Since a first sighting of a Large Red Damselfly in Bouldnor Forest on the 8th of April,the weather has been cool and windy.However today the brisk winds have gone and that has allowed the temperatures to rise in the spring sunshine. As a result the first damselfly was observed in my Freshwater garden this morning. This immature male Large Red probably emerged from the pond next door seeking a warm sunny spot.
The mild temperatures of the last several days prompted me to pay a first visit of the season to the ponds at Bouldnor near to Yarmouth. At the old pond it was not too long before I counted four teneral Large Red Damselflies that I disturbed from the reeds around the pond edge. They quickly fluttered into the shrubbery and out of sight Walking to the new ponds in the forest I was fortunate enough to encounter another teneral Large Red.He did not fly away at once and the individual can be seen below.
No damselflies were seen today at Yarmouth,however the dragonflies were out and about with the Southern Hawker prominent. Several males were recorded around the forest ponds at Bouldnor together with many Common Darters and a few Ruddy Darters. The female Southern Hawker pictured below, was in some form of difficulty amongst the tall grass and reeds at the edge of the pond. I managed to extricate her from her dilemma and she happily rested on my hand for a few seconds before flying off.
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| Ruddy Darter male |
My garden pond has attracted many common damselflies this season and more recently the always reliable Common Darter. However today I was very pleased to see this male Golden-ringed Dragonfly. This is the first time that I have recorded this species at the pond. He spent some time hanging around and making numerous short flights over the pond.
Walking along a very grassy forest glade today was rewarded with an encounter with this male Golden-ringed Dragonfly. He was so pre-occupied with hunting and feeding that my presence was partically ignored. Finding any suitable grass stalk the dragonfly would spend time devouring it's catch and after a short rest would continue the pursuit.
Cooler temperatures today and cloudy at times which curbed a lot of activity at Bouldnor Forest ponds. Just a few of the common damselflies to be seen along with one or two teneral Common Darters. However the one damselfly of interest was this male Emerald Lestes sponsa observed in the larger of the now dry scrapes formerly used by Southern Emerald Damseldlies. No sign of the latter so far this season following no sightings of it last year.
In my first post of 2023 I mentioned that my garden pond had become clogged with vegetation leading to a substantial decline in dragonfly activity. Therefore over the winter I performed a clearout of plants and now the pond boasts open water with marginal reed,cotton grass and frogbit Hydrocharis morsus-ranae. The latter is much used by ovipositing damselflies and I have noted a lot of egg laying by Large Red and Azure Damselflies over the last few weeks.
For the first time in some years this male Broad-bodied Chaser took up station at the pond today and over the last fortnight I have recorded several female Chasers ovipositing into the open water.
With the settled and warm sunny weather due to continue for another week at least,the dragonflies at Bouldnor Forest today were out and about. The damselflies seen at the ponds included Azure,Large Red,and Blue-tailed while dragonflies were two male Four-spotted Chasers, Emperor Dragonflies,one of which was an ovipositing female, Broad-bodied Chasers,and several teneral Common Darters. Close by, along the forest tracks were two Southern Hawkers.
A first seasonal visit to Bouldnor Forest ponds at Yarmouth today discovered a reasonable selection of species. Broad-bodied Chasers were of course very evident with several mature males flying over the ponds.However in the quieter spots just away from water one or two immature chasers were encountered and particularly this male starting to take on the blue abdomen. Competition was fierce at one of the ponds with not only Broad-bodied Chasers but also a male Emperor Dragonfly involved.This was too much for this male Four-spotted Chaser that took station over a small side pool away from all the action.
Recorded today at the site were 6 Emperor,7 Broad-bodied Chasers,Azure and Large Red Damselflies,together with a Blue-tailed Damselfly violacea, and of particular interest was a teneral Common Darter.
