Hampshire Dragonflies

Saturday 18th July

Due to the recent weather I’ve been robbed of the opportunity to venture east in search of scarcities and rarities, so instead I pottered around a couple of local nature reserves.

On a pleasant Thursday I took the long walk around Blashford, and besides good showings of Brown Hawker, Emperor and a female Southern Hawker, I came home with nothing worth sharing.

So to Saturday and an afternoon stroll around Swanwick; expecting nothing, but loathe to let any glimpse of summer go to waste. As it was it turned out to be rather enjoyable.

Around the dipping pond there were a few Blue-tailed, Red-eyed and Common Blue damsels with brief visits from Common and Ruddy Darter, Black-tailed Skimmer and a male Emperor who chose the whole area as his territory.

Over on the hill another Emperor was hawking magnificently and at Tom’s Pond the small meadow provided some welcome photo opportunities.

This violacea female led me a merry chase until she found a pleasing spot.

My favourite little quadrant had a male and female Emperor hawking, and Sue spotted a male Southern Hawker who gave me just the one chance to grab a shot.

At the dog pond a couple of Broad-bodied Chasers, long past their prime, were battling continuously over their murky brown puddle. Appearances didn’t matter to a female Southern Hawker, who circled the pond several times, stopping frequently to oviposit either in the muddy bank, a discarded log and even my right boot!

Try as I might I couldn’t pin her down for other than a record shot, so I continued back through the top meadow, stopping briefly to grab a shot of one of those tatty BBC’s.

Back at the quadrant there was no further sign of the male Southern, but an Emperor led me on a fruitless chase. Instead I concentrated on a pair of Blue-tailed swaying in the breeze.

Once again the best activity and opportunities were away from water in verdant meadows, host to plenty of feeder insects. On Saturday they were chopping trees. Let’s hope they don’t destroy these meadows ahead of time again this year.

If they do, then I’d like to hear an explanation from HWT – especially as there’s been continued postings on Twitter regarding the demise of our wild flower meadows…

Friday July 10th

I try to avoid going anywhere on a Friday. all day rush hours are not my thing. To miss such a perfect day though would have nagged at me all weekend, so I decided to have a stroll around Town Common and Ramsdown.

The charming Carol Kirkwood had promised sunny skies and ‘light’ winds, but this wasn’t the case on the Common. Any breeze is exaggerated near the coast, and strengthened by funneling up the Avon and over the unsheltered plain.

I checked along the margins for any perching hawkers, but a little too early to bring forth any prizes, so I crossed the heath to the ponds where there were a fine showing of Black Darters, Small Red and Emerald Damselflies.

Nearly all of the shallow, peaty ponds favoured by the triumvirate are barely more than puddles, but this doesn’t deter their hosts. Even the pool at the far end of the heath is thriving, despite being well within the catchment area of the recent fire.

There is one deeper pond which retains water in dry times, and this is where most of the over-water action can be observed; with Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser and Common Darter patrolling.

After a comprehensive search of the common I crossed the dual carriageway to Ramsdown, but excepting the deep pool there wasn’t much (else) to be seen, although I did disturb a Brown Hawker in the clearing.

I decided to have another visit to the pond near Ringwood. The reeds were still buzzing with Blue-tailed and Common Blue, and a fine population of Black-tailed Skimmers entertained at the shore.

Just the one Brown Hawker ephemerally present over water. Still too early for their peak, where any attempts at in-flighters will be better provided for.

Saturday 11th July

Time for another visit to the Avon, this time with Doug in tow. Despite a fabulous, if breezy, day and the presence of three or four Brown Hawkers intermittently showing themselves, photo opportunities were very few – unless you wanted Banded Demoiselles, of which there were plenty.

In fact the only real opportunity we had was an obliging male Scarce Chaser.

After 3 hours of waiting we decided to call in to Troublefield, which if nothing else gave us further proof that today was one of those seemingly perfect days which are sorely lacking.

I’m convinced dragonflies sense the impending low and bed down. There can be no other explanation for such a sad showing on what should have been a perfect dragonfly day.

 

Thursday 9th July

I must thank Sue for dragging me out of bed on what should have been another lousy weather day. As it was the sun was shining through the bedroom curtains and I checked the weather for the rest of the day.

As I thought in the New Forest, but a glance to the north of the county revealed Bramshill Common was going to be a certainty. Arriving just after 10.30am my first encounter turned out to be the highlight of the day.

A pristine male Brilliant Emerald offering superb and prolonged views for my pleasure.

