyed and Banded Damselflies. |
| June 28th | Cambs. | HC |
| At 2pm in very warm humid weather today we saw what we believe was a Migrant Hawker in our garden in Whittlesey; this is quite an early record for the species for this area. Due to difficult lighting and the short duration of the encounter no photography was possible, but the size and flight pattern certainly indicated mixta. I would be interested to hear if any other early Migrants are observed in this warm weather. |
| June 25th | Notts. | BH |
| Pretty sure I saw an early migrant hawker at the Ratcliffe on Soar power station site. Size, shape and flight height seemed right for the species. |
| June 26th | Highland | HJV |
Bridge of Grudie, weather very warm and sunny but stiff wind. 1 male Azure Hawker near burn, 4 White-faced Darter in heather and on ponds near Loch Maree, 10+ Northern Emerald across the site. Also Common Hawker, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Four-spot, Large Red and Common Blue. Nearby along the forest walk at Beinn Eighe 1+ Azure Hawker, c.10 Northern Emeralds, Common Hawkers, Golden-ringed Dragonfly and Large Red Damselfly.
Next day at Abernethy, White-faced Darter on pool by track to Osprey Centre and Northern Damselflies on pool towards Boat of Garten (NH 966 192) |
| June 28th | Hampshire | SCh |
| Warren Heath ponds - large emergence of Emerald Damselfly at top pond. Many exuviae found. Many Small Red Damselflies and Keeled Skimmers around the bog pools. The latter emerging in good numbers from tiny pools. Many other species spread across the three main ponds. The jewel in the crown was the Brilliant Emerald which appears to be in higher numbers this year. Very good views of males close enough to photograph in flight. Also at least two females ovipositing in middle pool within a metre of me. This species was flying amongst Downy Emeralds. Golden-ringed Dragonfly in good numbers along the stream. |
| June 28th | Shropshire | JHg |
| Whixall Moss: at least 3 teneral Black Darter (photos). Still good numbers of White-faced Darter. Female Emperor ovipositing. Plenty of Quads; Emerald, Azure, Blue-tailed and Large Red Damselflies. |
| June 29th | Bucks. | KTu |
| Little Marlow Gp: Brown Hawker (my 1st this year); Common Blue Damselfly; Black-tailed Skimmer x1; Red-eyed Damselfly; Blue-tailed Damselfly; Emperor x2; Large Red Damselfly x2; Azure Damselfly. |
| June 29th | Norfolk | NWy |
| I saw quite a few Broad Bodied Chasers along the banks of the River Chet. |
| June 29th | Suffolk | MM |
| 2 Small Red Eyed Damselflies on main pond at BT Martlesham Heath 29/06/09. |
| June 29th | Cornwall | JFo |
| Still 14 male Red-veined Darter at Drift Reservoir. |
| June 29th | Kent | OLe |
7 male Red Veined Darters at a private drinking reservoir in north Folkestone. There has been a small number of sightings along the Kent coast from Dungeness to Sandwich in the last week.
2 male Red Veined Darters on shingle at Greatstone (Dungeness NNR)end of Roberts Rd late afternoon. |
| June 29th | Norfolk | SDa |
| Strumpshaw Fen today came up with the following, x16 Norfolk Hawkers, x1 Hairy, x1 Emperor (Male). x1 Scarce Chaser, x12 4-spotted, x9 Common Darter. A few Emerald Dams, Variable, Large Red, Black-Tailed Skimmer, Large red-eyed. All the regular Blues and Banded Demoiselles. Later at Thompson Common x10 Scarce Emeralds inc 2 pairs ovipositing in the grass 2-3 metres from the waters edge. x10 Ruddy Darters and many Emerald Dams. |
| June 30th | Herefordshire | SCl |
| Observed a female Broad-bodied Chaser and got quite a good photo of it. |
| June | Hampshire | PWi |
| I've been sent some images which show that there's been one (probably more) Red-veined Darter at Badminston Gravel Pit from 1st June and still there at the end of the month. |
| June 28th | Norfolk | LT |
| Visit to Pentley Gravel Pits - actually looking at birds - but saw several black tailed skimmers; common blue damsels; common blue tailed damsels; broad bodied chasers; brown hawker, emperor and one red eyed damsel on the large main pool next to the workings. Time of visit was approx. 1.30p.m. to 3.15p.m. weather hot and humid with very little wind. |
| June 28th | Bucks. | JCS |
| I saw a male golden-ringed dragonfly in Black Park, a couple of miles North East of Slough. It landed several times. I think this may be noteworthy as Bucks is not renowned for acidic streams. |
| June 30th | Suffolk | JOw |
| Spotted a Southern Hawker on patrol in Northfield Wood late in the evening. Also spotted my first Darter of the season on my garden pond (Gt. Finborough) which disappeared before I could get a species ID. |
| June 30th | Dorset | BSp |
| 2 male Red-veined Darters at Chickerell Rifle Range, Weymouth. Also 10+ Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies, with copulation and egg laying observed. |
| July 1st | Surrey | RA |
At Reigate Castle Ponds 1x Emperor and 1x Brown Hawker. Lots of blue damselflies.
No Chasers seen this year. Has the draining, clearing etc. in prior years affected this I wonder. Lots of carp now present versus smaller roach previously. |
| July 1st | Hampshire | PWi |
| A male Red-veined Darter was flying over and around the model boating lake on Southampton Common at lunchtime today - clashing with the numerous Black-tailed Skimmers. A Golden-ringed Dragonfly along a ride on the eastern side was also a good record. |
| July 1st | Northumberland | MRi |
| Male Broad-bodied Chaser on N Tyne at Haughton Strother. Also a Four-spotted Chaser, 2 Large Red, 30+ Common Blue and 3 Blue-tailed Damsels. |
| July 1st | Cleveland | AMi |
| At RSPB Saltholme reserve today 1 Black-tailed Skimmer, 2 Blue-tailed Damselflies and 40 Common Blue Damselflies. |
| July 1st | Breconshire | KNo |
| Seven male Red-veined Darters still at Brechfa Pool (photographed) four weeks after first sighting. Also 3 Emperors, 4 Broad-bodied including one ovipositing, 6 Black-tailed Skimmers, and blue damsels, mostly Common. At a small pool on Llandefalle Hill 2 Emperors, 5 Four-Spotted, 5 Broad-bodied, 2 Black-tailed Skimmers, and damsels including Scarce Blue-tailed. |
| June 23rd-26th | Orkney | GW |
| Whilst holidaying on the island of North Ronaldsay, we discovered a small colony of Blue-tailed Damselflies at Loch of Garso. Local reports suggest that this was established last year. There may also be Emperor in the area, sadly not seen by us, so if anyone happens to be passing... |
| July 1st | Devon | RBi |
| Drakelands Corner - evening visit for emergents/exuviae: L. sponsa 150+ (+ 10 exuviae), C. puella 1, E. cyathigerum 100+ (+ Cop, Ov), I. elegans 5 (+ Ov), I. pumillio 20+ (+ Cop), P. nymphula 1, C. tenellum 2, A imp 3 (+ 8 exuviae), S. danae 1 recently emerged. Also 29/6 2 Aeshnid sp Plymbridge Woods |
| July 1st | Surrey | SD |
| Thursley Common - small number of black darters seen oviposting. Good numbers of other species particularly keeled skimmers and four spotted chasers. Emerald damselflies now also starting to appear in good numbers. Water level dropped significantly since last week. |
| July 1st | Devon | RME |
| At Drakelands Corner 15 species seen: 1 beautiful demoiselle, damselflies included 6+ large red, 4 small red, many common blue, 3 scarce-blue tailed, 5+ blue-tailed. 4 emperor, 3 golden-ringed dragonflies, 3 four-spotted, 4 broad-bodied chasers, 10+ black-tailed, 6+ keeled skimmers, 1 common, 1 black and at least 4 red-veined darters. |
| July 2nd | Leics | NW |
Grantham Canal between Bridge 45, Stathern and Bridge 51, Barkestone le Vale: In approximately 3 miles along this stretch of canal the following were seen: 3 Brown Hawkers, 2 male Emperors, 4 Four-spotted Chasers and 1 female Common Darter in addition to Common Blue and Azure Damselflies.
