Author: Paul Ritchie

At last! It’s been a long wait. The first Large Red sightings have already been posted on the BDS website, with Dorset leading Hampshire by nearly a week.

However after a hopeful visit to the New Forest today I am pleased to announce the Large Reds are finally appearing! At Broomy Pond today there were at least 30 tenerals to be seen, desperately clinging to the heather in the wind.

After a long winter they were such a pleasure to watch, and a chance to get my eye in again for photo oppotunities.

Looking forward to the new season with a renewed passion, but then I always thought I would!

After the disaster of the previous posting and armed with a new camera body, in much the same way as a rider would jump straight back on the horse after a fall, I revisited the spot where my previous camera shutter failed.

I was surprised and a little overjoyed to find the same male Southern Hawker  patrolling the small pond, occasionally flying up to do battle with an incoming female.

It was the perfect opportunity to try out the new camera, if a little challenging due to my quarry’s penchant for erratic flight patterns and  refusal to hover.

Nevertheless I persisted and managed a few in-flight as well as one perched

Satisfied with an opportunity to christen the new camera on my favourite subject, I continued on with my partner to pursue our other main activity of that day – the gathering of Autumn’s harvest of fruit and fungi.

However while picking sloes and blackberries I spied another male Southern Hawker which we’d obviously disturbed from his roost. He was reluctant to travel far given the hour and temperature, so once again I had a perfect opportunity for some perched shots.

He looked magnificent against the golden ferns and the relative gloom meant I had to use a little fill-flash

So intent was he on resting up for the day, I even managed to get in close

The next time I ventured out was the 7th October. I decided to explore a small area around Holmsley which is riddled with small ponds surrounding a small stream. I didn’t expect to find anything around the ponds, but did see a few Common Darters enjoying the brief sunny intervals.

It was on the walk back where I encountered a male Southern Hawker resting in the foliage

With an hour or so left I decided to pay a visit to Pennington just in case, and was rewarded with a Male Migrant Hawker and the odd Common Darter

I did call into Crockford Stream on the way back and didn’t expect to find anything, but there was a single male Southern briefly flying over the stream.

On Sunday 10th I revisited a private area where I met the landowner! Unperturbed, I introduced myself and told him what I was doing on his land and if there was a chance I could continue to observe and photograph the wonderful selection of wildlife with his permission.

For someone who had encountered a trespasser, he was very obliging and gave permission to carry on as he was also a wildlife enthusiast. He was at that time rehousing a selection of the reptiles on site.

For once I explored the area without the nagging doubt that I would get a tap on the shoulder, have the dogs set on me or shot at!

As regards dragons, there were a few Common Darters to be seen, along with a couple of male Southern Hawkers.

The following Monday was chilly, yet bright with some warming intervals of sunshine, so I ventured out yet again to Pennington with a main objective of encountering some Kingfishers. Alas no luck, but there were a few Common Darters, a couple of male Migrant Hawkers and surpringly a lone male Blue-tailed Damselfly looking ragged but holding on

As with last year around this time I realise that the usual hot-spots rarely deliver and most sightings tend to be around the heaths and along the rides. This has once again proved to be the case and during the colder days when I’ve had a chance to venture out I’ve come across the odd wayward Common Darter and Southern Hawker, the last being last Friday 22nd.

This is usually the time of year I spend exploring new prospective areas in and around the forest ready for next spring, and I’m hoping that during one of these forays I’ll come across a dragon or two before they disappear completely.

Firstly many apologies for the lack of posting recently. The combination of family commitments, camera failure and making the most of sunny days in the field are my excuse, but I hope I can make up for it with this post.

On the 22nd of September the weather was reasonable but dragon sightings were minimal. I called into a reliable pond where there were a few Common Darters and Migrant Hawkers on the wing, but little else. Crockford Stream was even less successful with only one sighting of a lone male Southern Hawker along the stream. Only one poor in-flight Migrant shot that day.

Saturday 25th proved much better with fine weather and plenty of Migrant activity along with the mating and ovipositing  Common Darters. There was even a lone male Blue-tailed Damselfly among the foliage, but he shot off before I could get a photograph.

Besides patrolling males, there was also a lone female ovipositing among the bank-side vegetation. She even perched for a short while allowing a decent photo opportunity.

