Cambridgeshire Dragonfly Group - Latest Reports

Brown Hawkers, etc.

2007-07-10T16:12:00.000Z

First Brown Hawkers of the year were on the wing at the weekend. I had two along the Nene north of Elton on Sunday along with plentiful White-legged Damselflies and Banded Demoiselles.

The following species were showing nicely at Jones' Covert today and nearby an Emperor was seen devouring a Common Darter.

Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa, female

Ruddy Darter Sympetrum sanguineum, immature male

© Brian Stone

Small Red-eyed Damsels on Farcet Fen

2007-07-09T08:28:00.000Z

Steve Dudley has just reported discovery of Small Red-eyed Damsels on Farcet Fen. This is terrific news!

Steve has just sent me the above photo he took of a pair ovispositing . For full details see his site at http://toadsnatcher.blogspot.com/
Max

Variable Damselfly, Maxey GP

2007-07-05T14:24:00.001Z

Very few odonata about at all today but this pair were very obliging and are my first at this site I think. Otherwise very small numbers of Banded Demoiselles, Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies in dull, windy and cool conditions.

Variable Damselfly Coenagrion pulchellum

© Brian Stone

Darters Emerge

2007-06-21T15:55:00.000Z

Recorded my first Ruddy Darter of the year at Jones' Covert today along with a few more Common Darters. All were teneral.

Note that the first Red-veined Darters were reported three days ago at Maxey GP on 19th June.

White-legged Damselfly

2007-06-17T22:11:00.000Z

Another search of the Elton Water Meadows area revealed nothing new but the cooler conditions made the White-legs even more obliging.

White-legged Damselfly Platycnemis pennipes

© Brian Stone

Variable Damselfly, Woodston Ponds

2007-06-12T14:24:00.000Z

Another new site for this species, for me at least. The damsels were along the boardwalk in an area of dense nettle with greater burdock under the willows by the Nene, accompanied by a single Azure, a few Blue-tailed and a couple of Banded Demoiselles.

The first one I picked up was nowhere near as obvious as the one pictured here and had almost complete antehumerals and an indistinct bar joining the segment two mark to segment three.

Variable Damselfly Coenagrion pulchellum, Male

Id features include 'wine glass' mark at top of abdomen, broken 'exclamation mark' antehumeral stripes and thin post-ocular bar.

© Brian Stone

Elton scarcities

2007-06-09T22:10:00.001Z

Cracking cast of odonata along the Nene south of Elton Lock today:
Banded Demoiselle, abundant
Large Red-eyed Damselfly, many
Blue-tailed Damselfly, many
Common Blue Damselfly, one pair in cop
White-legged Damselfy, 6, at least with 2 pairs ovipositing on floating vegetation
Hairy Dragonfly, 2
Emperor, 2
Scarce Chaser, 2
Black-tailed Skimmer, 6

White-legged Damselfly Platycnemis pennipes

Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum

Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans

female, rufescens form

© Brian Stone

The Boardwalks Damsels

2007-06-05T13:12:00.000Z

Azure Damselflies were abundant with many pairs ovipositing in the ponds at The Boardwalks LNR. Also good numbers of Blue-tailed Damselflies and a few Banded Demoiselles. Just two Large Red-eyed Damselflies at the Boathouse.

Kings Dyke West

2007-05-24T14:27:00.000Z

Female Broad-bodied Chaser again patrolling the track running north/south south of the Green Wheel junction. Also plenty of Four-spotted Chasers, 2 Hairy Dragonflies, 2 Black-tailed Skimmers, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Large Red Damselfly

2007-05-23T05:48:00.000Z

An immature male Large Red Damselfly pyrrhosoma nymphula turned up in my garden yesterday. I have included a photo in the species list.
Max

More Year Firsts

2007-05-02T18:46:00.000Z

Three more first emergences all photographed today at The Boardwalks NR, Peterborough.

Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx Splendens, male

Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans, male

Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella
Male

Female

© Brian Stone Nikon Coolpix P4

King's Dyke West: additional

2007-05-01T07:19:00.000Z

Just a top up really to Brian's post below. For various reasons yesterday was my first dedicated Odonata hunt of the year. It followed a phone call from Brian about the Broad-bodied Chaser. My visit to the spot wasn't as successful as his but it was fantastic to see my first sighting of the year, a male Hairy Dragonfly. A little further on found a male Four-spotted Chaser; this warm weather is producing exceptional results. These were my only 'marks' and both were very skittish and wary. I was able to get a couple of record shots which I post below.

King's Dyke West

2007-04-30T22:37:00.000Z

A fabulous hour spent just at the west end of King's Dyke West Pit in a sunny spot sheltered from the wind. Most of the insects were in a small area of rank nettle. The Broad-bodied Chaser was my first anywhere and the Variable Damselfly my first in the Peterborough area. Max later added Four-spotted Chaser nearby.

Broad-bodied Chaser
Hairy Dragonfly
Variable Damselfly
Common Blue Damselfly
Large Red Damselfly

Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa

Variable Damselfly Coenagrion pulchellum
Male

Blue female

Dark female (tentative ID, but no male Azures present so likely to be this species)

Hairy Dragonfly Brachytron pratense

© Brian Stone Nikon Coolpix P4, Broad-bodied Chaser and Hairy Dragonfly digiscoped through 20x Leica APO77

Early season records

2007-04-28T15:57:00.000Z

First few odonata of the year for me today with several Four-spotted Chasers, Large Red Damselflies and many teneral damsels, most or all Common Blues.

Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum

© Brian Stone

First report for 2007

2007-04-13T11:32:00.000Z

This is just a copy of the Hot News item I just posted from Steve Dudley on Farcet Fen.

I wasn't totally surprised to see a couple of Large Red Dams (one male, one teneral) over the warm Easter weekend (Mon 09/04) out here but as temps here reached a barmy 21 degrees (shade) today, a lunchtime wander found a lone Hairy Dragonfly patrolling one of the fen drains. I suspect the dykes and drains here were already warmer than normal for this time of year (judging by the emergent plants and the amount of aquatic inverts already active) and they would have been warmed further since late last week due to recent days
welcome sunshine.
Both these dates are my earliest ever (the Hairy be some margin).

Report: Woodwalton Fen

2006-11-29T13:38:00.000Z

Kevin du Rose has just reported a Common Darter at Woodwalton Fen yesterday (28.11.06). This is a very late record.

Report: General

2006-11-21T14:54:00.000Z

Brian Stone is still reporting Common Darters from various locations in the Peterborough area. This is following several frosty nights, proving how hardy this species is.

Report: Ferry Meadows

2006-11-15T19:40:00.001Z

At Ferry Meadows today (Wed 15th)and saw another pair of Common Darters in tandem also a lone male which settled on the path just in front of me. Unfortunately had the Tele Converter on the camera so couldn't snap it. All seen along the Nature Reserve path.
Winnie Fowler

Report: General

2006-11-10T11:42:00.000Z

Sightings are still occurring of Common Darter and Migrant Hawker in this area. I have just heard from Winnie Fowler of single male and tandem pair of Common Darter at Ferry Meadows yesterday (9.11). I too saw a pair in tandem at Eldernell yesterday.
Please continue to report any sightings to me, as 'last seen' will be as interesting as 'first seen'. And please note once again that positive sightings from ANYONE in Cambridgeshire will be happily received, and anonymity respected if required.

