Southern Emerald Damselflies Yet Again on Show.

At Bouldnor Forest ponds yesterday I quickly bypassed the two Southern Emerald Damselfly breeding scrapes and made for the only spot where sightings have been made this season. I did not linger at the scrapes as they are still full of water. This continuous summertime high water level has not occurred over the years that I have visited and is no doubt due to the bouts of heavy rain in early summer. How this may effect Lestes barbarus breeding remains to be seen.The dry grassy 'path' that seems to be a favourite spot for the Southern Emerald is pictured in the second photograph. Sure enough a female was seen immediately and several other sightings were made afterwards. However it could have been the same individual so numbers are unsure. 

At the same location I also came across a female Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa , the final two photos clearly show the differences with Lestes barbarus. 

 

Dragons & Damsels.

Not surprisingly the rides of  Bouldnor Forest are packed with odonata at present. Today in the forest Common Darter were by far the most prolific although my main interest were the large dragonflies. The two species in evidence were the Migrant Hawker and the Southern Hawker, both seen hunting for prey in any wooded sunny spot.

However at the ponds other species were recorded, in particular the Common Emerald Damselfly and the Southern Emerald Damselfly. My encounter with these will be detailed in my next blog entry.

  

Another Migrant Hawker Drops In.

Dragonfly sightings around my garden pond have been meagre  this season, so I was very pleased to spot a Migrant Hawker today flying deliberately about the garden. This was not the first individual of this species to be seen however, as on the 24th July a male made a brief appearance in my front garden. Today's  female spent some time flying around with the occasional stop in the sunshine. It can be seen that the appendage is shorter than one would expect in this species. That is because it has been broken.