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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.

The reasonably dry summer has really taken it’s toll on our water bodies and associated odonata. Most of the New Forest heath ponds are critically low and a good number have dried out completely.

I’ve had to look long & hard for dragons & damsels over the past week. At least Higher Hyde Heath produced a few Ruddy Darters of both sexes along with a welcome Southern Hawker

On Tuesday I took a trip around a few favourite New Forest haunts including Crockford Stream which disappointingly only produced a few Beautiful Demoiselles, a few Southern Damsels, a few Small Reds and a lone Golden-ringed. Next stop was Hawkhill which only produced a few Keeled Skimmers and no Hawkers whatsoever. Even the stream which runs through the valley is completely dry.

At least Badminston produced a few damsels and plenty of Common Darters, although not near as many as there should be this time of year.

At least Wednesday saw a little rain and even a brief thunderstorm, but nowhere near enough to replenish the water table. I went out early – probably too early – on Thursday for a stroll around upper Ober Water and Duck Hole Bog. Again activity was almost non existent, although there were a few sightings a little later when the sun made a brief appearance.

Still only a couple of White-legged Damsels, a few Beautiful’s and a reasonable number of Keeled Skimmers patrolling the bog to the south of the main river.

Next stop was Holmsley where at least there was more activity with Common and Ruddy Darters, Small Red, Emerald and Azure Damsels and even a brief sighting of a Southern Hawker. A chat with a fellow enthusiast revealed there was more of the same along with a couple of Emperors and several Keeled Skimmers at the old Quarry.

With time to spare I paid a brief visit to Ramsdown Forest where I saw absolutely nothing! Not even a Golden-ringed or Black Darter was to be found among the heath. So all in all a pretty disappointing week. Let’s hope the weather improves with some heavy rainfall followed by more than just sunny spells.

On Sunday 11th July I paid a brief visit to Abottswood Common, near Romsey, in search of a small pond I had been told about. After scouring the common I finally found the pond, secreted behind a barbed wire barrier. The pond is shallow and completely covered in reeds with hardly any open pools of water. Nevertheless a quick scour around the reeds produced some Emerald and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

On Monday 12th I decided to visit Alder Hills again, but stopped off at Higher Hyde Heath in the hope of capturing some mature male Ruddy Darters

There was also a rather ragged Male Emperor perched among the undergrowth

Onwards to Alder Gully hoping for an opportunity to photograph the Brown Hawker. Several more missed chances, but a few opportunities including a mating pair of Blue-tailed Damselflies, a Male Scarce Chaser perched on a water lily and one of several Golden-ringed’s

The remainder of the week proved to be dull and rainy, so I decided to concentrate on visiting a few local sites for butterflies, however the dragonflies were determined to get in on the action too with several Emperors, a couple of Southern Hawkers and even more Golden-ringed made appearances at Whitely Pastures on Saturday.

The above female provided 15 minutes of entertainment feeding on no less than three butterflies, devouring the haed and body but leaving the wings. To watch her hunting and catching her prey mere metres away from us was a sight worth seeing.

Increasingly I have witnessed Hawkers and Emperors along forest rides well away from water. They appear far more prominent in areas where there is a lot of butterfly and other insect activity and this leads me to believe that they visit these locations for primarily for feeding.

On Tuesday and Thursday of last week I visited a reliable site for Brown Hawkers, high on my list and a species I had yet to see let alone photograph. The good news is I finally got to see them in all there majesty. A fabulous beast in flight, but an absolute nightmare to photograph!

On the way there Tuesday I popped in to Ramsdown Forest for a quick visit to see if there were any Scarce Chasers still around. One female was spotted and photographed.

There were a few Golden-ringed’s about and I was disappointed to disturb a mating pair. However I did manage a shot of a Common Darter and a perched Male Emperor

As activity was minimal I continued to Alder Hills where I was greeted by male Emperors patrolling the banks along with male Scarce Chasers and feeding Blue-tails in the bank-side foliage.

Once I reached the pond I was rewarded with my first sightings of the Brown Hawker, two flying over the water and I did manage a rather poor in-flight shot which would prove to be my only record

As the day cooled with a little cloud cover their activity on the pond ceased, so I searched the surrounding heath for perched individuals. I found four, but annoyingly didn’t notice them until the last moment when they took flight over the trees – a reaction which would repeat itself on many future occasions. I did console myself with a shot or two of perched Scarce Chasers and a welcome discovery of a young male Southern Hawker which was far more willing to be photographed.

The return visit on Thursday proved to be even more disappointing and a more than a tad hazardous, the concentration of heather and young gorse among the heath proving dangerous underfoot after a wet night. It wasn’t long before I took the first of two falls into the undergrowth and managed to collect more than my fair share of nasty scratches and bruises.

Those Brown Hawkers weren’t going to give themselves up easily. Another four missed opportunities and on returning home I noticed that I had caused some muscular damage in my left knee which would put me out of action for the next few days. The only consolations being my first shot of a fox (a cub) and a close shot of a Heron, along with a few more Scarce Chasers and a Golden-ringed.

So the hunt is still on and as soon as I am fit enough I will be returning to the hazards of Alder Gully where I will eventually bag my prize…

On Monday I paid a visit to Bentley Wood in the hope of catching a glimpse and maybe photographing the elusive Purple Emperor butterfly, but on the way I stopped off at Carsbrook Common near Romsey to investigate. This site had all but been taken over by a local authority tip, but the ponds are still there for now and relatively early in the day I was greeted with a Small Red-eyed Damselfly perched on the pond-side vegetation

This was one of the species on my list for this year and I had intended to visit Testwood if I had time that day for precisely that reason, so this unexpected sighting and photo opportunity was the first major highlight of the day.

While at Bentley Wood I made my usual pilgrimage to the two ponds where Downy Emeralds, Broad-bodied Chasers and Emperors were flying. However at the top pond there were spent exuviae on the reeds and on further searching, two freshly-emerged Southern Hawkers attached to the pontoon.

These opportunities were another highlight of the day and shortly afterwards I was even more lucky to encounter that elusive Purple Emperor butterfly. Photos of this encounter can be found on my Flickr page (see panel to the right)

Elated at my good fortune I almost forgot to visit Testwood, but remembered just in time and headed to the centre pond where indeed there was a Small Red-eyed on the pond as well as an ovipositing female Emperor

All in all a cracking day!

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