Report: Eldernell 13.10.06

2006-10-13T19:18:00.000Z

On a mainly birding trip today to Eldernell, the most noticable thing was the weather. It started with thick mist which fairly quickly turned into extremely unseasonal hot sunshine. The outcome of this was of course to bring out what dragonflies there were left. I saw many Common Darters with at least four pairs in tandem. I also saw at least six Migrant Hawkers. with one pair in a wheel. To be honest though, I am surprised I didn't see more considering the warmth of the day.
Max

Report: Nene Washes 29.9.06

2006-10-05T07:02:00.000Z

Please note this is a LATE report.
I've just come back from an hour or so down on the Nene Washes central drove, combining birding with drag hunting. The biggest shock was on leaving just now. Where the track turns right on approaching the Leam, the air was full of drags. They were Migrant Hawkers and Common Darters in about even numbers. The MH's were all males that I saw, and the darters were mainly males with the occasional female. As I was taking a pic of a male, a very old female landed beside me, so dark brown as to be almost black. The male, having flown away, then chose to land on my hand, a first for me and quite a thrill.

Report: Maxey again

2006-10-02T14:01:00.000Z

Similar to Max's report of a couple of days ago, many Common Darter in cop and a female Migrant Hawker ovipositing. Common blue Damselfly was the only other odonata species I noted.

With all these Darters about could we be missing a Vagrant (Moustached) Darter among them?

Report: Serpentine BP

2006-10-01T14:05:00.000Z

Many Migrant Hawkers, mainly along the northern edge plus a few Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Report: Maxey Pits 30.9.06

2006-10-01T09:18:00.000Z

Very many darters in tandem plus two Migrant Hawkers. No darters specifically identified. In most other situations it would be fairly certain that they were Common at this time of year. However because of location it's possible some may have been Red veined. This was an unusually warm day for this time of year, even with a good breeze blowing.

Red-veined Darter, Maxey GP

2006-09-26T14:08:00.000Z

This female was very dosile in the chilly, dewy conditions this morning.

Red-veined Darter Sympetrum fonscolombii, female

Nikon Coolpix P4

Report: Eldernell

2006-09-24T15:22:00.000Z

In the lane approaching the site I counted thirteen Common Darters. The first thing I saw on arriving at the car park was the first of many Migrant Hawkers. I didn't walk too far along Morton's Leam, but it seemed that every ten yards or so I'd find a couple of males having the usual border dispute. I also saw one mating pair. Common Darters were also fairly frequent here with three mating pairs seen, in addition to at least another ten singles. The mix of male/female seemed about even, although most of the females were old. Slightly surprising were a couple of male Common Blue damselflies. These spent most of their time resting on floating vegetation.
Max

Report: Eldernell - Turves - Wype Doles

2006-09-13T15:39:00.000Z

A quick look at Eldernell this afternoon showed a male Brown Hawker and that's all, although there were several tandem pairs of Common Darters on the drive going down.
The Turves - Wype Doles area produced four male Migrant Hawkers on the Forty Foot but nothing else - very stange not to see a single Common Darter. But I should stress that this wasn't much more than a drive through.
Max

Migrant Hawker, Elton

2006-09-09T20:24:00.000Z

Rested for some time in a Holly tree in the garden enabling some digiscoped shots.

Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta

© Brian Stone Nikon Coolpix P4 and 20x Leica APO 77

Darters, King's Dyke West

2006-09-08T13:20:00.000Z

Excellent numbers of Ruddy Darters and other insects around at King's Dyke West Pit today, including a Clouded Yellow butterfly. However I seem to have managed to only photograph a male Common Darter.

Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum

© Brian Stone Nikon Coolpix P4

Report: Maxey pits (Private) 3.9.06

2006-09-03T22:08:00.000Z

I had a look for dragonflies at Maxey today despite the very strong winds and very little cover I managed to find several teneral red-veined darter. The wind blew them miles but luckily I found one sheltering on a flat area behind some reeds. I popped back tonight and found several more despite no sun and still strong winds. I guess on a nice day you might get a pretty big count as I have only checked a small proportion of the site.
Kevin