We shared an hour before moving on to the clearing where I stirred up a couple of Brown Hawkers, several Emperors, even more Common Darters and (the inevitable) Black-tailed Skimmers.

Taking a walk along one of the rides I encountered my first Southern Hawker of the season. Unfortunately in true female habit, she headed for the safety of a tree.

Further along the ride at a crossroads is another delightful little clearing where Emperors often bed down.

Back at the shore of Long Lake the damsels were in fine form with several congregations of Common Blue sharing the emergent reeds.

A further tour of the small clearings revealed more Emperor, Black-tailed Skimmers, Four-spotted and Broad Bodied Chasers and several fresh Common Darters.

I also had my first ‘red’ male Common Darter sharing space with a patrolling male Emperor.

My only slight regret was totally failing to take advantage of a hovering female Brown Hawker, but she only gave me enough time to reach for the camera before she was off and out of sight.

Still…a rather productive and thoroughly enjoyable day!

 

Wednesday 8th July

A few days to catch up on, and, as we’re due for a period of inclement weather, I’m going to break it down over two or three entries.

I’ve been hearing several reports about this being a rather lousy season for dragonflies. It certainly hasn’t been wonderful for damselflies, with populations down across the board and the usual swarms at key sites sadly lacking.

The spring stalwarts, Broad-bodied and Four-spotted have also been thin on the ground (or in the air if you like). However it has been a great season for some of our other species. The Hairy appeared to be doing well on the Somerset Levels and numbers seem normal at other key sites except Pennington, which has been going downhill in recent years.

The Emperor has had a fine season. Numbers way up in my observations. Likewise the Scarce Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmer. A little too early perhaps to document the Golden-ringed, a benchmark is Crockford where their peak has yet to happen.

The same with the Brown Hawker. Way too early to quantify.

So back to Swanwick. In an unusual step I took the bus; something I doubt I will be doing again. I’d rather walk and spend the equivalent of the price of a pint on a pint.

My reason I took the bus is it hadn’t promised to be a particular fine day, but a brighter afternoon had me curious. No Small Red-eyed (yet) around the dipping pond; just a few Common Blue, Azure, Red-eyed and Blue-tailed.

The grassy area was sadly lacking due to the overgrowth – a problem quite easily overcome by razing a path or two through to offer decent vantage points for perching odos. They need these clear sections to both hunt for prey and have a good route to escape predators.

In common with many water bodies this summer, the stream was completely dry, and the surrounding foliage was also overgrown with no clear sections, but a few damsels were present around the margins.

My favourite little meadow had a young Common Darter and an Emperor content to hide within some deep cover, making for a technically-lousy shot, yet offering a sense of meadow realism.

The ‘dog pond’ at least had a few Broad-bodied Chasers present; two males battling over a female in what is presently just a muddy puddle.

I decided to have a walk around the furthest reaches of the meadow, the best area orchard-like with a few well positioned small trees to break up the landscape. The only problem with this lovely little micro-climate were the hoards of horseflies which were ravenous for me today. I suffered six nasty bites during my quest for a present Golden-ringed.

Worth the bus fare? Maybe. Certainly worth the visit.

Tuesday 30th June

On Tuesday I planned to meet up with Steve Covey to hopefully find him an aurantiaca female Scarce Blue-tailed. Sue had taken the day off, and Neil Phillips had expressed an interest, and while we were awaiting Steve we met up with Neil further upstream.

Scarce Blue-tailed were already visible along the flushes which still had water, but it was the aurantiaca which was the target today. A finger-tip search of the heather and grass was surprisingly uneventful, until Sue let out a shout.

Here was a rather beautiful ‘transitional’ female, the colour of which I’ve not seen before. Unfortunately  I missed my opportunity to get a photograph, but for the record it resembles the Richard Lewington drawing found in the dragonfly guide books. Here’s a link to Neil’s photo.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CIz1lzgWcAAYw4j.jpg

A quest for Raft Spiders led Neil off to other pastures while the rest of us continued with our search. No aurantiaca to be found, but a few mature females showed themselves.

We managed to find quite a few more males, and Steve consoled himself with a mating pair. Other than that it was mainly Small Red, who seem to be thriving everywhere this season.

Keeled Skimmers were more abundant than last time and occasionally offered a decent photo opportunity.

The stream showed a few more Beautiful Demoiselles than of late, and we even had a Golden-ringed towards the end, but it was a Broad-bodied Chaser who gave the last good opportunity of the day.

Wednesday 1st July

A more productive day than Tuesday, with a visit first to Pennington to connect with the Small Red-eyed.

