An Unexpected Visitor.

I was very surprised today to see this male dragonfly at my garden pond.It certainly seems to be a Keeled Skimmer and it is the first time that I have had this species at the pond.They are not a common dragonfly on the Isle of Wight as the only known colony is at the landslip some miles south of here on the coastal cliffs.This earlier post describing the location can be found here

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Damselflies Put On A Good Show.

Despite a rather cloudy afternoon there was activity around the Bouldnor Forest ponds yesterday. Common Darters are still emerging in good numbers and I disturbed plenty as I walked past the long grass and  gorse bushes that surround the ponds.Blue-tailed Damselflies are now evident with males at the pond edges as well as females in the margins.So too are the Emerald Damselflies although numbers are never particularly high.Other damselflies included Common Blue,Azure, and Large Red.The larger dragonflies were not to be seen due no doubt to the dull conditions.

Some Southern Sunshine.

This mornings weather was close and cloudy following overnight thunderstorms with torrential rain.However it did not deter this female Southern Hawker from emerging at my garden pond. The beautiful apple and chocolate-brown coloured adult females are regular visitors to my pond every year, although a larva can take up to three years to emerge.

New Arrivals and a New Species.

Despite cloudy skies and light showers marring a visit to my local forest ponds yesterday,there was some activity to see.This was restricted mainly to teneral darters and damselflies in the margins of the ponds.A first sighting this year was at least two Emerald Damselflies,a male and a female.This is a delicate and elegant damselfly and although numbers will increase,they never seem to be in prolific.That cannot be said of the Common Darter, as good numbers of tenerals are already moving away from the ponds to the safety of the nearby woodland.
An update on this post reveals that the 'Emeralds' pictured are Southern Emerald Damselflies,Lestes barbarus and therefore a new species for the Isle of Wight.See my post on the 25th May 2017.

  

Busy At My Garden Pond.

With the sun shining between the showers today there was plenty of activity at my garden pond.As pairs of  Azure and Large Red Damselflies settled on the water a female Broad-bodied Chaser looked for an open spot to flick her eggs.Overhead the resident male Broad-bodied flew around keeping an eye on her.All this and then an Emperor Dragonfly started to oviposit into the frogbit.

Banded Demoiselles Out in Force.

On a recent trip to seek out the Scarce Chaser as described in my entry of the 8th June,I was happy to see that the Banded Demoiselle is enjoying a good season with large numbers evident all around the stream frequented by the Scarce Chaser 

On The Lookout.

During a recent stay on the Greek Island of  Lefkada I encountered several dragonflies.Some however were moving on and any photographic record was not possible.Still,a particular male Violet Dropwing visited our holiday swimming pool and energetically flew around for some time.Once provided with a poolside perch he happily remained  for several days.

Find any sort of standing water and there is a good chance of seeing a dragonfly.This was so just along the road at what was no more than a field ditch,where a handsome male Scarlet Darter had taken up station.There are no shortage of olive groves here too and choose one with abundant wildflowers will always provide a few hawking dragonflies.The grove I investigated had a good number of Keeled Skimmers of the subspecies anceps.

Scarce Chaser Returns.

Two years ago  we were fortunate enough to see several Scarce Chasers at an ideal habitat for them on the Isle of Wight.Despite another visit last year at this time none were to be seen at the site.This perhaps was due to the fact that it normally takes larvae two seasons to develop and emerge.

The signs were good this time, as some Chasers have been reported from another known Island site as well as one immature male seen a week or two ago at our location.The weather today was hot and muggy with hardly any breeze so the conditions were favourable.After some time investigating the slow moving stream  dotted with small open areas clear of reeds a mature male was spotted.He proved to be very accommodating by landing a frequent intervals on nearby reed stems.