These numbers are well down on previous years and may be due in part to the lack of open water as this length has become heavily overgrown. Sites previously rich in Chasers now have none as there is no open water over which they can hunt and oviposit. As this is a SSSI it is particularly disappointing. |
| July 1st | Cambs. | HJV |
| Male Scarce Chaser on the River Cam in Cambridge, between Chesterton and Fen Ditton. |
| July 2nd | Merseyside | PSm |
| At least four males and a pair (ovipositing) of Red-veined Darters at Sands Lake, Ainsdale, this afternoon zooming about with Emperors, Black-tailed Skimmers, Four-spotted Chasers, etc. Just like the Camargue - same temperature too! |
| July 2nd | Northants. | MT |
| Several Small Red-eyed Damselflies including tandem and oviposting pairs at Higham Ferrers Gravel Pits. Also, many Brown Hawker, Emperor, Black-tailed Skimmer, "Large" Red-eye and Common Blue. |
| July 2nd | Renfrewshire | JMT |
Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, Cornalees, Clyde Valley: Us Countryside Rangers at Cornalees thought you may be interested in our findings today. Myself personally is conducting a project over the summer to record the number of dragonflies and damselflies present in this region of the Regional Park. I will forward my results on at the end of the summer so you can see my findings. But for today (02/07/09) we have seen:
2 Golden Ringed Dragonflies,
20+ Large Red Damselflies,
5 Four Spotted Chasers, and
3 Blue tailed Damselflies
|
| July 2nd | Yorkshire | SRo |
| We visited the excellent Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Fen Bog today and got fantastic views of the 2 special species that inhabit this reserve ,this what we recorded: 5 male Golden-ringed Dragonfly, 41 Keeled Skimmer, 2 Four-spot Chaser and 15 Large-red Damselfly. |
| July 2nd | Cumbria | LCa |
2 male broad bodied chasers on newly established small garden pond. I only comment on this because my location seems to be at the very north end of their range. Lyth Valley Cumbria.
1 female broad bodied chaser. Same location on June 8th
|
| June 23rd-July 3rd | E. Berkshire | JWS |
| Highlights from the past two weeks include several more sightings of Brilliant Emerald to add to the four in my previous report (23 June). The additional records were for two males at Forest Pond and singleton males at Mill Pond (both in Swinley Forest), Englemere Pond (between Bracknell and Ascot), and on the River Blackwater at Sandhurst, a rare record for this stretch of water. A further unusual record on the Blackwater at Sandhurst on the same day was a male Golden-ringed. Three male Golden-ringed were also recorded at Gormoor (Swinley Forest). Plenty of Keeled Skimmers and Small Red Damsels about at heathland sites. Five male Small Reds were seen at Rapley Lake, which was a new site record for me, made possible by rhododendron clearance from the margin, allowing access to the habitat on the western corner of the lake. Mature Common and Ruddy Darter were present at Felix Farm Fishery, Binfield (FFF), and Englemere had both teneral and mature Emerald Damsel. On the butterfly front, I was lucky enough to come across White Admiral at Rapley Lake and Silver-washed Fritillary at FFF. |
| July 4th | Lothian | BAH |
| First two Common Darters seen today on wader scrapes at Musselburgh Lagoons. |
| July 4th | W. Yorkshire | MAT |
| Male Lesser Emperor seen this afternoon at Wintersett Reservoir near Wakefield. Close views included an encounter with an Emperor Dragonfly. 13 other species of odonata were also seen in the area today including Common Hawker, Common and Ruddy Darter Tenerals and Emerald Damselfly. |
| July 4th | Oxfordshire | DCp |
| Yellow winged darter at Otmoor - either female or immature male. I got a very good view, so I'm sure my identification is correct - I'm just kicking myself now for not taking a photo as, whilst I had my camera, I got used to seeing these when I lived in Germany, and didn't realise until I got home they're not an established breeding species here in the UK. |
| July 4th | Norfolk | HJV |
| Good variety (18 species) at Strumpshaw Fen and Buckenham/Cantley marshes on walk from Brundall to Cantley stations: Banded Demoiselle, Azure, Variable, Common Blue, Blue-tailed, Red-eyed and Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Hairy Dragonfly, Southern, Brown and Norfolk Hawker, Emperor, Four-spotted and Scarce Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Common and Ruddy Darter. Non-dragonfly: some Swallowtails still on the wing too. |
| June26th/July 4th | The Highlands | JWi |
First Common Darters on the wing seen on the Isle of Muck on the 26th June, plus the first Emerald Damselflies. 7 breeding species of Odonata recorded there, plus a single immature Northern Emerald Dragonfly, a bit of surprise that one!
4th July. 3 to 5 Brilliant Emeralds seen at Loch Ruaraidh, Inverness-shire, lots of just emerged Black Darters and a male with an almost all black abdomen, suggesting he'd been out of a little while. Followed a Golden-ringed Dragonfly hunting along a road in my car; they cruise at 12/13mph. |
| July 4th | Lincs. | BH |
| Crowle Moor Lincs Wildlife Trust Reserve: Common Hawker 3; Souther Hawker 8; Brown Hawker 2; Four-spotted Chaser 6; Black Darter 40; Comon Darter 2; Blue-tailed damselfly 10; Common Blue Damselfly 40; Large Red Damselfly 15. |
| July 4th/5th | E. Sussex | CBo |
4th: Ashdown Forest-Old Lodge: Exuvia collected - 10X Emperor; 7X Brown Hawker. Four Keeled Skimmer in flight over seepages.
5th: Sedlescombe-Private Pool: 4X Male Small Red-eyed Damselfly in company with approx 10X Red-eyed Damselfly pairs in tandem. |
| July 5th | Gwent | CJo |
| One male Red-veined Darter close to the picnic tables outside the RSPB visitor centre at Newport Wetlands reserve, Uskmouth. Also Black-tailed Skimmers nearby. |
| July 5th | Hampshire | PWi |
| Eight Red-veined Darters (1 female) were at Badminston Gravel Pit today. There was also my first Small Red-eyed Damselfly for the year. |
| July 4th | Hampshire | NJ |
| First Small Red-eyed Damselflies of the year on our garden pond. At least five males seen, plus one pair in cop |
| July 3rd-5th | Scotland | PHo |
Bridge of Grudie 3rd July. 3 Azure Hawker (2 male 1 female, flight views only), Northern Emerald up to 6, Highland Darter 2 Immature Males, White- faced Darter 4 plus large numbers of Common Hawker.
Loch Bran 4th July. At least 4 Brilliant Emerald.
Abernethy Forest 4th and 5th July. Good numbers of Northern Damselfly and up to 5 White-faced Darter at the Spagnum pond near the Osprey Centre.
See attached video links:
http://surfbirds.com/video2/view_video.php?viewkey=a0c0b97de5fb3b690855
http://surfbirds.com/video2/view_video.php?viewkey=25eec933f05b1672f6a1
http://surfbirds.com/video2/view_video.php?viewkey=0fe24e53c90338cdc8bc
http://surfbirds.com/video2/view_video.php?viewkey=d6dd6145dcbad5c4ccf6
http://surfbirds.com/video2/view_video.php?viewkey=defcbde3047c891d78f9
|
| July 6th | Swansea | JHi |
| Small number (2-5 individuals) of Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale)seen on the Gower just west of Broad Pool. Also Azure (C.puella), Common Blue (Enallagma cyathigerum) and numerous Blue Tailed (Ischnura elegans) damselflies seen around Broad Pool itself. Interestingly none of these species seemed to be present at the mercuriale site. |
| July 10th | Lincs. | SRo |
| A visit today to the NNR at Crowle resulted in the following species being observed: 13 Common Hawker, 5 Southern Hawker, 4 Emerald Damselfly, 1 Four-spot Chaser, 6 Back Darter, 3 Azure Damselfly and 15 Large-red Damselfly. |
| July 5th | Surrey | JSo |
| I watched a Downy Emerald at Black Lake in Esher. I assume it was this species as it patrolled the edge of a small bay, low above the ground and did not look particularly bright green. |
| July 1st | N. Hampshire | CRH |
| Recorded at Eelmoor SSSI over four hours during hot weather: Calopteryx virgo (11), Lestes sponsa (5), Pyrrhosoma nymphula (54), Ischnura elegans (22), Enallagma cyathigerum (32), Coenagrion puella (120), Erythromma najas (4), Ceriagrion tenellum (637 including 187 pairs), Anax imperator (4), Cordulegaster boltonii (3), Libellula depressa (3), L. quadrimaculata (10), Orthetrum coerulescens (186) and Sympetrum striolatum (2). No Aeshna yet. This count did not cover all of the available habitats and small reds must surely exceed 1000 currently, compared to c.25 when the site was unmanaged 15 years ago. |
| July 10th | Berwickshire | BAH |
3 Red-veined Darters at Millar's Moss Reservoir
near St Abbs. First seen on the 5th July. |
| July 11th | Monmouthshire | IS |
| Reported by Luke Phillips: Male Brown Hawker (Rare in Wales) seen in Ebbw Vale Cemetery plus Golden-ringed Dragonfly hawking small stream running through site. |
| July 12th | Somerset | RBi |
| Curry Moor: C. splendens 50+, L. sponsa 10, C. puella 30, C. pulchellum 30, E. cyathigerum 1, I. elegans 50+ (Cop, Ov), E. najas 1, A. imperator 2 (Ov), A cyanea 2, L. fulva 2 (Ov) |
| July 12th | Berkshire | DMcE |
Just a brief note to confirm my first Brown Hawker (Aeshna Grandis) of the year, seen yesterday at Hosehill Lake LNR at SU646696. 8 Black-Tailed Skimmers, Emperor, Downy Emerald, 4-Spotted Chaser and good numbers of Coenagrion damselflies were also present, including many ovipositing pairs.