There wasn’t  a great deal on the pond; just a male & female Emperor, a tatty Four-spotted Chaser and some Black-tailed Skimmers.

Among the undergrowth were several more damsels, including several pairs of Blue-tailed and Azure.

Still not as many Blue-tailed as usual, but it’ hard to resist a good opportunity.

As the only other activity was from fresh Common Darters, I decided to move on to Crockford Stream, where I bumped into Stephen Darlington; a nice surprise. We always seem to meet up somewhere in the field.

The main basin was surprisingly subdued, with only Beautiful Demoiselles, Keeled Skimmers and just the occasional visit from a Golden-ringed – one who’s territory extended for a good length of the stream.

A female Emperor was choosing the pool to oviposit, and the Bog Myrtle was decorated with the usual Southern and Small Red damsels. A little further upstream I found the first willing Golden-ringed.

I couldn’t resist the walk upstream to my favourite spot. The walk was punctuated with several more Golden-ringed, Keeled, Southern and Small Red, but the pool at the top didn’t have a patrolling Emperor this time.

At least the stream had a resident Golden-ringed which provided the perfect opportunity.

Back downstream Stephen was still present, and a Keeled Skimmer was hard to resist against the water’s reflections.

Some connoisseurs reject Crockford Stream as too commercial, or popular, but it remains the best place to grab your Golden-ringed opportunities and in fine weather the light is always special.

It didn’t earn it’s reputation for nothing!

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Please note:- The car parks at Crockford are closed until July 31st to prevent dog walkers from disturbing ground nesting birds. However parking is still possible a short distance away at Norley Inclosure.

 

Monday 27th June

A fine sojourn to Kent has left me satisfied enough to concentrate on my home patch (I hate that term) in the New Forest – which always comes into it’s own around now. I was going to do a weekly New Forest compilation, but soon realised I’d had to break it up a little. Certainly as far as Monday is concerned.

I decided to have another (final?) go at those Red-veined Darters at Badminston, with a couple of options in case I was unsuccessful, or got bored. As it was I encountered my first shortly into the visit, and several more along the edge of the lake – not their usual preference at this site.

After bagging the first record shot I noticed Paul Winters at the other end of the lake. Once we’d met up we continued to spend the day as a team; two eyes are always better than one. The result was the best day I’ve had with (mature) Red-veined Darters.

As to Paul ‘s recent observations there was a male present at each fishing bay; incredibly fast and ethereal, but often choosing to perch on the gravel substrate of the stand, which meant lying low to create some depth.

Further along there was a pair in tandem, the male locked as the female oviposited far out from the bank, often bothered by another male or a male Black-tailed Skimmer – the most prolific larger dragonfly here.

Again, each (prospective) fishing bay had a patrolling male, some more agreeable than others, offering great views and ideal situations for an in-flight opportunity.

Quite often they would perch; not unduly bothered by your presence so long as you didn’t unduly disturb them.

It’s all too easy to become enamored the the exquisite beauty of the regal male going about his business, but the sight of a female ovipositing has the same level of fascination for me.

However today belonged to the Red-veined Darter.

They still chose the gravel, but to be fussy would have been churlish.

There was one who thought a strand of grass would make for a better perch, but positioning myself meant several up & down occurrences.

A walk around the inclosure included that shallow ‘puddle’ where they’d been previously, but didn’t stay for any length of time. However one of the short visits gave me another opportunity for a better in-flighter.

The star of the show today, and I took every opportunity I could get.

To conclude I must again point out that this is a private site with authorised access, and any requests for site details will be ignored. The information is out there, but rather than twitch you’d be better off searching your own preferred areas.

After all, there’s nothing more satisfying than finding a nice surprise on your own patch.

Saturday 25th June

After the superb experience at Westbere Marshes last season, we returned this year with Doug in tow. I’d spent all year convincing him, and even at the last minute he had his doubts.

Not once he’d arrived and found his first one. As usual there were males patrolling the dykes, perching often to offer good photo opportunities.

What I didn’t have was a target, so on the way there I said a mating pair would be nice.

There wasn’t as many opportunities for in-flighters today. For some reason they appeared to perch during the sunnier moments and patrol under cloud! Still, I’d have to go a long way to improve on last year’s shots. The best I could manage today was this.

We did have another mating pair, which offered a different perspective, which I’ll post on Flickr. In the meantime here’s another perched male.

Of course having been blessed with good showings, Doug mentioned it would be nice to locate a female. Luckily a failed pairing resulted in the female perching in a tree close to us along the path.

