A good year with seventeen species recorded overall, including a first for the Recording Area.
The highlight were multiple sightings of Vagrant Emperor. The first site record was a recent as 2017 with several records since then. This transcontinental migrant can appear at any time of the year, coinciding with national influxes after southerly winds . The first appearance was 10th April quickly followed by the same or another on 13th. Another influx occurred in May with a female on 10th, two males on 11th and 13th and another male on 20th. With several lingering on the reserve, it was an opportune time for odonata seekers to twitch this rare visitor.
Vagrant Emperor - Alan Keatley
Hairy Dragonfly is no longer annual, so several sightings were a welcome return for this nationally scarce species after a blank year in 2022. A male was first sighted at the Main Pond on 1st May, with single male(s) also recorded between 20th May and 3rd June.
Other odonata appearances were much more predictable with first appearances of Broad-bodied Chaser, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselfly on 13th June. Emperor dragonflies were patrolling the ponds from 27th June until the last on 10th September.
Broad-bodied Chaser - Alan Keatley
An anticipated newcomer was Red-eyed Damselfly, with the first confirmed site record on the 27th May. The species didn't take long to settle in, with ovipositing at the Main Pond observed on several dates up the last appearance on 25th June.
Red-eyed Damselfly - Alan Keatley
Common Darter were on the wing from 1st June. As usual early summer sightings are fewer with just three records in June. There were six recorded dates in July, six in August, eleven in September, nine in October and five in November with the last three on 26th. Numbers continue to decline with fewer double figure days this year.
Common Darter - Alan Keatley
Early summer emergences included Black-tailed Skimmer on fourteen dates between 3rd June and 13th July and Golden-ringed Dragonfly on seven dates between 8th June and 10th August. Both good tallies for the respective species.
Golden-ringed Dragonfly - Alan Keatley
11th June was another red-letter day for odonata on site with only the second record of Scarce Chaser, a male, and two Four-spotted Chaser, the first records since 2009.
A feature of the summer is the appearance of Small Red-eyed Damselfly, now a regular breeder at the Main Pond with sightings between 13th July and 2nd September. The first of the hawkers were on the wing at the end of July with Migrant Hawker on 25th and Southern Hawker from 29th. Last dates were 26th October and 13th November respectively.
Southern Hawker - Alan Keatley
A scarce visitor on 29th July was a Red-veined Darter at the Main Pond, not too unexpected as has been recorded several times, but the second record of the vagrant Lesser Emperor, a male, on the Golf Course on 6th September was more of a surprise.
No comments:
Post a Comment