The Dragonflies in Focus Project
Dragonflies in Focus project
The Dragonflies in Focus (DiF) project aims to achieve a long-term, sustainable programme of volunteer recording activities and provide better quality information on dragonflies and their aquatic environment. A major output of the project is the production of a new, revised national atlas. Funding for three years has allowed the society to employ a Dragonflies in Focus Officer (Steve Prentice)to manage the Dragonfly Recording Network's national database and co-ordinate recording for the new atlas. For more information on the DiF project please contact Steve Prentice
The National Dragonfly Atlas - 2008 to 2013
a species extending its range northwards
The Dragonflies in Focus Project, including the National Dragonfly Atlas was launched with Chris Packham on 24th April 2008 at the Natural History Museum. The aim of this project is to update the known distribution of British dragonfly and damselfly species over the next 5 years, culminating in the publication of a new national atlas in 2013.
A new national atlas is urgently required. Climate change is contributing to increasingly earlier spring emergence and change in the range of a number of our species. In addition, new species are becoming established in Britain, as demonstrated by the recent rapid spread of Small Red-eyed Damselfly. We are living through a dynamic change in our dragonfly fauna and need to record this information, thereby providing evidence for future assessment of the impact climate change and other environmental factors are having on our dragonfly fauna.
To succeed in this ambitious project good national coverage is needed. The more volunteers that get involved, especially in the traditionally under-recorded areas of Scotland, Ireland and northern England, the more information on the status of our dragonfly and damselfly species can be gathered. This will not only allow the production of a high quality national atlas but also provide a good baseline of information that can be used for the future benefit of dragonfly conservation.
You can help with recording the dragonflies and damselflies in your local area or further a-field
Taking part
Below are some steps that you can take to make a contribution to this project
- Volunteer to record in one or more 10-km squares Your local dragonfly recorder will be able to tell you where the gaps are in your local area. Can you help fill in these gaps? The Dragonflies in Focus Officer can also supply you with this information either locally or nationally. Any records you gather are important so please send them in to your local recorder.
- Join in one of many field meetings and training events These events will be published in the diary pages and spring issue of the Society's Dragonfly News. A number of additional training events will be organised as part of the atlas project. If there are no events in your local area why not help organise one?
- Keep up-to-date with progress Updated progress of recording for the national atlas will be posted on this website.
- Spread the word! Let as many people know about the project as possible, including local natural history societies, site wardens and other wildlife groups. A poster and leaflet advertising the atlas project will be available to download from here. We also intend to prepare a short powerpoint presentation that may be incorporated into talks to local natural history groups. Leaftets, posters and presentation will also be available from the Dragonflies in Focus Officer.
New to recording Dragonflies?
Here's a brief introdution and some materials that should help you to get started.
- What is a record? A basic dragonfly record has 5 parts to it:
- Your name and contact details
- The date you made your sighting
- The name of the site you were at
- An OS Grid reference for the site (Guide on how to do this to follow very shortly)
- What you saw
- What did you see? Although it may seem daunting to start with, dragonfly identification skills can be learnt by anyone. A great place to start is your garden pond, or a local park or nature reserve. Start by separating dragonflies and damselflies. The time of year and location in the UK will narrow down the number of species to consider, as will the habitat (still or flowing water). You can separate the dragonflies into 'types' - hawkers, chasers, skimmers, darters and emeralds. Binoculars will help you to see the specific markings that separate species.
There is a guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies in your Garden, compiled by the BDS for Natural England, which you can download from us now. This is most useful for those living in England and Wales. (1.3MB PDF file. You can download a free PDF reader from here)
A guide to the Dragonflies of Scotland is available on the Scottish Natural Heritage website. (Opens in a new window. We are not responsible for the content of external websites)
There is information about all of the UK species on the UK Species pages of our website, and several field guides to Dragonflies are available. - Still not sure? There's two things to do:
- Send us a photograph. You can email photos to our Dragonflies in Focus Officer, please compress them whenever possible! We can help you to confirm your identification.
- Join a field visit or training course. Check the Diary page for a list of events and courses. Nothing in your area at the moment? Get in touch and we can get something organised.
How do I submit my records?
greatly adds to the usefulness of the record
- RA83 recording card The best way to submit records is by using the RA83 recording card. This card allows you to record the abundance and evidence of breeding for each species. Please download the electronic version of the RA83 card (PDF Document: 71KB). Guide to Recorders (Word Document: 25KB) explains how to complete this RA83 recording card. Send your completed cards to your local dragonfly recorder.
- Excel spreadsheet Alternatively you may enter your records using an Excel spreadsheet. To make entering records into Excel easier Sussex Biological Records Centre produced a record input facility. This is known as 'Species Recorder' and has been modified to use within the Dragonfly Recording Network. Download the DRN Species Recorder (Unzip the folder and read the guidelines document).
- Online recording Unfortunately you cannot submit your records online. It is hoped that during the atlas recording period online recording will become available. If anyone has experience in online recording and would like to volunteer to help set it up, then please contact the Dragonflies in Focus Officer