SEE HOT NEWS

Report: Ferry Meadows 3.9.06

2006-09-03T21:54:00.000Z

Attending Peterborough Bird Club's Birdfest today, I took the opportunity to have a look around the edge of one of the lakes. Firstly there was an abundance of Migrant Hawker males. A female rose up below my feet at one stage and had only risen about a foot above the water when she was mated by a male! And in addition I saw four mating pairs.
Apart from this I saw two Common Blue Damselflies and one Blue-tailed Damselfly. One male Ruddy Darter and at least eight male and three female Common Darters, plus one mating pair.
Brian Stone said he'd seen a Brown Hawker.
The weather conditions today were extraordinary. It was very warm indeed, plus there were very strong winds, sufficient to blow off quite a large living branch from a Poplar I was standing near.
Max

Report: Nene Washes RSPB Reserve 1.9.06

2006-09-01T18:28:00.000Z

A short walk this afternoon on the Nene Washes Reserve produced nothing out of the ordinary.
On leaving the main road I immediately encountered at least eight male Migrant Hawkers in the air. Driving down further before getting out I passed at least six Ruddy Darter males plus a mating pair. Also what I think was a mating pair of Common Darters. On leaving the car the first thing I saw was another Migrant Hawker male and during the walk I saw at least ten more. Ruddy Darter males were the most common with at least fifteen, with only two females seen. For those who haven't been to this location, there is a central 'drove' road that runs the length of the reseve (you must stay on this road). For most of it's length it has water filled wide ditches/dykes on either side, with the occasional pool here and there. As a consequence drags are, in the right conditions, constantly crossing over the road and around you. There are wide verges with umbellifers and nettles etc for them to land on, sunbath and feed. Vegetation is variable, with some stretches of water completely covered, and others completely clear. Having only recently started to visit this site drag watching, I can't give a 'possible' list. In addition to the preceding species I have seen Brown Hawkers and Blue Tailed Damselflies here. The site is of course famous for bird watching, but unless you happen to turn up on one of the few occasions when there's a group visit, it's very quiet and pleasant. See Nene Washes and associated map by left clicking the title of this particular report, and then using the Back button to navigate back to this site.
I had a female Migrant Hawker in the garden this morning, a couple of pics of which I've posted in the Species List.
Good hunting
Max

Report: Blackbush Drove out of Whittlesey 30.8.06

2006-08-30T16:17:00.000Z

A quick drive out on Blackbush Drove this morning was both pleasant and frustrating. Pleasant because it was such a good day for drags, and frustrating because my time was limited due to having to take my dear wife to the dentist! Anyway, my first stop produced a mating pair of Common Darters, three male and one female Migrant Hawkers, and one male Emerald damselfly. Driving on a bit further I stopped at a man made pit which I believe is a farmer's reservoir. Here there were two Blue Tailed Damselflies and many Common Blue - I counted at least fifteen and there were certainly more. My searching was curtailed somewhat by taking a few piccies, one of which I've posted on the Ruddy Darter blog; have a look, its gruesome! Including this poor beast I saw five males and one female plus a mating pair. There were more Ruddy than Common here and I only saw one female Common, a picture of which I've also just posted on the blog. While driving I saw six of what were almost certainly Migrant Hawkers and a mating pair of Common Darters.
Max

Report: Blackbush Drove 25.08.06

2006-08-28T13:30:00.001Z

I spent a very pleasant couple of hours out in the fens this morning. The area I was in was centred on Blackbush Drove out of Whittlesey. The weather was perfect not only for people, but also for dragonflies. It seemed that everywhere I went Migrant Hawkers were out and about. Five Brown Hawkers were seen plus a mating pair. I counted seven Emerald Damselflies and two Blue Tailed. There was an abundance of Common Blue damselflies; it seemed every bit of long grass I walked through contained them. Three Ruddy Darters were seen - a couple of which I managed to get pics of.
Max

Report:Yesterday in Turves - Wype Doles area

2006-08-28T08:19:00.000Z

Not a specific drag search, just a short drive in the wilds this morning. Migrant Hawkers were still apparent most places with Common Darters also seen. By far the biggest surprise, and by far the best sighting, was a female Emporer dragonfly. This flew right across in front of me while I was fortunately going very slowly on a very bumpy road. I of course stopped and went hunting, but no more was seen.
Max