Dragonflies 2019 (1 Viewer)

[string boozel]

Hi,

As the season is slipping towards its latter stages I thought that it might be time to do the annual review thingy that's become something of a tradition of mine on Birdforum.


It seems to have been an average sort of season with some species appearing earlier than normal but with most emerging on time. The county has had some good records with several Lesser Emperors putting in an appearance at Pitsford Reservoir and Ditchford Lakes and our first Southern Migrant Hawker found by the county recorder Mark Tyrrell at an undisclosed site. Although I failed to see any of these more exotic species I still had a pretty good year.


My season began on the nineteenth of April with the sighting of a Large Red Damselfly at Weldon and was followed soon afterwards by my first April records of Banded Demoiselles. Cooler weather then held things back for a bit before things got going again.


Perhaps my highlight of the year was the discovery of two new sites for Variable Damselflies in the county at Wicksteed Park and Barnwell Country Park. The site at Wicksteed looks to be home to a viable colony and will certainly be worth a visit in future years.


Willow Emerald put in an early appearance this year with a July record from a new site, Deene Lake. I haven't seen any more yet despite searching but I'll post updates from now on as and when I see more.


I'll post a list of species seen with the first date, locations and any other information of interest in order of appearance.

 

[string boozel]

Okay here we go with the first selection.

1/ Large Red Damselfly. 19/4/19, Weldon. This species was seen at many of the sites that I visited with the greatest numbers noted at Priors Hall.

2/ Banded Demoiselle. 23/4/19, Weldon. Noted along many streams and rivers with wanderers found at many ponds such as Priors Hall and Spanhoe.

3/ Common Blue Damselfly. 5/5/19, Summer Leys. Found at most of the sites that I visited, numbers built to a peak in July/August.

4/ Blue-tailed Damselfly. 12/5/19, Priors Hall. A common and widespread species seen at all sites.


5/ Azure Damselfly. 12/5/19, Priors Hall. Another common Spring species.

 

[string boozel]

A second group.

6/ Red-eyed Damselfly. 14/5/19 Barnwell CP. One of the more common and widespread species.

7/ Scarce Chaser. 14/5/19 Barnwell CP. My earliest record and I also saw my latest also at Barnwell 5/8. I only saw this species here and along the Nene at Oundle.

8/ Hairy Dragonfly. 14/5/19 Barnwell CP. Never common this species was seen here, at nearby Oundle and at Priors Hall.


9/ White-legged Damselfly. 15/5/19 Weldon. A very early record of this species which was also seen at the Welland near Gretton and at Barnwell CP.


10/ Four-spotted Chaser. 18/5/19 Barnwell CP. Widespread with sightings from most localities visited.

 

[string boozel]

The next lot...

11/ Variable Damselfly. 20/5/19 Wicksteed Park. Also seen at Weldon and Barnwell CP.

12/ Broad-bodied Chaser. 24/5/19 Oundle. Also recorded at Priors Hall.

13/ Downy Emerald. 15/6/19 Yardley. (No Photo)

14/ Southern Hawker. 15/6/19 Yardley. Most records from July onwards, widely recorded.

15/ Emperor. 15/5/19 Yardley. Noted at most sites visited included woodland rides.

16/ Black-tailed Skimmer. 21/6/19 Weldon. Also seen at Barnwell, Priors Hall, Eurohub Corby and Harringworth Lodge.

 

[string boozel]

Another batch.

17/ Ruddy Darter. 23/6/19 Priors Hall. A common species seen at most sites visited including Harry's Park Wood.

18/ Small Red-eyed Damselfly. 23/6/19 Priors Hall. Also seen at Weldon, Barnwell, Oundle, Harringworth Lodge, Ringstead and Wicksteed. This species appears to be enjoying a good year with high numbers at most sites.

19/ Common Darter. 24/6/19 Wicksteed Park. Numbers began to build in July from when noted at most sites.

20/ Brown Hawker. 1/7/19 Weldon. Widespread and often away from water, seems to be having a good year.

21/ Emerald Damselfly. 5/7/19 Spanhoe Quarry. Also at Priors Hall.

 

[string boozel]

The last little bit.

22/ Willow Emerald. 7/7/19 Deene Lake. Only record so far but currently looking for more!

23/ Beautiful Demoiselle. 14/7/19 Hanging Houghton. Only sightings this year.

24/ Migrant Hawker. 4/8/19 Gretton Pocket Park. Photo to follow.

 

[string boozel]

I managed to get a half decent picture of a Migrant Hawker today at Barnwell CP.

 

[string boozel]

It looks as if the Willow Emerald season is getting into full swing with sighting from three different locations over the past couple of days. This one was at Priors Hall today, 25/8/19.