The next day I ventured out with the camera,  Wednesday 28th September, proved to be a much better day than the forecast would have you believe. Reasonably calm wind and a welcome burst of warm sunshine.

After a morning of autumn foraging, I decided to pay a visit to a small, almost insignificant pond on the northern edge of the New Forest. This was the last dedicated location I had visited the previous year in search of dragons and on that occasion I witnessed one male and one female Southern Hawker.

Today’s visit didn’t disappoint either. Besides a couple of tandem pairs of Common Darters, there were a pair of Southern Hawkers. Most of the activity came from the patrolling male, but on three occasions the female would come in and they would attempt to couple – usually ending up in more of an aerial battle.

The male proved to be extremely active and one of the more difficult individuals I’ve ever had the chance of photographing. Indeed the only opportunities were with me stood in the pond attempting to get some in-flight shots.

Unlike most of the other male Southerns I’ve attempted to photograph in-flight, this individual refused to hover, preferring to circle the small pond in unpredictable staggering flight. Nevertheless I persevered and managed a couple of decent in-flight shots before disaster struck.

My camera’s shutter mechanism had failed. The first warning came with a noticeable slowing of the shutter until about 5 shots later it failed completely. That was the end of my photography for the day and the near future so I returned home early.

My one consolation was the results of what proved to be a worthy adversary, but the season isn’t over yet! More soon…

Altogether a much better week than last week, with some reasonably warm, sunny days to bring out the Hawkers. Migrants are our most plentiful at this time of year which begs the question why not rename this species the Common  and reclassify the Common Hawker as the Moorland Hawker – a more fitting name.

Sunday was a pleasant day with several species on the wing including Migrant, Southern and Brown Hawkers, Common and Ruddy Darters, Common Blue, Blue-tailed, Emerald and Small Red-eyed Damsels.

On Wednesday I joined Doug at Troublefield for an hour and was greeted by my first male Migrant perched

The appearance of some warm, sunny spells brought out more Migrants and a few Southerns providing an excellent aerial display with up to half-a-dozen in flight at a time. Occasionally they would land, in some cases perching reasonably close allowing a shot or two.

On Thursday I joined Doug again for an hour at Burley. Nothing much was visible over the ponds except a few Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damsels and several Common Darters. We continued over to Whitten Pond and was greeted by a patrolling male Southern Hawker and an ovipositing female Migrant along the lead-in stream.

Also present were a few ovipositing pairs of Common Darters, and these provided a real challenge to capture in-flight with their continual bobbing and weaving.

Afterwards I popped over to Pennington and witnessed yet another ovipositing Migrant

Friday’s weather looked promising so I visited Badminston Common where I knew I’d find some action. Surprisingly there wasn’t much going on at the pools, but searching the reeds revealed my first Migrant of the day.

A bleak, dark cloud hovered over the common and took a while to clear, considerably dropping the temperature and putting pay to activity, but there were a few persistent Common Blue Damsels hovering along the margins of the path. I decided to survey the gorse and was rewarded by perched Common Darters and yet more Migrants.

The sun seemed reluctant to reveal itself for much of the time but in those brief sunny intervals I witnessed a further dozen or so Hawkers – both Migrant and Southern – and several more Common Darters.

Better luck was to be found at Pennington where the Migrants seemed to be out in force. Several males were patrolling their territories, occasionally finding a female to mate with. I was determined to get an acceptable in-flight shot so busied myself until I acheived the result I was looking for

Satisfied, I continued to explore the the margins, witnessing at least 3 mating pairs flying out of range until I found a pair perched among the reeds.

I stayed around the vicinity for the rest of the afternoon honing in on the sound of females ovipositing among the reeds, Occasionally they would hover towards the bank in their quest for suitable laying sites.

Finally a promising Saturday weatherwise proved a tad disappointing, probably due to the low temperatures overnight. I joined Doug at Delph Woods where we were greeted by a Brown Hawker, a lone Emperor, a few Southerns and the odd Migrant patrolling the pond.

This brief moment of activity was shortlived and it was hard work finding much to photograph besides the profusion of Common Darters. Careful searching did produce more species including Common Blue, Blue-tailed and Emerald Damsels along with a few Black Darters and a beautifully perched Southern Hawker.