At the same time, a splendid Purple Hairstreak was seen high in the branches of a mature oak tree. |
| July 13th | Northumberland | SSe |
At new pond just of A1068 dual carriageway north of Woodhorn Roundabout. Had Black tailed Skimmer male found by Jimmy Steele probably the first county record,and a cracking male Red veined Darter or possibly two, with 2+ Ruddy Darter and 1+ Common Darter, 1 Four spotted Chaser. Emerald, Common Blue and Blue tailed Damselflies too.
See www.boulmerbirder.blogspot.com for further info after tonight.... |
| July 13th | Lincs. | SRo |
| An excellent count of 32 Common Hawker today at Crowle NNR was exceptional,other species recorded where as follows:9 Southern Hawker,22 Black Darter,3 Ruddy Darter,2 Common Darter and 3 Four-spot Chaser. |
| July 14th | Surrey | DJP |
| Dozens of Common Blue in pairs and ovipositing, along with Blue-tails and two Banded Demoiseles. Also hawker flying high |
| July 14th | Norfolk | MSH |
| Nine keeled skimmers at Holt Lowes Norfolk 12 noon yesterday, including two in tandem, seven males two females. Most that I have seen at this site for several years. Around the boggy wet area at bottom of small hill. |
| July 14th | Northumberland | SSe |
At the pond off the A1068 between the North Seaton and Woodhorn roundabouts today there were 6-8+ Red veined Darters! I may have made a mistake about my Ruddy id yesterday as all 'red' daters I checked were Red veined. Also here were 3+ Black tailed Skimmer, 2 Emperor, 1 Four spotted Chaser, 1 probable Broad bodied Chaser, 1 Common Darter and good numbers of Blue tailed, Emerald and Common Blue Damsels.
All confirmed by Harry Eales the area Dragonfly recorder. For a county with very little odonata, this is a set of outstanding records. |
| July 15th | East Lothian | BAH |
| 1 male Red-veined Darter at Blindwells Pond near Prestonpans this afternoon. They are moving north, this is the first record for the area. |
| July 15th | W. Cornwall | ATo |
| Windmill Farm, Lizard. 2 Red Veined Darters, Ruan Pool and Pool with high bank. At least 5 female Emperors ovipositing and 2 Males. Hundreds of Common Blue damsels and good numbers of Emerald and Blue tailed together with Black Tailed Skimmers and freshly emerging Common Darters |
| July 15th | Essex | JOw |
| Working at Five Lakes Hotel near Maldon today I managed a quick tour of some of the ponds. Spotted several Small Red-eyed Damselflies in one of the ponds accompanied by several Blue- tailed and Azure Damselflies, an Emperor and Four-Spotted Chaser. |
| July 16th | Lincs. | SRo |
| A visit today to Messingham Sand Quarries got me the following sightings which included a very late male Hairy Dragonfly, 30 Brown Hawker, 40 Black-tailed Skimmer, 11 Common Darter, 2 Ruddy Darter, 3 Southern Hawker and 1 Four-spot Chaser. |
| July 18th | S. Yorkshire | JCo |
| A male Emperor Dragonfly (Anax Imperator) landed on my back porch step. We live in a residential area of Sheffield, not near any ponds or rivers. I have taken pictures. |
| July 18th | S. Yorkshire | ADe |
| Worn male Lesser Emperor on Treeton Dyke this afternoon, over Bistort mats in SW corner, Record shots available. |
| July 20th | W. Yorkshire | ARo |
| We have a Brown Hawker residing in the street's front gardens. I have seen it on several occasions sunbathing on my neighbours wall and have taken photos. We live in an inner city area of Bradford. |
| July 19th | Glamorgan | IS |
| Merthyr Mawr Warren SE of Porthcawl. One male Common Darter (with unmarked wings) appeared near car park, immediately after the torrential rain - all morning long - had stopped. |
| July 23rd | Berkshire | DMcE |
It wasn't the most promising of days yesterday, with heavy showers in the morning and later in the afternoon, but at lunchtime there was a small window of clear skies and warmer temperatures, so I thought I'd try the two small ponds at Shinfield Park (a private site close to Junction 11 of the M4).
Small Red-Eyed Damselflies (Erythromma Viridulum) have now emerged - they were first recorded here in 2008 - with 5 definite males and two ovipositing pairs. There may well have been others amongst the Red-Eyed Damsels (E.Najas) in the centre of the lake. Azures (40+) and smaller numbers of Large Red Damsels and Blue-Tail (Ischnura Elegans) were also present. Just a few Common Blues was found, but the species has never been numerous here.
Four-Spotted Chaser, a Brown Hawker ovipositing low on the reed stems and both Common (3) and Ruddy Darter (1 male) were also found as well as a single Southern Hawker (Aeshna Cyanea) patrolling the woodland edge - the first I've personally seen this year.
Hopefully I'll have a better view when - or perhaps I should say if - the weather clears. |
| July 24th | Cambs. | DJP |
| In Upwell. A Migrant Hawker escaping from a thunderstorm took shelter in my lounge allowing me just time to photo it on the wall. It then flew around bouncing of the walls and ceiling before finding the open door. |
| July 23rd | Hants. | GV |
BDS Hants/Surrey Group visit. Itchen Country Park, Eastleigh - lower section of river Itchen, chalk-stream with associated choked-up ditches and carriers.
Coenagrion mercuriale most numerous damselfly present. Also commoners like cyathigerum, elegans, splendens, striolatum, sanguineum, cyanea present. |
| July 25th | Lincs. | SRo |
| Messingham Sand Quarries-16 Brown Hawker,6 Southern Hawker,15 Common Darter,2 Ruddy Darter and my first Migrant Hawker of the year. |
| July 26th | Derbyshire | LE |
| Carsington Water. I saw a lovely Common Hawker which perched up next to me, so I was able to get lots of photos. There were also Brown Hawkers, Emperors, Common Darters, Common Blue and Blue- tailed damselflies. |
| July 25th | Leics. | NW |
| Grantham Canal between bridges 45 (Stathern) and 49 (Plungar): Numbers for this stretch of canal continue to be down on previous years. 4 Brown Hawkers, 1 Southern Hawker, 1 male Ruddy Darter, 1 Blue-tailed Damselfly and 4 Common Blue Damselflies were present. By way of contrast 10 species of butterfly were seen in large numbers of each species. |
| July 25th | Shropshire | JOw |
| A visit to Whixall Moss revealed good numbers of Black Darters, a couple of Common Hawkers, Emerald, Azure & Blue-tailed Damselflies and a solitary White-faced Darter. Also on the wing, numerous horse flies. A bad day for short trousers! |
| July 27th | Dorset | BSm |
| A female broad bodied chaser emerged from my garden pond today following the nine emperors which emerged last week |
| July 28th | Norfolk | DJP |
| A walk from Santon Dowmhan along the Little Ouse, I would recommend to anyone interested in Dragonfly or just the pleasure of walking by this river. Many many Banded Demoiselle, male and female...too many to count. But also Ruddy Darter, Common Darter, Common Hawker, and...I cannot be sure a Keeled Skimmer. |
| July 28th | Surrey | JSo |
| I visited Boldermere at Ockham Common. I saw several black-tailed skimmers, several ruddy darters, a common darter, hundreds of common blue damselflies and a few vlue-tailed damselflies. A flyover was almost certainly a common hawker. |
| July 28th | Suffolk | GHM |
| Minsmere: Sunny and warm but quite windy. At the dragonfly pond, Emperor including female ovipositing and larvae and exuvia at the pond dipping station, Common Darter including pairs in tandem and ovipositing, Emerald Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly including ovipositing, Black-tailed Skimmer males, 4-spotted Chaser, Blue-tailed Damselfly. Elsewhere on reserve, Brown Hawker, Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker, Ruddy Darter. Eleven species in total. |
| July 28th | Hampshire | JSo |
| I was at Warren Heath (near Hartley Wintney) and saw several each of small red damselfly and emerald damselfly plus a keeled skimmer. This was despite it being overcast and at 6.45PM! |
| July 31st | E. Sussex | SDa |
| River Cuckmere at Frog firle some sun today brought out the following, x10 Common Darter, x3 Southern Hawker, x2 male 1 female (ovi) Emperor, x2 male 1 female (ovi) Ruddy Darter, x2 Brown Hawker, x2 male Black-tailed Skimmer with a hand full of Small red-eyed and blue-tailed Dams. |
| July 30th | Carmarthenshire | CJo |
| A single male Red-veined Darter at North Dock dunes Llanelli. Continually returning to the same spot, out of the strong wind, on the track on the east side of the remnant dune system. All id features seen well, including the split black marks on S8/9 |
| July 30th | Carmarthenshire | CJo |
| Male Golden-ringed Dragonfly at Furnace Pond, Llanelli, also Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies. At Wildfowl and Wetland Trust Penclacwydd, Llanelli, Migrant and Southern Hawkers, Common Darter, Four-spotted Chaser and Emperor. In addition to the above damselflies were Emeralds. |
| July 31st | Montgomeryshire | MW |
| Reported by Jo Mosse and confirmed by me - First record for Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly in Montgomeryshire at Cefn Pennant near Llanbrynmair. A mature male and a teneral female were seen on marshy ground fed by springs. Shallow pools caused by light horse grazing seem to be attracting the species and large numbers were reported by Mrs Mosse around mid July. |
| Aug 2nd | Suffolk | SG |
Staverton Lake, Suffolk TM359.515. Two male WILLOW EMERALD damselflies were found by myself this morning in sallows alongside this lake. I was also able to get some images of one of the males. I have since heard from observers who followed up my find that at least 5 were seen this pm. The County Recorder, Adrian Parr, has been advised.
