Imperial Majesty and Red-veined Darters

On Monday 20th I chanced my arm at Badminston in the hope of seeing a few more Red-veined Darters, A lot cooler than the previous Sunday with a stiffer breeze meant sightings were few & far between. No tenerals were to be found over the small pool this time, but there were a couple which looked promising around the margins. Unfortunately I couldn’t get near enough to confirm they were RVD’s, but the colouring looked right.

I continued to the far corner of the eastern pool where the shore was alive with Ruddy Darters – the most I’ve seen in one place in the New Forest. Totally failed to get a shot though. A female Golden-ringed rose briefly with my passing, landing not too far away ina thicket of gorse.

Onwards to Crockford – a more correctly Beaulieu Heath – where I was anxious to explore the upper reaches around Two Bridges Bottom and Deep Moor. Crockford Stream is sourced from these two locations, although the main body of the stream flows from Deep Moor; an apt name should you venture too far.

Besides several Keeled Skimmers, a few Golden-ringed and Beautiful Demoiselles, there was a male Emperor patrolling the ford pond, ideal for practicing in-flights.

Emperor Dragonfly - male
Emperor Dragonfly - male

I spent about an hour with this individual who became increasingly brave and inquisitive, allowing for some wonderful opportunities.

Emperor Dragonfly - male
Emperor Dragonfly - male
Emperor Dragonfly - male
Emperor Dragonfly - male
Emperor Dragonfly - male
Emperor Dragonfly - male

Following downstream more Golden-ringed, Keeled Skimmers, Beautiful Demoiselles and Southern Damselflies, and at the main basin I’m pretty sure the male Golden-ringed was our resident from 2 weeks ago, looking a little worn.

Through the thicket more Keeled Skimmers, Common Darters, a Southern Hawker, a Migrant Hawker and a couple more Golden-ringed before I called it a day.

Wednesday promised bright sunshine, but delivered cloud and strong gusts, Continuing on my Crockford quest I investigated a small stream to the west, NE of Pilley. As soon as I got out the car there were two Golden-ringed battling at the ford, and another couple upstream with Keeled Skimmers, Beautiful Demoiselles, Southern Damselflies and Common Darters.

Continuing on I decided to visit Lower Crockford for the first time in two years, following the stream at Shipton Bottom up & downstream where it merges into Crockford Stream. This is a wonderfully quiet area with pretty much the same species as Upper Crockford, the feeder stream proving very productive. Where they meet is a beautiful open lawn area with yet more opportunities.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly - male
Golden-ringed Dragonfly - male

As I was here I couldn’t resist the main basin, and decided to attempt a Beautiful Demoiselle in flight.

Beautiful Demoiselle - male
Beautiful Demoiselle - male

Onwards to Badminston where I met Paul W and together we did a tour of the ditches & pools, finding 20+ Red-veined Darters and over 30 exuviae at the breeding pool.

Red-veined Darter with Exuvia
Red-veined Darter with Exuvia

Along the shore of the far pit were Emperors, Common and Ruddy Darters, Black-tailed Skimmers and in one sheltered bay a hive of Common Blue Damsel activity.

Common Blue Damselflies
Common Blue Damselflies

The Ruddy’s were proving difficult subjects but across the other side of the pits I managed a perched male.

Ruddy Darter - male
Ruddy Darter - male

I still needed a decent RVD female shot and was rewarded with a couple of opportunities to round off a fabulous afternoon.

Red-veined Darter - female
Red-veined Darter - female
Red-veined Darter - female
Red-veined Darter - female

Sunday morning I returned to Badminston, unsurprisingly bumping into Paul W again, and joined a little later by two other enthusiasts.

Red-veined Darter - female
Red-veined Darter - female

The change in wind direction had dispersed the majority of the tenerals into a small and reasonably sheltered sandy area with ample perches. This didn’t necessarily make them any easier to approach, but perseverance paid off.

Red-veined Darter - male
Red-veined Darter - male
Red-veined Darter - female
Red-veined Darter - female

While I was exploring this area a shout went up as a female Lesser Emperor was spotted over the far pit. I managed a couple of glimpses but she didn’t stay around for long. Time was also moving on and I had to meet Sue at Pennington, but not before I had a brief time with Paul Brock who I bumped into on my way out.

Unfortunately Pennington proved to be an anti-climax as the clouds drew in, the wind increased and even a brief shower put pay to any decent action. No worries though, as the morning had been worth it!

2 Replies to “Imperial Majesty and Red-veined Darters”

  1. Great shots, I’m jealous of those RV Darters and the in flight shots. Only in the last month have I managed anything good of in flight dragons, mainly of migrant hawkers, but managed a few of the southern migrant hawkers.

    What do you think the chances of the RV darters being there next year would be? Im normal camping in the New forest this time of year, but not managed it this time around.

  2. Thanks for your kind comments Neil. In-flights unsurprisingly come with a lot of practice, and are very rewarding both in the activity of capturing them and nailing a perfect shot. Migrants are widely known to be the easiest species as they have a tendancy to hover more often.

    Southern Hawkers, Common Hawkers and Emperors are a little more challenging, with the former getting almost too close for focus with anything longer than a 105mm macro. The trick with Emperors is choose a day with a breeze – they will often counteract this and hover long enough to nail the focus.

    The chances of Red-veined being there next year looks good judging by reliable sightings in previous years, but weather conditions play a large part. The problem with Badminston is being a private site owned by a gravel-extracting company where access is only possible with trespass. Add to this the impending worry that the site could well be sold for development in the near future.

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