Despite the slow finish to what was a successful week, we should be grateful for any opportunities and sightings with reasonable diversity late in the season. Provided we continue to have reasonable weather without a frost we should continue to observe Migrants, Southerns and of course Common Darters for several more weeks.

This week has seen a change in the weather with grey skies, rain and strong winds putting pay to most dragonfly activity. On Sunday I wandered out briefly to a local private pond near the River Hamble and although nothing was flying I did disturb 3 Male Southern Hawkers.

A walk along the riverbank also produced a female flying low to the ground before disappearing off into the undergrowth.

Monday wasn’t much better. Nothing at all flying at Troublefield, but there was a lone male Beautiful Demoiselle hovering around the margins of nearby woodland.

It was Thursday before the weather held off enough to venture out again. I met Doug at lunch hour at Troublefield and there were a few Common Darters and Migrant Hawkers appearing during the brief sunny spells. A female perched for a short while allowing a photo opportunity.

We did a quick reccie of the northern fields before Doug had to return to work, but nothing much was stirring except a couple of female Common Darters.

I stayed for a further hour and a half in the hope of seeing more. There were more Hawker sightings to be had when the sun made those brief appearances with male & female Migrants patrolling the field and even a couple of male Southerns holding their territories further up the leat.

A nice surprise was seeing a male Beautiful Demoiselle among the reeds and a female perched on the bramble.

That’s it I’m afraid. A disappointing week, but at least there are a couple of good days forecast for next week. I’ll let you know how I get on.

Continuing good weather over the Bank Holiday meant a visit to Crockford was on the cards. Crockford Stream is well known as a mecca for odonata enthusiasts but IMO the best times to visit are in May & June. These are the months that activity is at it’s finest and species counts are at their highest.

However Monday’s visit surprised me with probably the best selection I’ve seen for a while. Beautiful Demoiselles are still on the wing, although numbers are low. Common Darters are plentiful and even the odd Keeled Skimmer put in an appearance.

For me though the highlights were the first Golden-ringed seen for a while, a male & female Southern Hawker and a few Migrants. There was even a few Small Red Damsels to be found including a mating pair.

Once we’d had our fill we moved on to the pond at East End which only produced a few Common Darters and a few Migrant Hawkers patrolling the treeline. We called in briefly to Holmsley where surprisingly nothing was seen.

We decided to visit Whitten Pond as a last call and were rewarded with a pair of Brown Hawkers patrolling the shore and feeder stream. The female was particularly amenable and gave us a chance to grab an in-flight shot or two. However the best opportunity came when she landed on the gorse.

The good weather continued into Tuesday and I returned to Crockford only to be presented with a couple of Golden-ringed’s and a Migrant Hawker among the Common Darters. There were however a couple of Beautiful’s on the wing, a lone Keeled Skimmer at the marshy end and a lone male Emperor paying a brief visit.

I then decided to visit Tiptoe, a site previously shown to me by Doug Overton. This proved to be more prolific than Crockford with four Migrant Hawkers spotted and four Golden-ringed’s among the inevitable Common Darters.

Two of the Migrant’s were patrolling a small clearing and eventually one landed so close I had to move back in order to get a shot.

With the little time I had left I decided to revisit Whitten Pond in the hope of seeing those Brown Hawkers again. A large grey cloud was hovering reluctant to move in the minimal wind, but eventually passed over allowing the sun to appear. Sure enough as soon as the sun appeared the Brown Hawkers came out of hiding. I stayed and attempted to get an in-flight shot, but had to leave before I had a chance to find them perched.

Tuesday had the promise of another fine day and I promised myself a return visit to Troublefield. On the way I called into a few New Forest ponds but activity was minimal except for a few early flying Emerald and Blue-tailed  Damsels. My first Hawker sighting was at Linford at around midday, but more were to come on arrival at Troublefield.

I arrived at approximately 1.00pm and did a quick reccie of the northern fields where I spotted the odd Common Darter, Beautiful Demoiselle and Golden-ringed.

I then concentrated on the main meadows to the south. This was where the majority of the main Hawker activity could be found. I counted over 40 Migrants and Southerns with regular bursts of half a dozen flying overhead.