This is some additional advice for anyone planning to visit Staverton Lake. The nearest parking is shown on the map at TM354.502 - Daisy's Walk. Once on site, it is advised that visitors should keep to the public footpath and view the track/lakeside sallows around TM359.515. In view of their habits, a scope may be useful. Good Luck SG |
| Aug 2nd | Devon | RBi |
| Smallhanger - L. sponsa 100+, E. cyathigeryum 100+, C. tenellum 30, A. imperator 3, Aeshna juncea 3, L. depressa 1, O, coerulescens 3, S. striolatum 25, S. sanguineum 2, S. danae 40 |
| Aug 1st | Suffolk | WBr |
| A female Willow Emerald was found myself E. Marsh, and J. Zantboer at Trimley Marshes S.W.T. reserve. The observation lasted about twelve minutes during which photos were taken by E.M. and W.B. copies have been forwarded to A. Parr. |
| Aug 2nd | E. Sussex | SDa |
Bishopstone Pond: x1 female Emperor (ovi), x10 Common Darter (inc x2 females), x1 male Ruddy Darter.
River Cuckmere (Arlington Weir): x5 male x4 female Banded Dem, X6 male x1 female White-legged Dam (Tandem), x6 Large-Red eyed Dam, x2 Common Darter, x1 Brown Hawker, x20 Common Blue Dam (Tandem)with just a few Azure and blue-tails. |
| Aug 1st/3rd | Kent | LHo |
| 1 August - I observed 2 male Lesser Emperor Dragonflies at the Dungeness RSPB Reserve, Kent. One seemed clear that one was holding territory, and trying with little success to chase the other away. A further male of this species was seen on 3 August also on the Reserve. There are also earlier reports of singles of the species on 3/7, 10/7 and also a report of one seen ovipositing. |
| Aug 5th | E. Berkshire | JWS |
| Today at Swinley Brick Pits, I recorded 17 species, with breeding activity for 11 of these. Damsels: Emerald (Ov), Small Red (Co), Azure (Co), Blue-tailed (Co), Common Blue, Large Red, Red-eyed (Ov); Dragons: Common (Ov) Black (Ov) and Ruddy (Co) Darters, Brown (Ov) and Southern Hawkers, Emperor (Ov), Black-tailed and Keeled Skimmer, Broad-bodied and Four-spotted (Ov) Chasers. Over 150 Small Reds counted, with 40+ mating pairs. 20+ Black Darters, inc 3 ovipositing pairs. Other highlights from the past week were 2 Black Darters and a singleton Small Red Damsel at Englemere Pond, neither of which I recorded there in 2008, Also further confirmation that Small Red appears to be doing fine at Rapley Lake (6 males recorded). Golden-ringed, Keeled Skimmer, Black Darter, and Small Red Damsel recorded at other sites in Swinley Forest in the past week. |
| Aug 6th | Kent | LHo |
| At least 5 Lessor Emperor dragonflies (Anax parthenope) today, at the Dungeness RSPB Reserve including a pair copulating in tandem being chased by another male. The pair then settled on Typha and the female began ovipositing. Visitors, please keep to the path between the Makepeace and Scott hides to view. Thank you |
| Aug 5th | Norfolk | CRo |
I photographed a male Southern Emerald Damselfly Lestes barbarus at Winterton North Dunes (toad pools area) TG486216. Unfortunately, I only identified it in retrospect on 6th (yesterday) and when I returned in the afternoon I could not relocate it. It was keeping to a tiny, rush-fringed, almost completely dried-out pond.
It might still be around. Photos available [which confirm the identification - BDS Webmaster]. |
| Aug 8th | Lincs. | SRo |
| A visit to Saltfleetby/Theddlethorpe NNR today, revealed a great count of 67 Ruddy Darter around the reserve,other species recorded where as follows: 47 Common Darter, 1 Four-spot Chaser, 1 female Black-tailed Skimmer, Male and female Emperor, 1 Migrant Hawker, 6 Emerald Damselfly and 4 Azure Damselfly. |
| Aug 8th | Inverclyde | JBu |
| Greenock Inverclyde Scotland: Today I have seen a Golden Ringed dragonfly on the steps outside my house. At first I thought it was dead but when I looked closer it seems to be resting. We are close to the river Clyde and also reservoirs but I live on a housing estate. |
| Aug 2nd/3rd | Oxon. | DFe |
Apparent Lestes sp resting on sallow in Otmoor RSPB reserve. Description: long thin abdomen, wings held like L sponsa but abdomen pink-beige, not green. No pruinesence. Anal appendages cream with black tips. Pterostigma greyish. [Photo confirms this as probable immature female L. sponsa]
|
| Aug 8th | Kent | DB |
| Following up early sightings of Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope) at Dungeness a minimum of 3 seen mid afternoon and possibly as many as 5. On Thursday 6 were seen by the Reserve staff. 50 metres past Makepeace hide and look right over New Excavations, they fly in the nearest corner from the path. |
| Aug 5th | Cumbria | JSo |
| A golden-ringed dragonfly was patrolling a path at the base of Hallin Fell (on the East bank of Ullswater) and then landed on my son's trousers for a good minute. In addition, I encountered Common Hawkers at least 800 feet up in the Newlands Valley (nr Moss Force) and on Skiddaw. |
| Aug 9th | E. Cornwall | RBi |
| Bake Lakes: C. puella 1, E. cyathigerum 500+, I. elegans 100+, A. parthenope (Lesser Emperor) 5 sightings but probably no more than 2 individuals, O. cancellatum 25, S striolatum 50, S. sanguineum 10. Millbrook Lake: C. boltonii 1. |
| Aug 9th | Norfolk | ATo |
| Upton Fen NWT. 2X Common Hawker observed at 3.30pm and photographed. Warning Large wasp nest, very active - located in the ground approx 50 feet to the left as you cross over wooden bridge onto reserve, do not approach closely as ground vibration will disturb them. |
| Aug 7th/9th | Devon | DSm |
| Dave Land filmed a male Small Red-eyed Damselfly on 7 August at Countess Wear, extending this species range a further 20 miles to the west. It was on blanketweed by the angler's car park opposite the sewage works, where the canal widens out. On the 9th, 3/4 were seen in the same area. |
| Aug 10th | Sutherland | CF |
We seem to be having a bumper year for dragonflies in this part of Northern Scotland - having rarely seen any up until now, this year they're everywhere! Global warming, perhaps?
