Warwickshire Dragonfly Group - News page

The end of  2007             Black Darter record confirmed

December 31st  2007      Table of late flying dragonflies for 2007

Table of Earliest Dates for 2007

September 23rd 2007      Late summer news. Highlights: Scarce Blue-tail Damselfly holding on & Black Darter (?)

August 14th 2007           Small Red-eyed Damselflies

July 28th 2007                Tithe Farm, Marton

July 15th 2007                Warren Heath, Hartley Witney, Hampshire

June 22nd 2007              Red-veined Darter seen in the County for the second year running

June 16th 2007               Adult Identification Workshop, Brandon Marsh

May 28th 2007               More First adults of 2007

April 22nd 2007              First adults of 2007

April 21st 2007               Larvae Identification Workshop, Brandon Marsh

Records received up until the end of 2007.

This year's flight season finished two weeks earlier than the record shattering late date of 26th November last year. No doubt tha such an early finish was  caused by the poor weather this year (and not just in November). The latest dates I have for the last few years are:

The late species are either Common Darter or one of the Hawkers, predominantly the Migrant. Is the general latening of the date another indication of global warming? Perhaps, but it may be because we are looking for dragonflies more carefully later in the year.

The dates for the first flight records for 2007 in the county for several species are the earliest ever but for other species the dates are comparatively late. The very warm weather early in the year and in April almost certainly explains the early emerging species. We all know the the weather went downhill and stayed there through May, June and July. The poor weather must account for the late observations. It is probable the late observations are because the species did emerged late but it could be partly a result of the poor weather deterring observers from going out into the field.

Species significantly earlier are: Emperor Dragonfly, Large Red Damselfly, Hairy Dragonfly, Broad-bodied Chaser and Emerald Damselfly. For the Large Red Damselfly there were five sightings about the county at dates earlier than the 2003 date.

Other species a few days earlier this year are: Blue-tailed Damselfly and Azure Damselfly. The only earlier date for Banded Demoiselle is the undetailed 1950 record which may be for a larva and not an adult.

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Late summer news. Highlights: Scarce Blue-tail Damselfly holding on & Black Darter (?) - 23rd September 2007

I have been awaiting and hoping for a report that the Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly is still present at our only Warwickshire site. Several indidviduals were found by Jonathan Bowley on the 5th and 26th August. Here are extacts from his mail:

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly: I visited the gravel pits on several occasions without success. The gravel has now been exhausted and the pits are being gradually infilled. Many of the shallow pools favoured by this species in 2006 have now gone or been drastically altered. However on August 5th I found at least three flying around a shallow marshy pool on land that had been restored several years ago. I visited this pool again on 12th but saw nothing of them.

and:

I visited the gravel pits again on Sunday (Aug 26), and was surprised to find at least six Scarce blue-tails out over another marshy pool (one inch deep) close to the previous site, including a mating pair. This seems a very late date for this species, but the poor weather earlier in the summer may have caused them to emerge later. I could find none at the previous pool.

This is a very late first date for a record of this species, however, it will have first emerged earlier. How much earlier we do not know but, as Jonathan says, emergence could well have been delayed by the inclement weather in May, June and July. The second date is getting quite late for this species. Brooks/Cham (Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland) suggests the season can extend to early September.

There is an unconfirmed report of a sighting of a Black Darter at Marsh Lane Reserve, Hampton-in-Arden during the second week in September. If confirmed, this is the first record in the county since 1997.

John Timms has reports Small Red-eyed Damselfly on the Carlton Pool at Brandon Marsh 24th August and 1st September.

We now have earliest flight records for all Warwickshire species. The table has been updated with all the latest information.

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Small Red-eyed Damselflies - 14th August 2007

It is now the height of the flight season for the Small Red-eyed Damselfly . The first record for the year was made by John Oates at Mash Lane Nature Reserve, Hampton-in-Arden on 14th July, not that much later than 2005 date.

