Just Over the Water.

The New Forest really needs no introduction. A fabulous ancient area of woodland, heathland, bog, and streams. The 'gateway' from the Isle of Wight is via Yarmouth, with a short ferry trip  to Lymington. There are several damselfly species in the New Forest that are not found on the Island, two of which are on the GB Red List as Endangered or Near Threatened. Another is classed as Nationally Scarce.

The Small Red Damselfly Ceriagrion tenellum  is  one of our smallest and can be seen at heathland bogs and streams. This is the only British species to qualify as Nationally Scarce.

Another priority species and sometimes seen in the same habitat as the Small Red is the Southern Damselfly  Coenagrion mercuriale. The New Forest is one of the few sites where this damselfly is found in the UK and also one of their main strongholds. In fact the Southern Damselfly is so rare that it has been afforded significant legislative protection.

The White-legged Damselfly is absent on the Isle of Wight but maybe found in one or two locations in the New Forest. This species prefers to spend it's time in tall vegetation along mature stretches of rivers. Can be quite abundant when conditions suit.(Images of  White-legged Damselflies below were not captured in the New Forest)

The final species in the Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura pumilio. The best places to find the Scarce Blue-tailed in the New Forest are at small heathland streams and flushes. They are sometimes in the company of  the common Blue-tailed Damselfly so identification can be tricky.

   

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.

  

Southern Damselfly in The New Forest.

Apart from the Small Red Damselfly there is another specialist damselfly at Crockford Stream in the New Forest.The Southern Damselfly Coenagrion mercuriale or the Mercury Bluet as it is named in continental Europe is restricted to just a few sites in England and Wales.The New Forest is perhaps its main stronghold in the UK.The name of this Red Data Listed damselfly refers to the 'Mercury' mark on the S2 segment of the male, although this shape can sometimes vary slightly.

The female is normally a dull green with the abdomen mainly black above and blue divisions between the last few segments There is a blue form of the female as shown below in the third photograph.It can be seen that the female has green eyes.

This Year's Top Highlight.

The 2014 season has seen a succession of  highlights with visits to the only remaining colony of Keeled Skimmers,Orthetrum coerulescens, on the Isle of Wight,to my first ever look at the Small Skimmer,Orthetrum taenioaltum,on the island of Rhodes.

Ferocious winter gales and heavy rain caused massive erosion of the coastal cliffs where the Keeled Skimmer is found here, in acidic pools on the cliff landslips.Hopefully as new pools are created their numbers will increase.

Another fantastic discovery was the sight of numerous male Red-veined Darters on territory at a local reservoir. These colourful darters are reported from time to time in singles but double figure numbers are quite unusual and exciting particularly on the Isle of Wight.

However the real highlight of this past season for me are the encounters with the Scarce Chaser. The odd individual has been noted since 2008 on the Island but this year several were seen at suitable breeding locations.Both these sites are in the south east of the Island,one in water meadows on a small, muddy slow  flowing river. and also at  mature fishing lakes surrounded by dense emergent marginal vegetation.

Males on territory and females were present at both sites.

The Scarce Chaser,Libellula fulva,is a 'Red Data' species and along with several other species they are considered as 'near threatened'.Therefore they and their habitats are protected by law in the UK.