A couple of weeks ago, beside the nearby River Brora, we came across a big, beautiful Golden-ringed Dragonfly Cordulegaster boltonii and today brought another visitor in our own garden... having carefully studied our reference books we firmly believe it to have been an example of the Brilliant Emerald Somatochlora metallica, catching hoverflies as we watched. |
| Aug 11th | Suffolk | SL |
| 6 Willow Emeralds (Lestes viridis) 3 males and 3 females at Staverton Lake (TM359/515). Excellent Scope views across the dyke from about 6-7m. Damsels hanging in the Alders between 1.5 - 3.5m above water. We parked at Wantisden Corner (TM367/515) walked west along no through road and took the footpath just past the first cottage. Follow path parallel to dyke, turn south across the dyke at the pumping station then turn right on the track between the lake and dyke. Damsels in Alders on far side of the duck-weed covered dyke at the point 2 alders meet across the dyke about 15m from the pump station track. We viewed from 8.30-10.00am in good light. |
| Aug 11th | Suffolk | MJW |
| One Willow Emerald (Lestes viridis) seen between 1500 and 1530 in the dyke near the NE corner of Staverton Lake - in the 'second gap', where there is clear water free of duck-weed. Unlike those reported earlier, this one was hanging on alder twigs only a few inches above water level, and making short flights close to the water. |
| Aug 11th | Devon | DSm |
| Although no Small Red-eyed Damselflies could be found on the west side of the Exeter Canal at Countess Wear Sewage Works, using my scope I was able to find about 15 on blanketweed on the east side, c100m north of the two boats. There were possibly also two pairs in tandem, but the views weren't quite good enough to be absolutely certain. Also over 100 Red-eyed Damselflies. |
| Aug 11th | Leics. | KW |
| Sence Valley Country Park had large numbers of Brown Hawkers depositing today. I estimated at least 90 females were involved today on a stretch of one of the ponds. The females were depositing in the reeds and floating vegetation, often inches apart or fighting to use the same reed or leaf. |
| Aug 11th | N. Yorkshire | JHa |
| 1 male & 1 female Small Red-eyed Damselflies on Seamer Tip Pools near Scarborough could be the most northerley record in UK. |
| Aug 13th | Suffolk | GG |
| 4+ Willow Emerald at Bromeswell fish ponds, including a pair in tandem within some branches of an overhanging willow. |
| Aug 13th | W. Yorkshire | DPr |
| 1 golden ringed dragonfly at Green Withens res. |
| Aug 14th | Hampshire | PWi |
| Twelve species today at Keyhaven including a Small Red-eyed Damselfly, a fairly late (and battered) Four-spotted Chaser, good numbers of Ruddy Darter and three immature male Red-veined Darters (a couple of images of the latter at http://patchwatch.blogspot.com/) |
| Aug 14th | Suffolk | TC |
| Went in search of Willow Emerald today at Staverton Lakes as mentioned in the previous hot news. Found it as described at the first Alders across the dyke, 3 individuals. Decided to then have a search around & found a male & a female about 75 meters further down the dyke, one on a willow & one on a birch. Both excellent very close views on the trees low down on bare twigs by the path. About 14 other observers enjoyed the views as well. I carried on about another 40 meters then took a black bridge on the left over dyke, then followed path between lake on left & dyke on right. Again found 2 females, again low down, close views, path side of dyke on bare twigs. They definitely seem to like resting on bare twigs! Good luck to potential observers, I think this site probably has quite a good sized population. |
| Aug 13th | Glos. | IT |
The Mythe, Tewkesbury. Small Red-eyed Damselflies very much in evidence at this site, with about 40, and with mating and ovipositing pairs. This site was flooded in July 2007, and none were seen last year. A smaller population of the species was also seen at a second site at Nature in Art, Twigworth, on 23rd July, with a mating and ovipositing pair.
Other species present on 13th August were Banded and Beautiful Demoiselle, White-legged, Common Blue, Blue-tailed, and Red-eyed Damselflies, and Brown and Southern Hawker, Emperor, Common and Ruddy Darter. |
| Aug 13th/14th | E. Berkshire | JWS |
On 13 Aug, visited Gormoor, Swinley Forest. On 14 Aug went to Crowthorne Wood and Wildmoor Heath. Weather:cloud with brief sunny intervals on both days. The first Migrant Hawkers are starting to show in this area.There was a squadron of 8 or 9 immatures at Gormoor and a singleton at Wildmoor, my first records for this species this year. Other highlights at Gormoor were 20 Small Red Damsels (inc 6 mating pairs) , 3 Golden-ringed, 4 Keeled Skimmers and 4 Black Darters. 5 other common species were also recorded there. Ten species were recorded at Crowthorne: Emperor, Black and Common Darters, Keeled Skimmer, Golden-ringed, female Southern Hawker ovipositing, Small Red, Large Red, Azure, Blue-tailed and Emerald Damsels. Nine species were counted at Wildmoor: Common Darter, Keeled Skimmer, Golden-ringed, Southern Hawker (ovipositing), Brown Hawker and the Migrant Hawker, plus Banded Demoiselle, Azure and Small Red Damsels.
For the third year in a row no sign of Common Hawker at its former sites. Could it be due to global warming or the wet summers we have had recently? |
| Aug 15th | Suffolk | CRo |
Two more Willow Emerald sites were found with Dougal McNeill, in the Deben Valley, either side of Wickham Market:
Ash Abbey (TM317546) 1 male and 5 females at super close range.
Glevering Hall (TM295566) 1 female.
Similar habitat to Staverton. They seem to like it quite closed-in and well-vegetated (Alder a constant), particularly a "sun-trap" with bare twigs to perch on. Good photos at first of these sites. |
| Aug 15th | Cambs. | MR |
| A few Small Red-eyed Damselflies at Hinchingbrooke Country Park - Huntingdon, on the small pool at far end of the park towards A14. First seen here in 2005. |
| Aug 15th | Cambs. | DJP |
| Cambridge: many common darter feeding in the grounds of Peckover House. Flying overhead and photographed while resting. |
| Aug 15th | Suffolk | TC |
Alton Water, Tattingstone, Suffolk: I couldn't resist stopping off here for ten minutes when driving past on the way to Ipswich. Parked at the Lemon Hill Bridge, North car park. Crossed the road westwards, just went to the first two bays with willow trees. Couldn't believe it, found two Willow Emerald damselflies within minutes including fantastic close view of a female at head height in a willow, its metallic green body glistening in the brilliant sunshine.
So did I just get lucky or is this just the tip of the iceberg with large populations present? Sadly I wasn't able to stay here & investigate further. This is a huge reservoir site with thousands of willow trees & definitely warrants further searches. Turn into Tattingstone village from the A137. When you reach the church turn left,follow the road for about 1/4 mile & you will come to the bridge. |
| Aug 16th | Wiltshire | SC |
| I am pleased to report that Small Red-eyed Damselflies are back at Coate Water country Park in Swindon this year. I observed at least 4 late this afternoon in less than ideal conditions so hopefully there are more there. This is particularly good news given that I've not located any at the normally regular site nearby at GW Hospital Pond. These are the only records for the county so far this year. |
| Aug 16th | Lincs. | SRo |
| We visited the NNR at Crowle today in not brilliant conditions, but recorded the following numbers and species: 8 Migrant Hawker, 23 Common Hawker, 433 Black Darter, 6 Southern Hawker, 8 Common Darter, 9 Emerald Damselfly and 1 Brown Hawker. |
| Aug 16th | Isle of Wight | MHt |
| At least 30 Small Red Eyed Damselflies on a pond at Shalfleet Isle of Wight. Mating and egg laying seen. |
| Aug 14th-16th | Hants/Bucks | BH |
14th Hants: Hillier Arboretum, Nr Romsey: Golden-ringed Dragonfly 3, Migrant Hawker 3, Southern Hawker 1, Common Darter 2, Common Blue Damselfly 2.
15th Hants: Mottisfont Abbey (National Trust site): Southern Damselfly 1 male, Banded Agrion 2, Southern Hawker 2.
16th Bucks: Stowe Landscaped Gardens (National Trust): The lakes there, with abundant water lilies, were alive with activity including: 1000's of red-eyed damselflies, 100's of small red-eyed damselflies, 100's of common blue damselflies, 25 blue-tailed damselflies, 4 brown hawker, 6 migrant hawker, 1 southern hawker, 1 emperor, 10 common darters and 3 ruddy darters. |
| Aug 16th | Suffolk | PHo |
| The Staverton Lake, Willow Emeralds continued to show reasonably well on Sunday 16th. Video link |
| Aug 17th | Suffolk | GG |
| Visited the site at Bromeswell again and found 4 males and 1 female [Willow Emeralds]. At rest they were on sallow and on the ends of adjacent leylandii. Twice a pair were watched in tandem within the sallow, with the male landing on a branch and the female egg-laying. |
| Aug 17th | Suffolk | D&AH |
| Felixstowe: My wife, Ann, found a male Southern Emerald Damselfly (Lestes barbarus) in our back garden caught in a web, it was alive but died overnight. Species confirmed by Nick Mason, David Walsh, Steve Abbott. We have Photographs. We believe this is a first for Suffolk? |
| Aug 19th | Leics. | LE |
| Wymeswold - 3 Emerald damselflies all day "in cop" and then ovipositing, and changing partners. Fascinating to watch the pair in tandem move slowly down into, and completely under the water, staying under to lay eggs on the reed stem for about 10-15 minutes. First time seen breeding in the pond. One got tangled in a spider's web, so I rescued it and had a close look to check on the identification, and took loads of photos. Others visiting were Common Darters, "in cop" and ovipositing, a Brown Hawker ovipositing around the pond for several hours, Blue tailed damselflies, a Migrant Hawker and a Southern Hawker. There were also 10 species of butterfly only a couple of metres from the pond. Newts surfaced a couple of times for air, and luckily didn't catch a damselfly for lunch. I had thought about going out for the day to look for dragonflies, but with a hot sunny day forecast I was glad I decided to stay to see what visited the garden. The rich rewards of 20 years of organic, wildlife gardening! |
| Aug 16th-18th | Moray | BAH |
A few days spent around the Culbin Forest produced
Southern Hawkers on all the forest pools showing well.
