Two dragons

28 Wednesday May 2025

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British dragonflies, Broad-bodied Chaser, dragonfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Libellula depressa, Libellula quadrimaculata, Odonata

For me, the larger dragonflies have been few and far between this Spring. I’ve seen the odd one but fleetingly and its flown off before I could get a good view. Or I’ve heard one, that distinctive sound of the small wings rustling together as it takes flight. So, finally to have found two dragons that stayed still long enough for me to admire their colours and get some photographs has been very welcome indeed. Below are a Four-spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) and a Broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa). Fingers crossed for more sightings to come.

Red and yellow and brown

09 Friday Aug 2024

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British dragonflies, Common Darter, dragonfly, Sympetrum striolatum

Generally speaking, female Common darters (Sympetrum striolatum) are yellow and males are red. However, as with so many things, the reality is not so black and white – or, rather, yellow and red.

240809 common darters (1)

Immature Common darters are usually yellow in colour, regardless of sex; and, as they age, the colours of both sexes often become dull, the males losing their vibrancy and looking quite brownish, the females turning reddish so they resemble males.

240809 common darters (2)

First Southern hawker for 2024

11 Thursday Jul 2024

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Aeshna cyanea, British dragonflies, dragonfly, Hawker dragonflies, Odonata, Southern hawker

This handsome beastie was another wonderful find from my recent trip to Slade Wood in Gwent. The Southern hawker, also known as the Blue hawker (Aeshna cyanea), though quite similar to the Migrant hawker, can be identified by the broad yellow stripes on the top of its thorax, and, with a flight period running from the beginning of July to the end of September, is seen flying a month or so earlier than the Migrant.

240711 southern hawker (2)

Woodland rides like those at Slade Wood provide the ideal environment for its hawking of insects and, when it finds an ideal location, the Southern hawker will often defend its territory quite aggressively from other dragonfly intruders.

240711 southern hawker (1)

A day of golden dragons

19 Wednesday Jun 2024

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Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, Broad-bodied Chaser, dragonfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Libellula depressa, Libellula quadrimaculata, Odonata, Orthetrum cancellatum

Last Saturday was a day of golden dragons …

240619 black-tailed skimmer

my first Black-tailed skimmers (Orthetrum cancellatum) of the year (unfortunately, the male didn’t stop for a photo),

240619 broad-bodied chaser

a female Broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa), and …

240619 four-spotted chaser

a Four-spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata).

Chasing a dragon

06 Thursday Jun 2024

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British dragonflies, dragonfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Libellula quadrimaculata

This beauty wasn’t my first Four-spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) of the season but it was the first to pose long enough for me to get a decent photo.

240606 four spotted chaser

Hello, Hairy!

21 Tuesday May 2024

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Brachytron pratense, British dragonflies, Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve, dragonfly, Hairy dragonfly, Hairy hawker

Finally, my first dragonfly of the year appeared during last Thursday’s circuit of Cardiff Bay. This stunning Hairy dragonfly (also known as Hairy hawker) (Brachytron pratense) flew a circuit of the reeds near the boardwalk at the wetlands reserve before settling on a clump close to where I was standing. It was a little obscured by stalks blowing in the gentle breeze but I managed to get a few reasonable photos of this handsome-looking dragon.

240521 hairy dragonfly

R is for Ruddy darter

23 Saturday Dec 2023

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British dragonflies, dragonfly, Odonata, Ruddy darter, Sympetrum sanguineum

2023 was a good year for me for odonata. On 26 June, just five days after seeing my first Small red-eyed damselflies, I found my first ever Ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguineum), though this was a female so did not look at all like her ‘ruddy’ name. My 30 June blog, Lifer: Ruddy darter, tells the story, and I already have a note in my 2024 schedule to look for more of these at the country park near this year’s find spot.

231223 ruddy darter

A selection of Common darters

08 Friday Sep 2023

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British dragonflies, British odonata, Common Darter, dragonfly, Odonata

I’ve been taking photos of the many Common darter dragonflies I’ve seen during recent months, thinking I’d choose one or two to post on here. Now, though, I’m feeling particularly indecisive about which photos I prefer so, instead, I’ve used them to compile a short slideshow. Enjoy!

The last dragon

21 Monday Aug 2023

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Aeshna mixta, British dragonflies, British odonata, dragonfly, Migrant hawker

Though I’m still hoping to spot another damselfly species, the Migrant hawker (Aeshna mixta) is probably the last of the larger dragonfly species I’ll see this year. I’ve spent many an enjoyable minute or ten watching these beauties flying back and forth along the edges of woodland rides and local pathways, waiting hopefully for them to perch, only to have them fly above the trees and disappear, or stop in a place too distant for photographs. So, I was especially grateful when this hawker proved to be much more cooperative.

230821 migrant hawker

Awkward oviposition

27 Thursday Jul 2023

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British dragonflies, British odonata, dragonfly, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Southern hawker, Southern hawker ovipositing

She was my first Southern hawker dragonfly of the year and she wasn’t making life easy for herself. There must have been a male Southern hawker in the vicinity as this lovely lady had already mated and was busy laying her eggs. However, she picked a very difficult location for ovipositing, underneath the wire netting that secures the wooden edge of the dragonfly pond at Forest Farm Nature Reserve. This did mean she was almost a captive subject for my lens, though the wire obscured her quite a bit, and the location wasn’t exactly easily accessible for her – I heard her wings rubbing against the wire as she entered. Her body was also squashed, making it a little difficult for her to manipulate herself in to the best position to place her eggs. I took a few photos and left her to her awkward endeavours.

230727 southern hawker