I’d call that a good result! A grand day for all!

Many thanks again to Marc Heath for his help and Doug for being chauffeur for the day 🙂

Thursday 25th June

Many apologies for lagging behind, but once again this good weather has been spent in the field and that’s what it’s all about. Not that your missing anything, as everything should be better over the next few weeks.

Those jolly old souls at the met office would have us all believe light cloud would dominate the landscape last Thursday, with perhaps the odd sunny spell. That forecast postponed a return to Latchmore with Steve Covey, who quite-rightly probably uttered a few obscenities at the realisation that it turned out to be wall-to-wall sunshine.

A change of plan then, and an opportunity to indulge in some well-deserved peace and quiet at Ober Water. No politics, no crowds (not a soul) and a fine array to keep me occupied from Markway to Clumber.

Coincidentally the very first damsel I came across was a male Scarce Blue-tailed; notable for it’s close proximity to Markway Bridge – further upstream than they usually appear. Also in good numbers for the whole walk were White-legged; surprisingly outnumbering the Southern today.

As usual most of the unattached females and immature/tenerals were holed up away from the water.

These were joined by (common) Blue-tailed, Large and Small Red and reasonable numbers of Beautiful Demoiselles.

I stayed at a favourite spot watching a male defend his terrtory and winning the desires of a female. After a fine courtship dance, they paired for five minutes before she returned to the stream to oviposit while her mate protected her. Fifteen minutes later they paired again for another five minutes. A cracking piece of theater.

Keeled Skimmers were more abundant than last week, although still not at peak levels.

Again it was away from the water where you could find the females.

And the immature.

Of course it’s always a joy to see a Golden-ringed. This young male was patrolling the busy area around the reeds.

I find the majority of males rather friendly, and this one was no exception as he perched high in front of me.

Now isn’t a natural perch better than pushing a stick into the stream?

A pleasant, productive and peaceful day. Just what I needed…

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Coming Soon:- A weekend visit for the Green-eyed Hawker.

 

Tuesday 23rd June

A repeat visit was in order to check on the Scarce Blue-tailed situation. Although they’ve been out for a fortnight at Badminston, the cooler conditions here obviously affect emergence, resulting in a later showing this season.

The populations of other species helps to confirm this theory, with Keeled Skimmer still surprisingly few. The main stream still isn’t showing any Golden-ringed, and the Demoiselles are only slightly more numerous than last week.

I didn’t see any male SBT in any of the flushes on the walk in, but neither did I see much else, so it was a nice surprise to come across my first aurantiaca relatively early. A nice teneral, almost pink before the diagnostic bright orange.

As with last Thursday, Small Red were the dominant species; the Southern being surprisingly few with only the one male seen within the scrub. Not to worry – I was very single-minded today, and, despite the lack of males, that striking bright orange of the immature female form provided another welcome opportunity.

Now I could quite happily post one after another, but I thought I’d post a selection of the various female phases. They start off pink then quickly turn to orange as in the above photos. Next they reach a transitional phase when they start to lose that striking orange.

Finally they mature into a rather drab green, which I think is a shame, as we could all do with a little more colour in our lives.

As stated the males were very few, but numbers did increase as the day went on, with a few occupying some of the lower channels near the main flow of the stream.

Now regarding that stream. Latchmore Brook is in the process of some ‘redevelopment’ – reverting the main stream to the meandering course it took before being ‘straightened’ as an aid to pasture.

I have looked repeatedly at the proposals and as far as I’m concerned these works should benefit the resident odonata population by returning this stream to its original course.

At the moment the main stream is mostly devoid of emerging flora and by association resident fauna. One only has to look at Ober Water to see how it should be. Allowing the stream to return to it’s original course will remedy this, and we should see a greater diversity and higher numbers along its length.

The only problem I can foresee is damage caused through ignorance by the contractors, which I hope can be avoided by having an expert on site to advise. This has been arranged through a consultation involving several bodies brought on by the ‘Friends of Latchmore Brook’ campaign group.

Our ‘friends’ should be happy with this, but in the spirit of all nimby activists they are never happy, and will never be until all prospected works seize and leave their beautiful dog walking patch alone.

Personally I will be a lot happier if I can take a stroll down Latchmore without bumping into one of these doom-mongers accosting me and chanting ‘the end is nigh’. Respect my time and my peace and I will respect yours. I don’t need politics on a country stroll.

When all’s said and done you might be able to chant ‘I told you so’.
Then again, you might not…