Dragonflies & Darters.

No damselflies were seen today at Yarmouth,however the dragonflies were out and about with the Southern Hawker prominent. Several males were recorded around the forest ponds at Bouldnor together with many Common Darters and a few Ruddy Darters. The female Southern Hawker pictured below, was in some form of difficulty amongst the tall grass and reeds at the edge of the pond. I managed to extricate her from her dilemma and she happily rested on my hand for a few seconds before flying off.

Ruddy Darter male

Another Golden Opportunity.

My garden pond has attracted  many common damselflies this season and more recently the always reliable  Common Darter. However today I was very pleased to see this male Golden-ringed Dragonfly. This is the first time that I have recorded this species at the pond. He spent some time hanging around and making  numerous short flights over the pond.

A Golden Opportunity.

Walking along a very grassy forest glade today was rewarded with an encounter with this male Golden-ringed Dragonfly. He was so pre-occupied with hunting and feeding that my presence was partically ignored. Finding any suitable grass stalk the dragonfly would spend time devouring it's catch and  after a short rest would continue the pursuit.

Quiet at Bouldnor Forest Ponds.

Cooler temperatures today and cloudy at times which curbed a lot of activity at Bouldnor Forest ponds. Just a few of the common damselflies to be seen along with one or two teneral Common Darters. However the one damselfly of interest was this male Emerald Lestes sponsa  observed in the larger of the now dry scrapes formerly used by Southern Emerald Damseldlies. No sign of the latter so far this season following no sightings of it last year.

Return of the Emperor.

With renewed activity at the garden pond this season following a clog clearout,it was encouraging to see a female Emperor Dragonfly taking plenty of time to ovipost into the Frogbit.

Garden Pond Welcomes Back it's Visitors.

In my first post  of 2023 I mentioned that my garden pond had become clogged with vegetation leading to a substantial decline in dragonfly activity. Therefore over the winter I performed a clearout of plants and now  the pond boasts open water with marginal reed,cotton grass and frogbit Hydrocharis morsus-ranae. The latter is much used by ovipositing damselflies and I have noted  a lot of egg laying by Large Red  and Azure Damselflies over the last few weeks.

For the first time in some years this male Broad-bodied Chaser took up station at the pond today and over the last fortnight I have recorded several female Chasers ovipositing into the open water.

Dragonflies Enjoy the Settled Sunny Weather.

With the settled and warm sunny weather due to continue for another week at least,the dragonflies at Bouldnor Forest today were out and about. The damselflies seen at the ponds  included Azure,Large Red,and Blue-tailed while dragonflies were two male Four-spotted Chasers, Emperor Dragonflies,one of which was an ovipositing female, Broad-bodied Chasers,and several teneral Common Darters. Close by, along the forest tracks were two Southern Hawkers.

Dragonflies on Show at Bouldnor.

A first seasonal visit to Bouldnor Forest ponds  at Yarmouth today discovered a reasonable selection of species. Broad-bodied Chasers were of course very evident with several mature males flying over the ponds.However in the quieter spots just away from water one or two immature chasers were encountered and particularly this male starting to  take on  the blue abdomen. Competition was fierce at one of the ponds with not only Broad-bodied Chasers but also a male Emperor Dragonfly involved.This was too much for this male Four-spotted Chaser that took station over a small side pool away from all the action.

Recorded today at the site were 6 Emperor,7 Broad-bodied Chasers,Azure and Large Red Damselflies,together with a  Blue-tailed Damselfly violacea, and of particular interest was a teneral Common Darter. 

  

Large Red's Now Emerging.

Several Large Red Damselflies have appeared in my garden, emerging not only from my garden pond but also from an established pond next door. The following photo shows one such immature that was seen today.

My pond was created in 2010 and over that time it had become clogged with many pond plants. It seems that this has led to much less activity  regarding dragonflies as well as damselflies. Therefore over the winter most of the plants were thinned and cleared and now the photograph below shows a rather bare looking pond. However, several bunches of Hornwort have been added and the  Frogbit has again returned. Both are good oxygenators and popular with the wildlife.

First Damselfly of the Season.

A first visit of the year to Bouldnor Old Pond at Yarmouth today produced my first damselfly of the season. I disturbed a teneral female Large Red Damselfly in the reeds at the edge of the pond and it fluttered past me  into a bramble thicket. Not surprisingly despite a quick search I was unable to relocate it. This was the only sighting of the day but no doubt  it will be the first of many Large Red's seen in the  coming days.

Stock Photo