1 Golden-ringed Dragonfly a few Common Hawkers and Black Darters with large numbers of Common Darters and Four-spotted Chasers on the same pools. Also large numbers of Common Blue and Emerald Damselflies, not bad for eastern Scotland. |
| Aug 22nd | Suffolk | TC |
| Alton Water, Tattingstone, Suffolk: Had more time to make a return visit today after my brief stop last week when I stumbled across Willow Emerald Damselfly. Concentrated my searches today along the north banks either side of the Lemon Hill bridge. Strangely no individuals were found waterside but I found 11 individuals, all female along the footpath in trees & hedgerow. They like sunny spots & if you look ahead as you are walking you may spot their distinctive short burst fight when they go to catch a fly then return to their favourite perch. Very reminiscent of "Flycatcher" birds. This was only a small section of this huge reservoir site that I searched & would guess that they could be found anywhere in this locality. |
| Aug 22nd | Suffolk | RR/GV |
6+ Willow Emerald Damselflies on the River Gipping downstream of Needham Market, past Alderson lake and over the first stile at c.101544. Mainly in alders, on the opposite bank to the footpath. 2 tandem pairs seen flying into the alders, other individuals hanging from alder branches over the river.
Situation marked with a small dead willow branch stuck into the mud of the river bank. |
| Aug 23rd | Suffolk | PBi |
| At Staverton Lake today, a minimum of 30 Willow Emeralds, including several tenerals. About a dozen around the pump house pond (the only area with public access) and the remainder along the track for about 400 yards west. |
| Aug 23rd | Suffolk | R&JF |
| Alton Water Suffolk: west from car park 8th bay in willow. 3 male and 2 female willow emerald damselfly, 2 pairs in cop plus single flyers. |
| Aug 23rd | Suffolk | JTi |
| Made the trip from Warwickshire to Staverton Lakes in Suffolk (TM359515) to see the Willow Emeralds today and was not disappointed. Between 10.00 and 12.00 a male and seven females were found by the first Alders across the Dyke. Three Small Red-Eyed Damselflies were also noted on the lakes. Other species present were; Emperor Dragonfly (pair), Brown Hawker (1), Migrant Hawker (5+), Red-Eyed Damselfly (1), Blue-Tailed Damselfly (2), Common Blue Damselfly (many), Common Darter (10+) and Ruddy Darter (10+). |
| Aug 23rd | Lincs. | BH |
| Baston Fen area, Lincs: 12.30 - 16.00, Red-eyed damselfly 3, Common Blue Damselfly 100's, Blue-tailed Damselfly 8, Emerald Damselfly 80, Common Darter 100's, Ruddy darter 40, Brown Hawker 4, Southern Hawker 1 and swarms of migrant hawkers (at least 150) trying to avoid the hobbies! |
| Aug 25th | Suffolk | SG |
| You are right Tim [TC - Aug 22nd], to suggest that L. viridis has spread to many parts of Alton Water and well done for finding them there. As the original finder of the damsels at Staverton on 02/08, I have not returned since instead choosing to search elsewhere but with little fortune except for the N arm of Alton Water towards the A137 where I have seen several. I haven't seen them yet along the SW shore but I agree that further searching will turn up more. |
| Aug 25th | Cornwall | CMo |
Lizard NNR-Windmill Farm & Bray's Cot area: 2 male Emperor, 2 female Emperor ovipositing. 12+ teneral Common Darter, on first flight up from reeds, 25+ mature Common Darter including ovipositing pairs. 5 male Black-tailed Skimmer, 1 female ovipositing. 2 4-Spot Chasers. Many Emerald Damsel pairs, also Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damsels. 4 male Golden Ringed, 1 female Golden-Ringed ovipositing. 4 mature male Southern Hawker, 1 immature & 2 female immature. 1 male immature Migrant Hawker.
Good day considering the dull wet summer in Cornwall. |
| Aug 26th | Norfolk | Rle |
| A female Lestes barbarus was seen & photographed this evening along the field edge opposite Woodlands holiday camp at Trimingham. It will be looked for again tomorrow. |
| Aug 27th | Suffolk | SCh |
| Today I visited the River Deben near Campsea Ashe to search for Willow Emerald Damselfly. The first Emerald seen was Lestes sponsa. Then the sun came out!! In a short half kilometre stretch of river bank I counted 150+ Willow Emeralds either individually, in tandem or cop. They were hanging in the Alder and Willow trees and also in bankside nettles. There was a lot of interaction between individuals. In one willow tree overhanging the river I saw at least 6 tandem pairs egg laying into willow branches. It was the most abundant species present and relatively easy to photograph. In these numbers it is likely to spread further into new areas. On the continent it is a common damselfly and one that must be on the verge of establishing itself in the UK. With a good weather forecast for weekend get out there and search for it. |
| Aug 27th/28th | Suffolk | POl |
Mick James found some Willow Emerald Damsels just north of Felixstowe at Candlet Farm (Grid ref TM 293367). Paul Holmes checked them out today and counted a staggering 30+ insects along the northbound bridleway in rank vegatation. For photos go to my web www.freewebs.com/proldfield or google search Felixstowe Birding. Didgy's in recent reports.
Best regards Paul Oldfield.
We are going on a search tomorrow of all likely spots. Looks like a colonisation is happening. |
| Aug 28th | Cambs | DJP |
| In Upwell, again a visitor into my house. Trying to escape through the kitchen window, a Migrant Hawker....some really good photos. Also during the day several in the garden. |
| Aug 27th | Glos. | DS |
| One male Broad-bodied Chaser in good condition holding territory on the upper pond at RSPB Nagshead nature reserve. |
| Aug 29th | Suffolk | POl |
| Willow Emerald Damselflies around Felixstowe today include one at Trimley Marshes SWT Reserve, 12 this afternoon down the north-south footpath that borders Candlet Farm and eight at a new site at the pond in "The Wilderness Wood" about a mile or so north of Candlet Farm. Grid ref TM297379. See my web www.freewebs.com/proldfield/ for details. |
| Aug 31st | Suffolk | PWe |
| I would like to thank SCh for the report of Willow Emerald Damselfly near Campsea Ashe. I visited the site on Monday and found over 100 Willow Emeralds around the river and even in the woods several 100 meters from the river. They were found low down along the riverside on nettles and dead Hogweed allowing excellent photo opportunities. Photos can be found at ibirdz.co.uk. There is definitely a sizeable colony at this site. |
| Sept 6th | N. Yorkshire | JHa |
| 1 Male Yellow-winged darter at Filey Country Park today - and photographed. |
| Sept 5th | Norfolk | JF |
| Black Darter male at East Hills, near Wells-next-the-Sea, seen and photographed. ID confirmed by Tony Irwin and Pam Taylor. This is some 15 miles from the nearest known breeding sites. |
| Sept 7th | Suffolk | DAd |
A quick lunchtime walk to the pond here at BT Adastral Park (private site). A male Willow Emerald was low near the water on some sedges. I was surprised as there are only birches around the pond. (I was able to point it out to interested by-standers).
Also there, a few Small Red-Eyed and Blue-tailed Damselflies, Common darters and a Migrant Hawker.
I first saw Willow Emerald at Bromeswell on 17th August, having been kindly directed by David Healey. Along the public footpath just left (East) of the village hall, there were several straight away. |
| Sept 8th | UK | GHg |
| Not really Hotnews but the BBC "The One Show" are showing a short film on Golden-ringed Dragonflies on Tuesday 08th September. The footage was filmed in early July in the New Forest. |
| Sept 8th | Leics. | LE |
Another "first" for my area of north Leicestershire (Wymeswold) - a Common Hawker. I think he has been around for a few days, but as I was watching him zoom around at lunch time he must have caught something to eat, and perched up in the geraniums. Opportunity for some photos and a nice surprise when I checked the I.D. - the 17th species for my garden!
A female Brown Hawker was ovipositing again, but she doesn't know how lucky she is as yesterday a frog went for her and I had to cause a distraction for her to escape. Common Darters ovipositing, Ruddy Darters and Blue tailed Damselflies all present today. |
| Sept 9th | Cornwall | CMo |
| Chyverton CWTR: Keeled Skimmer-15+ including 2 tandem pairs, 2 ovipositing females. Golden-ringed: 2 males of which 1 succumbed in spider web, 1 female recently dead in water. Common Hawker male 2, female 2, of which 1 landed on a hand!! Southern Hawker male 4, female 3 ovipositing. Common Darters 5+ tandem pairs. Emerald Damsels - many pairs. |
| Sept 10th | Cornwall | CMo |
Breney Common Ponds: 2 male Golden-ringed. 10+ male Black Darters at water, 4 tandem pairs observed. 3 Common Hawker males and 2 ovipositing females. 4 Southern Hawker males. 3 male Beautiful Demoiselles. Common Darters 10+ including ovipositing pairs. Many Emerald Damsels, some Common Blue Damsels.
At last 2 consecutive sunny days ! |
| Sept 6th | Suffolk | NW |
Canal Pond, Ickworth House.