Along the eastern edge there is a small leat backed by trees with plenty of bank-side vegetation providing ideal perching places, and this was where several opportunities presented themselves. Walking the whole stretch revealed yet more Migrants, Southerns and even some Golden-ringed.

This has to be the best display of Hawkers I’ve seen anywhere.

Thursday I had a plan to visit Badminston in the hope of finding a Red-veined Darter. Alas, none to be found, although there were hundreds of Common Darters and surprisingly a Ruddy, ragged, but a beautiful deep red.

I visited Mopley Pond while there, where again Commons were ever present along with the odd Southern & Migrant Hawker. It was the surrounding heath which provided the best results. One little clearing in particular was alive with Hawker activity – almost on a par with the previous day. In that one little clearing I counted around 30  patrolling the margins.

Alas, having spent more time there than I’d planned, I decided now was the time to move on as I had a plan to visit my favourite pond on the way home. There had been a report of Small Red-eyed Damsels there and sure enough several were spotted on arrival, including a couple of mating pairs. The latter were proving difficult to pin down for a photograph, but the single males provided a few opportunities – yet even they were skittish and it took a little patience and observation before a shot or two could be achieved.

This is apparently the first year this species has been recorded there and is excellent news, proving once again that this is one of the best ponds in the forest for diversity.

Also doing the rounds were Common Blue, Blue-tailed, Emerald and Red-eyed Damsels, Common Darters and Southern and a Migrant Hawkers.

The Southern at least provided an ideal opportunity for some in-flight shots.

I revisited the pond on Friday and spent a good 4 hours there. As usual the Emerald Damselflies were first on the wing followed closely by Common Darters.

Also seen were Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damsels, Black Darters and the welcome appearance of a male Common Hawker and two sightings of a female Common Hawker ovipositing, although this could have been the same individual paying a couple of visits. Far too fast to obtain a photograph though!

So I amused myself with getting a few more in-flight shots of a patrolling Southern.

On Saturday Sue & I joined Doug at Longham to be shown around the private riverside and lakes by a guide, Dominic Couzins. There were quite a few Common Darters and Common Blue Damsels including a beautiful purple male.

Along the rides there were a few Southern and Hawkers, while the lakes provided yet more Common Darters, Common Blue Damsels and even some Blue-tailed.

Conditions were hazy and very windy so we decided to move on to Troublefield where the weather prevented a repeat of the previous displays. At least there were a few Migrants on show along with perched and patrolling Southerns and a lone Golden-ringed and Beautiful Demoiselle among the inevitable Common Darters.

All in all a very successful week, especially the sighting of those Common Hawkers and Small Red-eyed Damselflies at my favourite little pond, Brown Hawkers at Whitten Pond and those wonderful displays of Hawkers at Troublefield and Badminston.

We’ve had a good deal of rain which has replenished the water bodies and all ponds and streams in the New Forest are looking much healthier. Good news indeed, but still the hunt for opportunities are proving a challenge.

My first port of call was Troublefield, just over the county border near Hurn. This is a fabulous water meadow on the banks of the Moors River which has showed promise on a previous visit. It needs a hot and sunny day to bring out the best, and I was there rather early. Still there were a couple of Common Darters and a few Southern Hawkers to be found.

On the way back I called into the pond to be greeted by a lone Common Darter perched and a few more patrolling the water

A few more days of rain and wind during the week prevented further exploration, but Friday looked more promising. Besides I needed an opportunity to try out a pair of wellies. I cannot believe how I’ve managed up to now without such a vital tool. They were ideal for tramping through the sodden heath but their real became apparent at the now full pond. Several Emerald damsels provided the ideal opportunity to use them as intended.

Moving on to Linford I was greeted by a healthy, and in places rather deep, Linford Brook. Again signs of life were acarce, but at least a female Southern Hawker provided a great opportunity to get some close-up shots while she was ovipositing.

The weather forecast for the weekend was promising and rather unexpected for a Bank Holiday. Knowing all roads west would be a nightmare of holiday traffic I decided against the New Forest and instead took Sue to Thursley Common. A wise choice. Barely out of the car we were greeted by a couple of Brown Hawkers and a couple of Downy (or mayve  Brilliant Emeralds) patrolling the pond. Further exploration revealed Common Blue, Small Red and Red-eyed Damsels around the margins.