A Group member called on 11th August to report Red-eyed Damselflies, of undetermined species, on a pool at Ryton-on-Dunsmore. There were no previous records for Red-eyes there. We made a quick trip to the pool. It is covered with algae and duck weed and not the most attractive looking dragonfly pool. Red-eyes were soon located out on the algae and in large numbers. They were Small Red-eyed Damselflies and many pairs in tandem ovipositing. No (Large) Red-eyed Damselflies were seen there. Only 500 metres away there are fishing pools that are a known (Large) Red-eyed Damselfly site. The fishermen keep water clear of floating and semi-submerged vegetation except for a few patches of Water Lily close to the banks. We visited these pools too and found good numbers (Large) Red-eyed Damselflies on the lilies but only one pair of Small Red-eyed Damselflies was found. They were ovipositing on Water Milfoil that had escaped clearance at the edge of one of the pools.

Two new locations for Small Red-eyes found in a couple of hours! There must be many more sites to be found around the county. Please keep an eye out for and report any sightings of Small Red-eyed Damselflies. They appear to be colonising more ponds and pools in the county and seem to tolerate lower water quality than the Red-eyed Damselfly. If you are nor sure you can discriminate between the two species follow the link to the Red Eyed Damselfly identification page.

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Tithe Farm, Marton - July 28th 2007

Just a week after the July floods we were able to visit Graham Robson's reserve for our scheduled visit. The pool, which had been overflowing, had dropped to a more normal level and the Itchen Brook, that was turned into a lake, had returned to its course.

Eighteen of us, including Graham, spent the morning at the pool. Our worries that the floods may have impacted on the number of species present were gradually dispersed. The final list on the day at the pool was fourteen species: Emperor Dragonfly (6 males + ovipositing female), Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker (several), Four-spotted Chaser (half a dozen+mating pairs and oviposition), Black-tailed Skimmer and several Common and Ruddy Darters; Banded Demoiselle, Emerald Damselfly (few), Red-eyed Damselfly, Small Red-eyed Damselfly (ten), Azure, Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselfly (about two dozen of each). Dragonfly numbers seemed at normal levels but damselflies were less prolific than expected. Perhaps the damselflies are more vulnerable to flood conditions due to their roosting habits.

One of the Group spotted a hawker exuvia at an atypical emergence site, the back of an upturned Water Lily leaf about two metres form the bank. It was recovered, damaged, with difficulty using a dipping net. It was immediately obvious on comparison with a collection that the species was Migrant Hawker.

After lunch enjoyed in Graham's garden the Itchen Brook was visited. We had hopes of finding Beautiful Demoiselle there for the first time on this part of the river. Banded Demoiselle were prolific and obviously totally unaffected by the floods. Careful searching failed to yield a Beautiful Demoiselle though they are present only two or three miles upstream. There were good numbers of White-legged Damselflies along the river, including individuals that must have emerged on the day. However, Graham thought numbers were down on those before the flood.

The final species total for the day (including the exuvia) was sixteen.

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Warren Heath, Hartley Witney, Hampshire - July 15th 2007

An ominous weather forecast did not deter ten of our Group members from making the journey to Hartley Witney full of hopes of finding the target species for the day, the Brilliant Emerald. We were joined there by six more BDS members from various locations in southern England before we set off to walk from the car park under dull skies to Warren Heath.

The first species of the day was soon found, Beautiful Demoiselle, on a stream the path crossed. At the first pool on the Heath we were joined by Don Tagg and another local dragonfly enthusiast with tales of having already seen Emeralds at the next pool. The sun broke through the cloud and dragonflies began to appear and the species list started to build: Emperor Dragonfly and Four-spotted Chaser, Brown Hawker and Common Darter; Large Red, Azure Common Blue, Blue-tailed and Red-eyed Damselflies; a Banded Demoiselle. But the Emeralds eluded us. We moved on to the second pool and soon an Emerald Dragonfly was spotted and was joined by three or four more, all males patrolling the banks looking for females. They were not Brilliant but Downy Emeralds which was confirmed with a netted specimen. An hour of watching did not yield the desired Brilliant Emerald and so the party moved on up the Heath to the third pool. The species list continued to grow and many individuals of the heathland specialists, Keeled Skimmer, Black Darter and Small Red Damselfly, were seen. Our list of eighteen species for the day was completed by solitary Black-tailed Skimmer and Gold-ringed Dragonflies and good numbers of Emerald Damselflies. In the heathland vegetation large numbers of bush crickets were noted, lots of Bog and Roesel's and some Long-winged Coneheads.