Whilst watching a small number of Migrant Hawkers and a mix of Common and Ruddy Darters I witnessed a fight between a Hornet and what appeared to be a male Ruddy Darter. At first I thought they were a pair of Darters in cop as they crashed into the vegetation at the side of the pond. They remained entwined and grappling for a few seconds before taking off, still entwined. Almost immediately the Darter broke free and disappeared back into the vegetation. The Hornet flew away across the pond.
As anyone else come across a Darter predating a Hornet or vice versa? |
| Sept 10th/11th | Northants | MT |
| I have received a set of photos from the County Butterfly recorder that show the first record of a Black Darter in Northants. Several Northants Dragonfly Group members went to see it on 11 Sept (while I was unable to get time off work!!) and it was still there, although a search today (12 Sept) failed to find it. Photos are posted on the Northants Dragonfly Blog. |
| Sept 12th | Dorset | GF |
| One immature male Red-veined Darter seen on the 12th near Norden, also Southern and Migrant Hawkers, and Common Darters. |
| Sept 12th/13th | Hampshire | PWi |
| There were 6 immature male Red-veined Darters at Keyhaven and I've been sent a picture of one found at Matley Bog (NF) on 13th. |
| Sept 13th | Suffolk | SCh |
| In response to NWs observation of the Ruddy Darter and Hornet I would suggest that it is one lucky dragonfly. Hornets are voracious predators of dragonflies taking species as large as Southern and Migrant Hawkers. If the Darter managed to escape then it is probable that the Hornet was unable to sting it. Hornets and other social wasps sting their prey before butchering them into manageable pieces. They will carry bits back to their nest and return repeatedly until all the parts are used. Only the wings usually remain. |
| Sept 16th | Suffolk | JRa |
| At 609961,254402 [River Gipping, Needham Market] pair of Willow Emerald mating at 14:30. First time I've seen the male, but as many as three on the Gipping. |
| Sept 16th | Hampshire | PWi |
| There was one mature male Red-veined Darter at Badminston GP this afternoon. Also present was a male Small Red-eyed Damselfly and a male Small Red Damselfly - the latter a first for me at the site and not the usual habitat I see them in. |
| Sept 12th | Suffolk | AP |
| New sites for Willow Emerald Damselfly continue to be found in SE Suffolk, e.g. I saw a single female at Brandeston Bridge on 12 September. Do people know of yet others in the area? (or even in Essex?) |
| Sept 18th | Cornwall | CMo |
| Chyverton CWTR: Keeled Skimmer- 3 male, 1 ovipositing female. Southern Hawker- 3 male, 1 ovipositing female. Common Hawker- 2 male, 1 ovipositing female. Golden-ringed- 2 male, 1 female. 2 Emerald Damsels. 10+ Common Darters. 1 male Beautiful Demoiselle. 1 male Large Red Damsel. |
| Sept 19th | Northants. | MT |
| In June this year, Red-veined Darter were recorded oviposting in a pond just outside Northampton. Today, with my son, we saw three recently emerged adults. The male Common Darter were getting very excited by them as they looked like fresh females. All three were the subject of a mating attempt. We also found 2 exuviae, identifiable by the lack of spines on the abdomen. As if that wasn't enough, we also saw a Black Darter. Was this the same one that was seen further east in Northampton last week (which I missed), or a second individual? Photos of both species on the blog. Also, many ovipositing Migrant Hawker, a few Common Blue Damselflies and a single female Emerald Damselfly. |
| Sept 6th | Essex | PSm |
| A single Willow Emerald Damselfly was found and photographed earlier this month (prior to Sept 6th) at Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve (EWT) by Roy Cornhill. The photograph can be seen on the Colchester Natural History Society website at http://www.colchesternaturalhistorysociety.org.uk/watchingwildlife.htm. |
| Sept 24th | Berkshire | JWS |
| At Whitmoor Bog, just before mid-day, I witnessed two separate events of Raft Spider, Dolomedes, preying on ovipositing Common Darters. In the first case, the male was flying round with the female in tandem, with the spider locked to the head of the female. The female quickly became motionless, and the male dropped the female as soon as it realised the female was not ovipositing. I lifted the lifeless female and spider from the water on my walking stick and took photos of the two. Then a couple of minutes later, a pair was ovipositing in vegetation at the margin of the same small pond when I saw the second Raft Spider strike. The male Common Darter tried to lift the female clear, but in an instant the female was lifeless and the male detached. Again I lifted the combination of female Common Darter with Raft Spider attached from the water for inspection and photographs. |
| Sept 26th | Northants. | MT |
| Red-veined Darters have been emerging all week, and today we found 4 more recently emerged, including their exuviae. I estimate the total so far is about 12 adults. Also seen were Common Darter, Migrant Hawker, Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies. |
| Sept 25th | Suffolk | PSm |
| I visited Alton Water for an hour to search for Willow Emerald Damselfly and found only one still flying, at TM139379 by the path to the east of Lemons Hill North car park. The only other species seen were numerous Common Blue Damselflies and four Migrant Hawkers. |
| Sept 25th | Suffolk | BPl |
| Have just seen a report for today from Alton Water. I spent a short time there this afternoon and located at least 6 willow Emerald damselflies in willows at the waters edge about 100metres east of Lemon's Hill car park. Two pairs were in copulo with one female egg laying into a twig. |
| Sept 29th | Northants. | MT |
| I have received records & photos from Graham Bentley that show our male Red-veined Darters turning red and getting the red-veins on their wings. |
| Oct 1st | Cornwall | CMo |
| Windmill CWTR: Emperor male 3, female 1 - ovipositing. Migrant Hawker male 1, female 1- ovipositing. Many Common Darter pairs ovipositing. Red-veined Darter male 2, 1 teneral seen. Very few damsels - Common Blue, Blue-tailed, Emerald. |
| Oct 2nd | Northants. | MT |
| Four more Red-veined Darter emerging today. I didn't see any red males though as the weather was cool abd cloudy. |
| Sept 26/30th | Cornwall | IT |
On holiday at Lakeview, Lanivet, near Bodmin, 3 males and 1 female Beautiful Demoiselle, were present on a small stream running through the grounds, as well as 4 Common Darters on one of the lakes. It seems a late date for the Beautiful Demoiselles.
Also, on 30 September a male Southern Hawker was present at Trelissick Gardens. |
| Oct 3rd | Devon | R&CC |
| Bystock Pools, near Exmouth. 1 Female Southern Hawker patrolling the main pond despite it being cool and cloudy. |
| Oct 4th | Cambs. | ISh |
| Fen Drayton Lakes and adjacent River Ouse. 20+ Common Darters, 10 Migrant Hawkers incl. 2 pairs in cop, one Brown Hawker. Also one solitary male Common Blue Damsel energetically patrolling the lake margin. |
| Oct 4th-6th | Derbyshire | MAB |
This is the first time I have submitted anything to this site but with the recent sighting of our first Black Darter I thought it about time I put the Carr Vale area (North-east Derbyshire)on the national dragonfly map. 20 species recorded to date with Red-veined Darter (2006 and 2007), Small Red-eyed Damsel (2008), Commnon Hawker (1998 and 2009)as well as Black Darter on the area list. Site information can be found on the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Derbyshire Ornithological Society Websites.
An excellent day for Dragonflies on 4th Oct. saw the first record for the Carr Vale area of Black Darter when Jim Alder found two males on the top Peter Fidler Pond and a probable third insect was adjacent to the reserve pond but it flew off before poss id could be made. This is the 20th species of Dragonfly to be seen at Carr Vale. Other dragons included 50+ Common Darters, 6 Migrant Hawkers, three Southern Hawkers, Emerald Damsel and a late Blue-tailed Damsel (latest ever for the county?).
5th Oct. 4 Migrant Hawkers and two Southern Hawkers but no sign of the Black Darter.