Hawker activity was plentiful so I set up camp on the northern bank and attempted to get a Brown Hawker in flight. These magnificent dragons are a wonder to observe in flight and provide a real challenge with their speed and manouverability. This was the best I could manage.

Next was a patrol of the heath where several male & female Black Darters were observed and a couple gave opportunities for a photograph or two.

Besides Black Darters there were a few very brightly-coloured Male Keeled Skimmers. The boardwalks themselves were festooned with Common Lizards of all shapes, sizes and colours, which was a delight to see.

Back towards the pond and along a ride there was plenty of activity with the enevitable Common Darters and some of the best Hawker activity we’ve witnessed for a while. Southerns, Migrants and Browns were patrolling the ride along with a lone Downy Emerald – a late showing for this species,.

Time was getting on and activity was slowing down, but we did manage to pop into Shortheath Common, near Oakhanger on the way home. The only sighting was of a lone Blue-tailed Damselfly which provided the last photo opportunity of the day.

All in all a cracking day and a fitting end to a more successful week. Here’s hoping the promised good weather will produce some fine results over the next week or so.

I managed to grab a few hours on Sunday 15th, although dragon sightings were thin on the ground. First port of call was Mill Lawn searching the feeder streams for any sign of Scarce Blue-tails. None to be found, although there was some activity from several Common Darters, Keeled Skimmers and a late sighting of a Broad-bodied Chaser, which was a delight to see.

The main stream wasn’t showing any signs of activity either, so I made my way to Linford where I watched a lone male Southern Hawker holding territory across the pond.

Rained off on Monday, but Tuesday 16th showed promise with the first good sunny day for over a week. I therefore started out early to cover as much ground as possible starting at Broomy Pond where Emerald Damsels were plentiful among the grass and heather.

There was a lone male Emperor patrolling the pond, a few Common Darters among the gorse and further searching produced a few Small Red and Common Blue damsels..

From Broomy I walked across the heath to Milkham Bottom where the pond was showing signs of the recent drought conditions with hardly any water. The surrounding heath only produced a couple of Black Darters.

I’ve been assured by several people the pond at Milkham Bottom is one of the better ponds in the New Forest, but every time I’ve been there I’ve been disappointed.

Off to Blashford Lakes next for my first visit this year. Plenty of damsel activity and barely five minutes in I had my first sighting of a Brown Hawker, a male flying high among the trees along the back path. This was followed shortly after by a female patrolling the stream in the clearing. No photo opportunities though.

I back-tracked my route calling in at Linford to observe yet another patrolling Southern Hawker and several Common Darters enjoying the afternoon sun.

My last port of call was a favourite undocumented pond on the edge of the forest where the water level was so low I could almost walk from one side to the other. Despite the continued sunshine all I was were a few Emerald Damsels, a lone Male Emperor and a rather ragged and late-flying Four-spotted Chaser.

Wednesday 18th was the last chance I had to venture out, so I headed out to Pennington via Crockford Stream. At the latter the only sighting were a few Beautiful Demoiselles. On the way to Lymington I stopped off at a private fishing pond where I observed a few Blue-tailed Damsels and a lone female Black-tailed Skimmer.

At Pennington I did a circuit of the sea wall and the old road. Along the margins of Fish-tail Lagoon there were a couple of Migrant Hawkers patrolling and a few Blue-tailed damsels. On the way back I stopped off at the small pond to witness a couple of Southern Hawkers and a few Common Darters, the latter also appearing at intervals along the gravel path.

I called into Crockford on the way back hoping to see at least a Hawker or two, but alas the weather had turned overcast and there was nothing to be found except those hardy Beautiful Demoiselles. Similar circumstances at Hatchet small pond where by now the wind had really started to take hold. Even a short visit to Hawkhill where at least it was sheltered produced nothing further for that day.

The next few days brought some well needed rain. Bring it on. Once the ponds and streams are replenished let’s hope for a few days of uninterrupted warm sun with no wind!

Still having to play catch-up here with another two weeks of sightings to publish. I’ll start with Monday 9th where I visited 3 local sites to see what could be found on a rather overcast and cool day.

I started at Abbotswood, near Romsey, where there appeared to be a lot of construction work going on in the name of nature conservation. The pond here was in a very sorry state with hardly any water and all the rushes flattened down. All I managed to find was a rather lonely Emerald Damselfly who avoided my attempts at getting a photograph.

