A tale of two hawkers

21 Tuesday Jul 2026

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Aeshna cyanea, Aeshna isoceles, British dragonflies, British odonata, Hawker dragonflies, Norfolk hawker, Odonata, Southern hawker

June to October are the best months of the year to see the Southern hawker dragonfly (Aeshna cyanea), and so far I’ve seen two. The first was during my wander through Slade Wood on 2 July, a bonus sighting on a day mostly dedicated to looking for butterflies (see NFY: White admiral & Silver-washed fritillary) but which also turned up the Ruddy darters I blogged about last week in A tale of two darters.

It often seems strange to me to find dragonflies patrolling the vegetation lining woodland rides, particularly when the nearest water source is quite some distance away but this is normal behaviour for the Southern hawker, and many other species. I found my second Southern hawker of the year on 5 July, in a similar setting, flying rapidly back and forth along a wooded lane about a mile from the nearest water source. On their website, the British Dragonfly Society notes that this species has spread throughout much of England and Wales in recent years, and has also colonised parts of Scotland, so hopefully many of you will have been privileged to see them in your area.

One of the reasons I booked my latest visit to the south Dorset coast for July was to see more Norfolk hawkers (Aeshna isoceles), a dragonfly species I saw for the first time during a visit to Weymouth last June. I was not disappointed, though I had forgotten how tricky and frustrating they can sometimes be to photograph – like most hawkers, they rarely stay still for long.

Fortunately, the nature reserve at Radipole is just a short walk from where I stay in Weymouth so I was able to wander its trails multiple times and at different times of the day, giving myself as many opportunities as possible of watching these green-eyed beauties. And, as is often the case with wildlife, time and patience and getting to know the behaviour of the creature you’re watching can bring the rewards you’re hoping for. I’m already planning my 2027 wildlife excursions to include Radipole for more Norfolk hawker watching next year.

A tale of two darters

18 Saturday Jul 2026

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British dragonflies, British odonata, Common Darter, dragonfly, Odonata, Ruddy darter, Sympetrum sanguineum, Sympetrum striolatum

I saw my first Common darter (Sympetrum striolatum) of the year on 26 June, though I haven’t seen many more yet. However, they are known to be common throughout Britain, except for the Scottish highlands and upland locations in the north of England, so I’m sure I’ll be seeing more in the coming weeks – the core months for sightings are from June right through to the end of November, depending on the weather conditions.

At first glance, you might think the two dragonflies shown above are the same species – I certainly did – but they’re not. And, fortunately, as I had seen this other species at this particular location three years ago, I took lots of photos. The second photo (and my third photo, below) shows a Ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguineum). The Common darter has pale stripes down its legs, whereas the Ruddy darter’s legs are black. Another feature to look for is the black T-shaped mark on the top of the Ruddy darter’s thorax – the Common darter doesn’t have this. If in doubt, the British Dragonfly Society website has excellent side-by-side photos of the tops and sides of the various darter species, which I find very helpful.

Many of you who live in England have probably seen a Ruddy darter but they are not common in the southwest or far north, and, in Wales, are only seen in the eastern counties nearest to England. I found the two shown here during a recent visit to Slade Wood in Monmouthshire. Now I need to find one of the blood-red male Ruddy darters, as they look quite stunning in the photos I’ve seen. Watch this space!

Lesser emperor, at last

04 Saturday Jul 2026

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Anax parthenope, British dragonflies, British odonata, dragonfly, Lesser emperor, Odonata

In September last year, I wrote about the encounters I’d had with the Lesser emperor dragonfly (Anax parthenope), the fleeting glimpses of previous years and then the most recent ‘close but partly obscured by a bush’ sighting.

Though this dragonfly does now breed in southern Britain, there are no records of its breeding in south Wales; the Lesser emperors we see are either dragons from further south in Britain or, more likely, migrants. And, this year, probably as a result of the hot south-easterly winds blowing in our direction from the heatwave conditions in Europe, there have been quite a few local sightings of Lesser emperors much earlier in the year than usual.

