22nd July - Odonata Update

The hot weather that we're now enjoying is finishing off the floods now - they're really on their last legs but are being picked over by the Little Egrets and Herons who are fishing out the last of the trapped fry.

Still the good weather has brought out the dragonflies at last and there have been lots of sightings. I've even had a Brown Hawker and a couple of Southern Hawkers pass through my garden. Down at the Trap Grounds on my last two visits I've managed to see a patrolling male Emperor, a Four-spotted Chaser, a couple of Brown Hawkers, a Southern Hawker, a Common Darter, a Ruddy Darter, and plenty of Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies. Over the last few weeks the combination of the better weather and the then still full floods was attracting a lot of dragonflies with several Black-tailed Skimmers, Emperors and Brown Hawkers being seen.

Brown Hawker

Common Darter

Ruddy Darter
Male Azure Damselfly
Male Blue-tailed Damselfly
A freshly emerged Souther Hawker, about to make its first flight courtesy of Nicola Devine (c)
Male Black-tailed Skimmer by the Port Meadow floods a couple of weeks ago

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