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Seeking Identification for this Dragonflie. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter coaltit
- Start date
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Migrant Hawker I think.
I double checked on the BDS website, and I have checked through a couple of similar Dragonflies, the one I saw did carry large shoulder straps which are quite clear in the photo pointing more to southern hawker and lots of green and yellow markings along the body, It was also a Inquisitive dragonflie he came to Investigate me up and close a few times at eye level before dropping down in to a bed of Meadowsweet where I took the photo, I normally visit the web sites relateing to subject matter I,m looking for before comeing here but again thank you for your help.. I did,nt realise Southern hawker was a common Dragonflie In the central regions of england and apparently spreading to like the Migrant Hawker.
stuartelsom
Well-known member
The shape and width of the anti-humeral stripes (shoulder stripes) confirm this as a female Southern Hawker
Hi stuartelsom, Thankyou for the Id, I have in the past witnessed similar sized dragonflies in the garden I,m not sure if any of these were southern or migrants thou one or two have settled before now, I did photograph one with roll film it must be around somewhere, I had a brown hawker come in the conservatory in july I photographed and videoed before helping it outdoors, there have been others around in the garden this year (dragonflies) but they hardly ever hang around unless your lucky.
Also if you look at the last 2 abdominal segments in the photo you can see a colour band is complete rather than the paired spots of a Migrant Hawker.
There's a fair chance you may have both species occurring. Once you get your eye in they are not difficult to tell apart even on the wing. Migrant is quite a bit shorter than Southern + often the tail lights of the latter can be picked up. Southern Hawkers are also quite curious creatures + will fly up to an observer to investigate, often enabling very close views!
Hi aeshna, yes there very clear to see these markings some of the easiest features to see on dragonflies.
Yes its always good fun when trying to watch or observe dragonflies I just wish they were around longer in the year apparently occasionally southern hawkers will hang around into november presumably in milder climes like the south coast but I could be wrong.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
The bulk (possibly all?) of the insects you see away from water, flying around trees and gardens, are Migrant Hawkers, at least in Nottingham they are.
:t:
So far I've had one each this year of both Southern + Migrant Hawkers in my garden. I would say Migrant Hawkers tend to be more numerous generally + are less territorial than other hawkers so you can get small groups of them, but Southern Hawkers tend to like woodland edge + gardens often represent a woodland glade habitat so are regular garden visitors + will often oviposit in quite small ponds, so I certainly wouldn't agree with your generalisation.
Migrant Hawkers emerge a little later than Southern Hawkers though there is a substantial overlap in the flight periods of them, but few Migrant Hawkers before mid-July, with numbers most abundant in August + September.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
My generalisation is actually based on the fact that over a five year period, I netted as many of the Dragonflies as I could (Aug - Sep) that were in my immediate area, away from water. The result was 100% Migrant Hawker.
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Obviously I can't comment on your garden or personal experience, but certainly in my experience, which is based further south, Southern Hawker is a regular garden species, but tends to be individuals rather than groups.
Also looking at numerous blogs Southern Hawker tends to be a regular breeder in many peoples garden ponds.
pdwinter
Paul Winter
November 28th 2016 is the latest Hampshire record - on 27.11.2011 I saw a mating pair followed by the female ovipositing at a New Forest Pond !
The latest date for Migrant Hawker is also November 28th (1991)
Paul
Thankyou paul, Interesting.
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