Just around the corner is Carrisbrook Meadows – an ideal sounding place, but unfortunately the whole site has all but been turned into a local authority tip. Barely a couple of minutes in I was challenged and told to keep to the footpath as the rest of the site – including the ponds – belonged to the waste company and was out of bounds.

I reasoned with the fellow and asked who I should seek permission from to do a dragonfly survey and this approach seemed to work with me being allowed to carry on. This was the site where I managed an excellent photo of a Small Red-eyed Damsel a few weeks back. However none were to be found this day, just a few Blue-tailed and a few Common Darters.

Disappointed with the day so far I travelled on to Testwood Lakes in the hope of seeing a few Small Red-eyed. The centre pond provided a few opportunities, but a conversation with one of the fellows doing a butterfly count informed me populations were well down on previous years.

From there I took a look at the Gully Pond where I spotted my first Migrant Hawker of the season

There was also a female Southern Hawker doing the rounds and attempting to oviposit on the boardwalk

The following Wednesday I ventured out early intending a return visit to Ringwood Forest to photograph a selection of Emerald Damselflies, which are very plentiful here. The grass and heather was still wet from the evening rain and I ended up soaking wet, but the results were worth it.

Further exploration into the undergrowth produced a few Black Darters and a Common Darter

From there I took a short drive to Slop Bog on the Ferndown Bypass, a site I’d been meaning to visit. Unfortunately the site only confirmed my suspicions that local authority nature reserves rarely produce anything near what they promise. All I managed to see was a lone Common Darter and a couple of Small Red Damselflies.

On the way back I stopped in at the pond Doug & I had previously visited and was rewarded with a female Brown Hawker ovipositing

Thursday 12th at first looked promising, but as usual the weather took a turn for the worse with only the briefest of sunny spells to break the gloom. I stopped off at Duck Hole Bog and spent a few moments watching a lone male Emperor patrolling the pond.

I also stopped off at Burley Gravel Pits but again all to be seen was a lone male Emperor.

The weather continued it’s gloom for the following two days, but Doug, Sue and I ventured out as planned anyway on Saturday. The only sightings were of Common Blue Damsels, everything else hiding away from what was to become a very wet day.

As mentioned previously we do desperately need some rain, in fact a great deal to replenish the heathland ponds. I would prefer it if we could have a few days of torrential showers followed by some hot, dry and windless days instead of this indecisive gloom with occasional sunny spells. Either rain or don’t!

But then we are in Britain and apathetic gloom should be expected in our summers!

Conditions are still critically dry in the New Forest and dragon activity is still well down on the same time last year. However a reasonably sunny day last Sunday brought out the Hawkers for an enjoyable afternoons shooting.

Within minutes of parking Doug and I were greeted by two male Brown Hawkers and a Southern Hawkers patrolling the wooded margins of the car park. This boded well for the next few hours with the best activity I’ve witnessed for weeks. There were at least two female Brown Hawkers ovipositing in the pond, a Common Hawker patrolling and lots of damsel activity on the margins including Blue-tails and Emeralds.

The main objective of the day were to attempt some photographs of the ovipositing female Brown Hawkers, an opportunity not to be missed considering the difficulty normally encountered with this species. Although we had several opportunities it was still a challenge to get perfect results even with their close proximity.

There was also a lone female Southern Hawker ovipositing low down within the reeds which proved a real challenge due to the position and low light levels.

On a sadder note there was a rather gruesome sight of a female Small Red Damselfly with the abdomen of a male still attached.

The surrounding heath provided more sightings of Brown Hawkers, this time males which refused to land for photo opportunities but at leaqst there was an obliging Common Darter.

Not far from our pond was another located on private land, but a chance meeting with the land owner at least provided us with the opportunity to ask permission to survey any dragonfly activity which we usually wouldn’t have access to.

Due to the pond being surrounded by cultivated farmland and therefore unwelcome changes to the natural acidity levels, there were still some welcome opportunities, including the rare and delightful experience of having a female Brown Hawker fly between my legs and land on my boot.

We also had a lone male Southern Hawker patrolling the pond giving us an opportunity to practice our in-flight photography.

All in all a successful day and a delight to witness some decent Hawker activity.