Downy Emeralds at Stag Lane Pond.

The pond at Stag Lane near to Newport was out of bounds today as work is  in  progress to clear reeds etc from the margins. However that did not prevent me from observing two male Downy Emerald Dragonflies patrolling close to the bank. This pond has regularly produced this species every saeason at this time. 

Stock Photo

Our Island Resident Species-Dragonflies(4).

Only one of the three 'emerald' species that breed in the UK are found here. The Downy Emerald, Cordulia aenea is on the wing in May and is normally encountered at woodland ponds. That is the  male in particular, as they endlessly it seems, patrol the pond close to the bank. The best view is usually fleeting as the males will occasionally hover for a few seconds before continuing their flight. If one is lucky a glimpse  of a female can be seen as she deposits her eggs in a sheltered position of a shallow spot, maybe amongst reeds near to the pond edge.

The Hairy Dragonfly is the first hawker of the year, emerging in May. It is aptly described as a small  darkish 'mosaic hawker' with a hairy thorax. Mature males like to patrol at low level along well vegetated ditches and ponds. The female is rather secretive and only visits water to find a mate or lay eggs.

The Southern Hawker is common on the Isle of Wight  and immatures can be seen in June. It is a regular visitor to my garden pond with females ovipositing into pond side moss and reeds. In fact  close observation of an egg-laying female can mean that she could attempt to lay her eggs on your trouser leg or even on your camera. The mature male is somewhat gaudy although  the adult female is resplendent  in  chocolate-brown and green markings.

  

More Scarce Chasers

A morning visit to private fishing ponds on the Island and three Scarce Chasers.The two males were perching in the sun for all to see but the third a female,was in reeds adjacent to the path and would have been missed if we had not seen it land.She stayed stock still for some time and gave us close views of her beautiful colouring.

Also at the ponds today,a large population of Red-eyed Damselflies.mainly out on the water on the lily pads,a male Downy Emerald,also a  male Black-tailed Skimmer,together with an Emperor Dragonfly and an early Southern Hawker, in flight.

June Gems.

It was idyllic at my local pond yesterday afternoon in the early summer sunshine.It was not long before I saw a male Emperor quartering his patch along with two male Downy Emeralds.I was very fortunate to come across one of the latter perched on a section of bank favoured by most dragonflies at this site and it allowed some close views.Other species here included several Large Red,and the common Azure Damselfly.

A short walk to some nearby ponds yielded first records of the year for  Emerald Damselflies and half a dozen recently emerged Common Darters. These were in the company of an ovipositing Emperor and a patrolling male Broad-bodied Chaser.

Photo of ovipositing Emperor dragonfly  very kindly provided by Barb Close.

Flying Today.

Walking across the fields to my local pond this morning and the first sound of a cuckoo this year calling repeatedly.

At Clamerkin pond I immediately came across a Downy Emerald dragonfly on gorse and just time for one quick shot before it took off. I never had another opportunity to see it land..Perhaps a chance will present itself another time although this species is well known for its long flight periods over the water and then alighting in a tree.

Close by are several other smaller ponds and there I was very pleased to see a patrolling adult male Emperor Dragonfly which occasionally had a  territorial dispute with a male Broad-bodied Chaser.

Trudging through the long grass that surrounds these ponds I also disturbed five immature Emperors which had presumably very recently emerged closeby.

However not all made it away from the pond a this Emperor came to grief in a pondside spiders web

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Enjoying a Common Sight.

The Common Darter must be one of our most abundant darters here.However when I made a visit to several small ponds close to my local patch a couple of days ago I was pleased to see several tenerals in the surrounding reeds.

As well as these first of the year darters there were, what could be described as masses of Azure Damselflies,along with three ovipositing Emperor Dragonflies,a male and what could only have been a Downy Emerald patrolling  one pond.

Close by too was an immature female Emperor hiding in the long grass.