6th Oct. At last after two fruitless visits the sun came out for a short period early afternoon and a male Black Darter was present again on the Top Pond on the Peter Fidler Reserve. There is no late date for this rarely recorded species on the Derbyshire Dragonfly website. |
| Sept 25th | Suffolk | A.W |
| At TM12704500, below Sproughton Bridge on the Gipping nr Ipswich. 5+ poss. Willow Emerald damselflies on alders over the river, "jizz" seemed right for this species but neither myself nor colleague had binoculars to confirm ID! |
| Oct 10th | Cornwall | CMo |
| Chyverton CWTR: 5 male Southern Hawkers individually identified, 1 female in worn condition. 1 Golden-ringed male. 1 Keeled Skimmer female, ovipositing. 1 Common Hawker female ovipositing on reed. 5+ male Common Darters,3 female, 1 tandem pair. 1 Emerald Damsel. |
| Oct 10th | Devon | R&CC |
| River Otter (White Bridge - Otterton Mill): 3 x Southern Hawker, 10 plus Common Darter, 1 x Migrant Hawker and 2 x Blue Tailed Damselflies! |
| Oct 12th | Lincs. | SRo |
| A visit to Messingham Sand Quarries today revealed a total of 49 Common Darter and 7 Migrant Hawker. |
| Oct 12th | Surrey | DJP |
| A walk along the Basingstoke Canal from Woking to Deepcut. Only a few dragonfly but nice to see. A Southern Hawker near Woking, an Emperor near St Johns but mostly Common Darter. At Brookwood, there were just more than a dozen, male and female mating and also ovipositing. With more males than females in the intense sunlight there was little rest. |
| Oct 13th | Pembrokeshire | S&AC |
| Anne Coker found 12 exuvia of Sympetrum fonscolombei in the largest dune slack in Merepool Valley at Bosheston |
| Oct 12th | Lincs. | RWi |
| Frampton Marsh: Female Red-Veined Darter 12/10. Photo can be seen here: http://robsbirdingblog93.blogspot.com/ |
| Oct 14th | Hampshire | PWi |
| Visited the bomb craters at Ashley Hole (New Forest) today and in the warm autumn sunshine there were the following (all males) - Southern Hawker 2, Common Hawker 1, Black Darter 3, Common Darter 2. The walk back along Black Gutter Bottom brought another 12 Common Darters including an ovipositing pair. |
| Oct 13th/14th | Cornwall | CMo |
13 Oct - Windmill CWTR: 1 Emperor male, 1 Emperor female ovipositing. 1 Common Blue Damsel male, 1 Emerald Damsel female. 15+ Common Darter males, also tandem pairs ovipositing during brief sunny interval.
14 Oct - Breney Common CWTR: 2 Southern Hawker males. 3 Common Hawker males. 2 Emerald Damsel males. 10+ Common Darters, including tandem pairs ovipositing. 15+ Black Darters, including 4 tandem pairs ovipositing. Common Darter male seen to seize Black Darter female, she freed herself!
1 Beautiful Demoiselle male. |
| Oct 18th | Cornwall | CMo |
| Windmill CWTR: Overcast, 11-13C - 12+ Common Darters and 1 overmature female on boardwalks or dried mud, often wing-whirring. 1 Emerald Damsel male, perched on reed at water. |
| Oct 17th/18th | Pembrokeshire | S&AC |
17/10/09 Broomhill Burrows, Pembrokeshire: Sympetrum fonscolombii 20 exuviae and 1 female adult seen
18/10/09 Brownslade Burrows, Pembrokeshire: Sympetrum fonscolombii 58 exuviae and an emerging male found |
| Oct 19th | Notts. | NW |
| Thoresby Hall: 20+ Common Darters including 3 over mature females sheltering beneath the trees overlooking the cricket ground. Most were using fallen leaves to assist in warming up in the sunshine. |
| Oct 20-25th | Cornwall | CMo |
20 Oct: Windmill Farm - 10+ Common Darter male, in warm spots away from water, 3 female perching together on a warm post. 2 male Common Blue Damsels, 1 male Emerald Damsel on reeds at pool.
24 Oct: Carminowe Creek, Loe Pool - 2 Migrant Hawker, 1 male, 1 female.
25 Oct: Breney Common Pools - 2 male Common Hawker, 1 female ovipositing. 1 Southern Hawker male. Black Darters, 4 male, 2 female. Common Darters, 5 male. |
| Oct 25th | Suffolk | AP |
| A few Willow Emerald Damselflies still on the wing, with three reported from Newbourne near Martlesham Heath on 25 October. |
| Oct 25th | Hampshire | BH |
| Itchen Navigation, Shawford: 20+ Common Darters (including some in tandem), 2 Migrant Hawkers |
| Oct 28th | Hampshire | PWi |
| At Ashley Hole (NF) there were two male Southern Hawkers, five Common Darters including a pair in cop then ovipositing and a male Black Darter, my latest ever. |
| Oct 31st | Glos. | IT |
| As it is reported to be the last good day before the storms arrive, we decided to go to a favourite spot in the Forest of Dean - Woorgreens Lake - and were amazed to see numerous Common Darters on the wing, with many mating and ovipositing pairs. This was the only species we saw. |
| Oct 31st | Lincs. | SRo |
| A walk around my local birding patch at Worlaby Carrs, revealed 7 Common Darter still on the wing including 1 pair in tandem. |
| Oct 31st | Leics. | KW |
| Still three species of dragonfly on the wing today at private site near Lutterworth. Seven pairs of Common Darter in cop/egg laying with several other males very active. 1 Southern Hawker egg laying. 3 Migrant Hawkers egg laying with up to a dozen males still present. Have some of these been arriving in the last week as one male and one of the females had no damage to the wings? |
| Nov 2nd | Leics. | KW |
| At a Private site near Lutterworth, I was surprised to find 10 Common Darter and one Migrant Hawker on the wing still. I also had a very brief view of an Emperor ??, large blue body/green thorax, I was unable to refind this dragonfly. |
| Nov 3rd | Glos. | MJMcG |
| Common Darter at WWT Slimbridge today. |
| Oct 31st | Moray | DLw |
| Late records from Culbin Forest (30km north east of Inverness) on 31 October were ten common darters, including one copulating pair, one male black darter and one male southern hawker. |
| Nov 8th | Cornwall | CMo |
| Breney Common Ponds: sunshine, very strong wind, 9-10C - 1 Common Hawker male. 3 male Common Darters, 1 female ovipositing alone. |
| Nov 8th | Cambs. | HJV |
| A late Common Darter along Soham Lode just east of the A142. Three individual Common Darters the previous day on Laddus Fen, between March and Wisbech. |
| Nov 9th | Norfolk | PT |
| Common Darters still in Norfolk (Potter Heigham) Sunday 8th. Can't check here yet today - too misty. |
| Nov 8th | Bucks | AN |
Common Darter still in North Bucks, noted a few at Emberton County Park on Sunday. Latest recorded in NB was 25th Nov 2006.
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| Nov 10th | Suffolk | MM |
| Common Darter at Felixstowe Ferry this morning. Yesterday 2 at Dunwich along shingle ridge. |
| Nov 15th | Berkshire | JWS |
| After the fierce wind and rain of the past two days, one male Black Darter (a personal latest record) plus ten male Common Darters on the wing at Crowthorne Wood. |
| Nov 15th | Norfolk | ATo |
| Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve. 17 common darters including 3 pairs in cop and 2 pairs ovipositing. 2 male migrant hawkers one of which was seen to be consuming a common darter. |
| Nov 15th | Cornwall | GF |
| 1 female Southern Hawker hunting along a hedge. |
| Nov 15th | Glos. | IT |
| Hartpury: On a glorious sunny morning, 8 Common Darters, including a mating pair, and an ovipositing pair which was watched for several minutes dancing along the side of a wide wet channel by the members of the group. We also had splendid views of a kingfisher perched and diving for fish. |
| Nov 17th | Devon | LH |
| Devon Wildlife Trust Bystock Nature Reserve, Exmouth, SY 034 843: 2 male Common darter and pair Common darter egg laying. 10:30am. Condition sunny |
| Nov 15th | Dorset | BG/LW |
| 15 November 2009: Common Goldenring, Cordulegaster boltonii in flight and then sunning itself at the base of the cliffs at Black Ven between Lyme Regis and Charmouth, Dorset. Grid reference: SY 357930. |
| Nov 22nd | Norfolk | ATo |
| 2x Male Migrant Hawker. 2x Common Darter in tandem. Sculthorpe Moor |
| Nov 18th | Norfolk | PT |
| Common Darters still flying in Norfolk on Monday 16th Nov, but they'd need strong wings to fly today in this wind! |
| Nov 21st | Norfolk | FI |
| Pair of common darters ovipositing near Reedham conservation barn. |
| Nov 27th | Norfolk | ATo |
| Sculthorpe Moor 3x Common Darters 2m & 1fm. |
| Dec 1st | Norfolk | PT |
| One Common Darter and a Red Admiral butterfly flying today south of Hickling Broad. |
| Dec 2nd | Hampshire | NMl |
| A friend of mine has just (2 Dec 09) had a common blue tailed Damselfly emerge from her tropical fish tank. It was released into the wild at Bartley Wood, Hampshire. |
| Dec 5th | Norfolk | ATo |
| Sculthorpe Moor. 2x male Common Darters |
| Dec 6th | Warwickshire | PR |
| A report from Jon Bowley: "I have just returned from visiting Salford Priors, Warwickshire (this is December 6th!) where I was amazed to find a male Common Darter sunning itself. The darter was flying rather weakly when disturbed, but spent most of its time just sitting on the brambles, the sun being quite strong at this spot." |
| Dec 9th | Norfolk | ATo |
| Union Farm Gressenhall. During a lunchtime walk today, 2x male Common Darters enjoying the sunshine on the boardwalk next to the farm pond and 2x Red Admirals. |
