A very bright,sunny, and warm afternoon in Bouldnor Forest today which certainly encouraged plenty of activity at the ponds. This resulted in a first sight of the year of a female Emerald Damselfly together with another first of the season,a male Black-tailed Skimmer. Emperor Dragonflies were very prominent,especially the males patrolling the ponds.
Over the last few days Broad-bodied Chasers have been very active in and around my garden pond. More than one female have oviposited in the pond with males visiting and taking station close by. This immature male in particular has spent some time in the sunny flower border outside my back door and as can be seen is maturing.
A visit to the ponds in Bouldnor Forest today was rewarded with the first Common Darter of the year.At least two were observed flying away from the pond edge and into the surrounding gorse. Broad-bodied Chasers were also evident with several males occupying the array of shallow ponds at the site. This male Four-spotted Chaser was seen,patrolling his section of a pond. Other species recorded were Azure,Large Red, and Blue Tailed Damselflies.
With the visit of two female Broad-bodied Chasers to my garden pond a couple of days ago,it is not surprising that today a first male Chaser spent some time at the pond. Although perhaps not fully mature this male is no doubt on the lookout for females.
We are currently enjoying a period of warm,sunny weather and the dragonflies are responding with plenty of activity at my garden pond. Apart from the Large Red Damselflies there were at least two Broad-bodied Chasers seen today in the garden. Both were female and they spent some time in sunny spots and at the pond.
Following a cloudy start to the day the sun appeared around noon and I enjoyed a pleasant walk along the wooded banks of Shalfleet Stream. At a favoured spot there were at least six immature Beautiful Demoiselles to be seen.The first of the year and in all close to twelve individuals were recorded in this short stretch stream today.
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| Immature male |
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| Immature female |
Since a first sighting of a Large Red Damselfly in Bouldnor Forest on the 8th of April,the weather has been cool and windy.However today the brisk winds have gone and that has allowed the temperatures to rise in the spring sunshine. As a result the first damselfly was observed in my Freshwater garden this morning. This immature male Large Red probably emerged from the pond next door seeking a warm sunny spot.
The mild temperatures of the last several days prompted me to pay a first visit of the season to the ponds at Bouldnor near to Yarmouth. At the old pond it was not too long before I counted four teneral Large Red Damselflies that I disturbed from the reeds around the pond edge. They quickly fluttered into the shrubbery and out of sight Walking to the new ponds in the forest I was fortunate enough to encounter another teneral Large Red.He did not fly away at once and the individual can be seen below.
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.
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| Ruddy Darter male |
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.
