UK Dragonflies and Damselflies 2024 (1 Viewer)

[wolfbirder]

A 2023 survey of Azure sites by the British Dragonfly Society found that 90% of Azure sites had dried out with no surviving invertebrates.

Matches my experience last year.

 

[pdwinter]

A 2023 survey of Azure sites by the British Dragonfly Society found that 90% of Azure sites had dried out with no surviving invertebrates.

Matches my experience last year.

Thanks for that link. Somehow managed to miss that talk last year.

 

[cafe birder]

Presumed Ruddy Darter today (2 poss 3) at Portbury Wharf reserve N. Somerset

 

[aeshna5]

Presumed Ruddy Darter today (2 poss 3) at Portbury Wharf reserve N. Somerset View attachment 1582878

Agree with ID.

 

[T&E]

Pleased to see a male Banded Demoiselle in long grasses by a quarry pit in Lincoln this afternoon.

Eileen.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

We're up to 15 species out so far this year at my local pond in Bristol

 

[earthdragon64]

Finally a bit of decent weather and saw my first Northern Damselflies of the year today, Abernethy.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

First Small Red-eyed Damselfly of the year today at Duchess Pond in Bristol takes the site yearlist to 16 spp. We still have Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies on site 😊

 

[aeshna5]

Good to see a Downy Emerald & at least 7 Norfolk Hawkers at the London Wetland Centre today; the latter being the most abundant anisopteran just ahead of Emperor & Black-tailed Skimmer.

 

[Farnboro John]

Some from a walk by the Basingstoke Canal between Aldershot and Fleet yesterday. There were assorted damselflies and a couple of Emperors as well but they were camera shy.

John

 

[pdwinter]

On 22.06.24 I stumbled across a small pond on the NE edge of our parish - created as part of a SANG about three years ago - and was pleased to see both patrolling Downy Emerald and Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly. It is adjacent to a stream - the Tanner's Brook - so I expect I will see some wandering Golden-ringed Dragonfly and Beautiful Demoiselles if I keep visiting. Found some Broad-bodied Chaser exuviae and one Emperor exuvia and yesterday another 24 exuviae which will either be BBC, FSC or BTSkimmer.

 

[Swindon Addick]

My first Ruddy Darter of the year on Saturday evening at RSPB Otmoor. Also lots of Azure Damsels about, but not much sign of anything else. It was a bit late in the day by the time I got there.

 

[pdwinter]

I managed to get my species list for the year up to 20 yesterday with a Small Red-eyed Damselfly at a local pond that I only discovered on 22.06.24 and have reached 14 species for the pond on 29th!
I have encountered a few odd tandems over the years but this was a first for me - male Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly with male Small Red-eyed.

 

[Farnboro John]

I managed to get my species list for the year up to 20 yesterday with a Small Red-eyed Damselfly at a local pond that I only discovered on 22.06.24 and have reached 14 species for the pond on 29th!
I have encountered a few odd tandems over the years but this was a first for me - male Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly with male Small Red-eyed.

Maybe that's why they are "Scarce"!

John

 

[Swindon Addick]

Bit of a surprise on Saturday when I went to watch the Banded Demoiselles on the River Ray in Swindon. About half the demoiselles on show were Beautiful rather than Banded. I've never seen the two species together in the same place before, and I'd never seen Beautiful in Wiltshire. There are only a handful of records from Swindon, none of which are in the urban bit.

This wasn't the best find in the county however, as I saw on Twitter that someone found Norfolk Hawker at Lower Moor Farm, which as far as I know is a county first and would still have been a county first if it had been in Gloucestershire instead.

 

[aeshna5]

I've seen a few sites with both demoiselle species together-most recently Swansea Vale NR last week, but Beautiful Demoiselle is expanding its range & there are a few sites now where both species can be recorded, though Banded tends to be the default species here.

Norfolk Hawkers do seem to be turning up al over the show now, but still a great surprise. Certainly colonies in Dorset & Devon in the south-west.

 

[Farnboro John]

I've also seen both demoiselles in the same place at a number of sites across the South-East and I'm looking forward to finding Norfolk Hawker locally (have found Lesser Emperor at a couple but not the green-eyed monster yet).

John

 

[Larry Sweetland]

I've also seen both demoiselles in the same place at a number of sites across the South-East and I'm looking forward to finding Norfolk Hawker locally (have found Lesser Emperor at a couple but not the green-eyed monster yet).

John

Eagerly awaiting the hawker (whatever it's called) here too. I think "Avon" still hasn't had one yet.

To add to demoiselle chat, we get them both together on patch too, but Beautiful is the more numerous.

 

[Swindon Addick]

I've lost count of the number of visits I've made to that ditch in Canvey Island that has the Southern Emeralds, never with any success. Until just over a week ago. The Southern Migrant Hawkers and Scarce Emeralds put on a decent show too.

 

[aeshna5]

I've lost count of the number of visits I've made to that ditch in Canvey Island that has the Southern Emeralds, never with any success. Until just over a week ago. The Southern Migrant Hawkers and Scarce Emeralds put on a decent show too.

View attachment 1592381

Managed to see them all last year & hoping to repeat tomorrow. Glad your efforts paid off.