Hopes of finding Brilliant Emerald on our return journey to the car park were dashed when the heavens opened giving a most spectacular downpour. As we hurried back to our vehicles, wading along paths turned to streams and roads to rivers, we could be well pleased with seeing eighteen species and contemplate another, future visit to this marvellous site to find the Brilliant Emerald.

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June 22nd 2007

© Lee Johnson

Red-veined Darters were seen at two locations in the county on 10th June. John Oates saw two individuals at Marsh Lane Nature Reserve, Hampton in Arden and James Timms saw two more near Ryton Wood. The two at Marsh Lane stayed a couple of days and Lee Johnson was able to photograph the one shown.

The day started with a slide show illustrating the features needed to discriminate between the various species likely to be seen in Warwickshire and further afield. Armed with this knowledge the group went out into the Reserve to their test newly acquired skills and a list of nine species was assembled among which we were delighted to find an emerging female Southern Hawker. It was duly photographed by those among us with cameras.

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May 28th 2007

The flight season for early species is now well advanced. As the table of earliest flights shows, the dates this year are mixed with a number of species significantly earlier but others later than in previous years.

The sighting of Hairy Dragonfly on 26th April by Jonathan Bowley is of interest not only because of the early date but also because of the location, the Oxford Canal near Fenny Compton. This is some distance from the nearest breeding site at Stockton and suggests there may be another new closer breeding site.

Another early record for the county this year is Emperor Dragonfly. Mike Welch spotted one at Stockton Cutting Reserve on 24th May, a full ten days earlier than any previous date.

Other species that are much earlier are the Broad-bodied Chaser Val and John Roberts saw at Harbury Spoilbank and four
Emerald Damselflies seen by Keith Warmington, John Liggins and Ron Thomas at the Coton Pools near Marston.

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April 22nd 2007

The first Large Red Damselfly of 2007 reported to date is one seen by Ron Thomas at Grendon, near Atherstone on 17 April, five days earlier than previous historical record for this species (or any species) in Warwickshire of 22 April in 2004! Last year the spring was cold and then the first Large Red was not seen until 25 April.

© Steve Stroud

The next day Steve Stroud spotted female in the photograph at Wolfhamcote.

More records followed, by Jonathan Bowley by the Oxford Canal at Fenny Compton 20 April and at Brandon Marsh the next day during the Larvae Identification day.

Today a female was seen at out garden pond in Leamington Hastings.

Keep the reports coming in. Any and all records are appreciated and useful.

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Larvae Identification Workshop, Brandon Marsh - 21 April 2007

The day was well attended by 14  participants, two more than the intended maximum! In addition there was a waiting list.

The day comprised an indoor and an outdoor session. The indoor session started with a short presentation followed by two hours "hands on" learning identification skills with dragonfly exuvia (larval cases). After lunch we went out onto the reserve to try our luck with pond dipping, with some success. Larvae of Large Red Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly, Four-spotted and Broad-bodied Chasers and Southern Hawker were found and identified. A number of other Coenagrionidae larvae were left unidentified as to species!

The day was considered a success by all who attended. Thank you to the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust for providing the facilities.

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Please send any item for inclusion on the news page to:

Peter Reeve, Co-ordinator WDG
The  Outspan
Leamington Hastings
Near Rugby CV23 8DZ
01926-632400
Email: peteratreeve60dotuklinuxdotnet