My local WhatsApp group notifications had been beeping with reports of others finding this dragonfly so I had also been looking, in particular at three different locations along the River Ely where they had been seen in recent weeks or reported in previous years, but I kept coming up empty. Until, finally, a week ago, on 28 June, I was walking along a path not far from one of the lakes at Cosmeston when the flutter of a dragonfly’s wings caught the sunlight. I froze, as they are so easily spooked. And then I could hardly believe my eyes … a Lesser emperor … not zooming past at the speed of light, but perched on a bush in full view. And it actually stayed completely still while I moved ever so slowly and carefully around so as to get photos from each side and front on. This was my best ever view of a Lesser emperor!

Slightly squished

25 Thursday Jun 2026

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Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, British odonata, dragonfly, Odonata, Orthetrum cancellatum

When I checked my spreadsheet of dragonfly sightings that morning, I realised that the date was about right for seeing my first Black-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) so I was keeping a look out as I walked the tracks through the fields at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park that Sunday, 14 June. And I did find one – in fact, it’s a miracle I didn’t stand on it when I walked along the fence line of the dragonfly pond, as the dragonfly was almost hidden amongst the grasses on the ground at my feet. When it didn’t fly away, I realised there must be something wrong with it and put my finger down for the poor creature to cling on to. I gently moved it to a nearby fence post but I could see that it was injured, or hadn’t developed properly, as the end of its tail was a bit squished – maybe an earlier visitor to the pond had, in fact, stood on it. As you see, I did take a few photos, but I wasn’t very hopeful that it would survive.

Mr and Ms Beautiful demoiselle

27 Wednesday May 2026

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Beautiful Demoiselle, British dragonflies, British odonata, Calopteryx Virgo, dragonflies, Odonata, RSPB Radipole

I didn’t spend a lot of time looking for odonata species during my recent visit to Weymouth, partly due to the weather conditions – when it was sunny, there was almost always a strong cold wind blowing through the areas where I usually find dragonflies, but also because the RSPB has made the decision, despite the protests of very many people, not to spend money on maintaining many of the footpaths at both the Lodmoor and Radipole nature reserves, meaning some areas are already becoming inaccessible. (I won’t go in to my opinion about the RSPB here – suffice to say it couldn’t get much lower, and the organisation will never again receive any financial support from me.)

On the one afternoon the weather was favourable, I was exceedingly lucky to find several species that were my first sightings for 2026. The Blue-tailed and Red-eyed damselflies will be covered in future blogs, when/if I get more and better photos of them at home in south Wales, but I couldn’t resist sharing these images I did manage to get of the aptly named male (above) and female (below) Beautiful demoiselles (Calopteryx virgo) that were wonderfully entertaining as they flitted amongst the tall reeds along the edge of a path at Radipole. Such gorgeous creatures!

A bumper day, part 1

07 Thursday May 2026

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Azure damselfly, Brachytron pratense, British damselflies, British dragonflies, British odonata, Coenagrion puella, Common blue damselfly, Enallagma cyathigerum, Hairy dragonfly, Odonata

Last Thursday, the final day of April, dawned sunny and clear-skied, though the cool nor’easterly that has plagued us recently was still blowing. Temperatures in the previous days had been warm and were forecast that day to rise to the high teens so I thought it might be worth checking sheltered places for any newly emerged dragonflies. That proved to be one of my better ideas as the day ended up being a bumper day for new sightings, both for the Odonata species shown here and for the butterflies that will feature in the blog I will publish tomorrow, A bumper day, part 2.

There is one small clearing at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park where I sometimes find early damsel- and dragonflies so I checked there first, and bingo! Just as I eased past the vegetation to peer in to the clearing, a dragonfly flew up and away.

My heart sank a little, but I waited. Five minutes later, the dragon returned but simply circled the clearing and flew off again. I waited. Another five minutes passed and, this time, after circling around the trees and shrubs once again, the dragon settled. This was my first Hairy dragonfly of the year, Brachytron pratense.

From the clearing I walked across to check a path leading down to the west lake, where there used to a bird hide before local youths burnt it down. At the top of the path, a particularly warm, sheltered spot was alive with many gorgeous little damselflies, basking on the leaves of Bramble and feeding on low-growing wildflowers. Although I had already seen several Large red damselflies before that day, the other two species, those shown here, were first sightings for 2026. The damselfly above is one of the Azure damselflies (Coenagrion puella) I saw, and below is a Common blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum).

