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Another visit today to the site of  yesterdays Scarce Chasers on a very warm,sunny day.Not much to see before midday but in the early afternoon one sighting of what is thought to be an immature male Scarce Chaser flying low along a line of reeds onto open water and disappearing into thick vegetation.(However it could so easily be an adult female)Happily it was spotted for a brief moment and photographed before it vanished from our sight.Photo of today's 'catch'  kindly provided by Andy Butler.

A Rare Treat.

The Scarce Chaser is not a common dragonfly on the Isle of Wight. In fact one is very fortunate to see it at all. Therefore when I had the opportunity to hopefully get a sight of this Chaser at an Island location it was a chance not to be missed..

In the company of a friend who has seriously searched for suitable habitat that might attract the Scarce Chaser we visited two areas. The first was a marsh maintained by the RSPB where it had been reported several years ago. Unfortunately despite some time looking at possible sites the Chaser was not seen. However there was no shortage of other more common species here with many Banded Demoiselles and damselflies along the riverbank. Around the ditches were Common and Ruddy Darters that had not long emerged.

At the second site not too far away which is a short stretch of muddy and very slow flowing stream we immediately came on a beautiful female Scarce Chaser perched very conveniently on a reed.

The Scarce Chaser preferred habitat is as just described with a good covering of  reed vegetation but having one or two small cleared areas of open water.

After this excellent first sighting a short distance farther on and at one these small open areas we saw a male which again was perched on what must be a favourite reed as it did not move off for some time.

Early Summer Strolls.

A return visit today to one of my local streams to see the Beautiful Demoiselles that are a joy to behold as the males spar with each other over the stream for the best territorial spot.

I encountered well over twenty individuals, mostly males, that are now in their own private space.One or two females were seen eyeing up the display flights.

There was still lots of warm sunny weather to enjoy this afternoon so I stopped by at Bouldnor Forest near Yarmouth to investigate the new ponds that have been created in the forest in the last year or two.

Pondside vegetation is now established although the banks are still bare stone and soil.In fact a good place  maybe to see some Black-tailed Skimmers that prefer landing on this type of  terrain.Among the species here today were recently emerged Common Darters,several male Broad-bodied Chasers together with two females,Blue-tailed Damselflies,and an ovipositing Emperor Dragonfly.

Happily I came across a male  Black-tailed Skimmer and also a mating pair.

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.

Banded on the Run.

The River Yar at Southford is no more than a stream at this point as it flows through farmland.Here at this time of year the Banded Demoiselles are emerging and today I must have counted at least twenty individuals along the riverbank and on the footpath leading to the river.

In addition good numbers of Common Blue Damselflies are here, as well as Large Red,Azure, and  Blue-tailed.

Another Early Riser.

In the early morning shade of my garden pond this Emperor Dragonfly gets ready for its first flight

Today  four Emperors emerged from the pond.However the success rate was only 50% as one dragonfly fell into the water straight after emergence and did not recover,while a second had badly deformed wings.

Spring Has Sprung.

Early this morning at my garden pond was an Emperor Dragonfly excuvia.This is the first Emperor larva skin I have seen this season.There were none last year unlike 2012 when I collected five.Let us hope for a few more soon of our largest dragonfly.The occupant of the skin had gone so maybe it emerged in the night or at first light.

A morning trip to my local copse resulted in several Azure damselflies and an immature Emperor.

Close by at Shalfleet Stream an improved count of 24 Beautiful Demoiselles at this wooded stream over the ten of a week ago.Good numbers of mature male Demoiselles  now in their waterside territories busily displaying over the stream.

Unfortunately the female Demoiselle below suffered a deformed wing.

New Arrival

Today a male Broad-bodied Chaser arrived at my garden pond and found a perfect perch to await any passing females.

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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More Spring Damselflies.

A first visit this year to Downton Farm Stream at Brook village and the pond close by.At the latter workers were busy clearing the water soldier that was clogging the whole surface.In the grassy margins there were plenty of Common Blue Damselflies to see but no other species were noted.

At the stream a few Large Reds and two male Broad-bodied Chasers pursuing one another for the best spot on a small side scrape in the company of a nesting pair of Canada Geese.The highlight though was two immature male Beautiful Demoiselles

Photograph of the 'punky' Large Red Damselfly by kind permission of Barb Close..