First dragon of 2026

04 Monday May 2026

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British dragonflies, British odonata, Broad-bodied Chaser, Libellula depressa, Odonata

This week’s posts will all be about flying creatures, the latest flying creatures to grace our skies, the most recent species of odonata and lepidoptera to begin their short lives, much to my everlasting delight (not, I hasten to add, my delight in the fact that they have short lives but, rather, that I and so many others and many of you can delight in sharing the air with these stunning creatures). I’ve already written about my first odonata species of 2026, the Large red damselflies that featured in my post published on 25 April, First damsels of 2026. Today, I present my first large dragonfly of the year, a surprise Broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa) that flitted out from the hedgerow I was passing on 22 April, a much earlier sighting that in previous years.

O is for Odonata

20 Saturday Dec 2025

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Black darter, British dragonflies, British odonata, dragonfly, Odonata, Scarce chaser

As I mentioned earlier in this end-of-year countdown, 2025 has been a very good year for odonata finds. As well as the Norfolk hawker, the Common hawker and the Keeled skimmer I’ve already included in this countdown, I was privileged this year to see my first ever Scarce chaser (Lifer: Scarce chaser, 19 June) and only my second ever sighting of Black darters (Black darter, 23 August) (below).

Somewhat unexpectedly, I also saw a Scarce chaser on a subsequent occasion, a couple of weeks after my first sightings of them in Weymouth, this time in Tiddesley Wood near Pershore in Worcestershire, when I used Cheltenham as my base to explore several places in the surrounding area. That slightly kinky individual is the one pictured below.

H is for hawkers

13 Saturday Dec 2025

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British dragonflies, British odonata, Common hawker, dragonfly, Hawker dragonflies, Norfolk hawker, Odonata

What a grand year 2025 has been for dragonfly sightings, partly because, since downsizing my home situation, I’ve finally been able to afford to venture further afield – nothing too adventurous, no trips abroad, but four lovely little mini-breaks in English locations to look for wildlife I’m not able to see closer to home.

That’s how, during a wonderful week in Weymouth in June, I saw my first ever Norfolk hawkers (see Lifer: Norfolk hawker, 18 June) (above). However, my second ‘first-ever’ hawker species sighting (see Lifer: Common hawker, 22 August) (below) was here in Wales, in a small town high in one of the south Wales valleys that I hadn’t previously visited and didn’t know was home to a pond that held some very nice dragonfly species. That visit was a good reminder to explore more widely here in Wales next year, as well as in England.

Colour variations in Large reds

10 Saturday May 2025

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British odonata, colour changes in Large red damselflies, colour variations in Large red damselflies, Large red damselflies, Odonata, Pyrrhosoma nymphula

This was initially going to be a ‘Yay, the dragonflies are on the wing’ blog but then I went down a rabbit hole of how Large red damselflies change colour over time and how there are several variations in their colour patterns, and here we are.

I saw my first odonata of the season, the Large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) shown above, on 21 April, but I’ve been holding off blogging about it until I found one that showed how these beauties change colour as they mature. The photo below was taken this morning, and I hope you can see how the antehumeral stripes (the longitudinal stripes on the sides of the thorax) have changed from yellow in the newly emerged damselfly to red in the older specimen. The eyes also darken to a very deep red as the damselflies age.

The ‘rabbit hole’ article, ‘In-depth Identification Feature – Large Red Damselflies’ by John Curd (which you can read on the British Dragonfly Society website), also pointed out the different colour forms’ based upon the extent of dorsal black on the abdomen’. John’s photos show the variations, which, I am a little ashamed to admit, I had never noticed before, and that led me to go back through my own photos of Large red damselflies.

It turns out I’ve only ever photographed two of the variations: f. (form) typica/intermedia, shown above, which has more black at the sutures along the abdomen, and f. fulvipes, below, which has much less black. The latter seems much more common in my area, based on my photographs. The third form (or third and fourth, as some argue this one has two types), f. melanotum, is entirely black and is much rarer.