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2006 Records |
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8 September 2006 Many Migrant Hawkers on the Montgomeryshire Canal at Four Crosses today. Up to 25 seen with two pairs in cop and tandem
1 September 2006 Tammy Stretton (MWT) reports a Golden-Ringed Dragonfly, Migrant Hawker and Common Darter at Severn Farm Pond, Welshpool
11 August 2006 Female Southern Hawker hunting along towpath on Montgomeryshire Canal at Four Crosses.
3 August 2006 Stuart Thomas reports the following visible at the Newbridge area of the Montgomeryshire Canal: 10+
Banded Demoiselle (some on River Vyrnwy) 2 on canal ovipositing nr
Carreghofa Locks
3 August 2006 Immature male Migrant Hawker seen on Montgomeryshire Canal, Four Crosses
4 July 2006 Tammy Stretton reports Banded Demoiselle 1 male and 1 female, Blue-tailed 3 (1 of which was an immature male), Common Blue 4, Red-eyed 10 plus a pair on Montgomeryshire Canal, Welshpool.
29 June 2006 Trehelig Gro, Trehelig near Berriew, fields adj. River Severn. 20+ male Banded Demoiselle, 20+ female Banded Demoiselle. 10 male and female White Legged Damselfly with many in mating wheels
29 June 2006 Large numbers of Azure Damselfly on the Montgomeryshire Canal at Four Crosses today, probably 200+ per km. 4 male Emperor Dragonfly, 3 Brown Hawker, 4 male Banded Demoiselle. First Ruddy Darter of the year - a male.
23 June 2006 Tammy Stretton (MWT) reports , Broad-bodied Chaser (1 male patrolling) & Large Red Damselfly at Cwm Biga Farm pond (SN858891).
21 June 2006 Richard Becker of Llwynderw Farm near Old Hall, Llanidloes (SN912848) reports that the following species have been recorded there over the last six years: Emerald damselfly, Large Red damselfly, Common Blue damselfly, Blue-tailed damselfly, Common Hawker, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Emperor dragonfly, Golden-ringed dragonfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Broad-bodied Chaser, Keeled Skimmer, Common Darter, Black Darter.
17 June 2006 First Brown Hawkers of the year seen today on the Montgomeryshire Canal at Four Crosses. The example in the photo below is a male engaging in some wing whirring (hence the blurred wings) which is a temperature regulation function designed to generate heat in the thorax and head by shivering the wing muscles.
Male Brown Hawker (click to enlarge)
15 June 2006 Tony Senior (MWT) reports Beautiful demoiselle, Emperor Dragonfly, Broad-bodied Chaser and Common Blue Damselfly at Llandinam Gravels nature reserve (SO0287).
14 June 2006 Emma Kinnings (MWT) reports 2 male Beautiful demoiselle at Pentre'r-gof, Meifod, SJ153136.
11 June 2006 In an effort to capture some images of the Club-tailed dragonfly before its flight season is over (end of June) I tried another couple of locations today......
Dolydd Hafren Nature Reserve, River Severn, Forden A classic location for the Club-tailed dragonfly with shallow ponds and scrapes in old meanders of the River Severn with hedges and woodland nearby. The gravels and silts at the edges of the river and ponds are attractive to females for laying eggs. I did see one pair in a mating wheel and ovipositing on a silty gravel island, but they were not close enough to photograph. Also visible here today were many male Broad-bodied chasers patrolling the edges of ponds and chasing off rivals while two females were seen on the edge of the woodland by the second observation hut. Along the path to the second hut there were many immature female White-legged damselfly, two male Blue-tailed damselfly, <5 Large Red damselfly and up to five male Large Red-eyed damselflies. Azure damselflies dominated the small pool on the left of the footpath leading to the first hut and most were in tandem and ovipositing on emergent plants.
Left: Male Broad-bodied Chaser Right: Azure damselflies mating
Wern Claypits Nature Reserve, Wern, near Arddleen. Present at this site were: Male and female Banded demoiselle 10+ - mostly on the footpath close to running water and up to the footbridge along the left footpath as you enter the site. This area is very popular for both species of demoiselle and there were numerous male Beautiful demoiselle here also, but only one female One male Emperor Dragonfly patrolling and at rest. One female Four Spotted Chaser Large Red-eyed damselflies were here in profusion today, probably at least 50+ males and 10+ females. The males were patrolling and aggressive to other males, many were in tandem or ovipositing in tandem with the females. One male Blue-tailed damselfly Many Azure damselfly in tandem or ovipositing.
Montgomeryshire Canal, Sunnymeade to Maerdy, near Four Crosses I got back home and while walking the dog along the canal I finally got to see a Club-tailed dragonfly up close and photograph it in the least likely location I have visited all weekend !! A female was tracked moving along the towpath and finally came to rest where identification could be confirmed. One female rufescens (red) form Blue-tailed damselfly. 6+ male Emperor Dragonfly patrolling and chasing off rivals. One male Large Red-eyed damselfly eating a female teneral Azure damselfly from the abdomen end. Rather gruesomely the meal was then abandoned by the male Large Red-eyed with the Azure still alive from the thorax upwards! There were large numbers of male and female Azure damselfly (100+) in tandem and ovipositing. 15-20 Large Red damselfly males and females. 5+ Banded demoiselle male and female.
Left: Female Club-tailed dragonfly Right: Rufescens form female Blue-tailed damselfly
10 June 2006 The very hot weather over the last week is proving to be a real bonus so early in the dragonfly observing season with all typical species for June visible and on the wing across the county. If you haven't made the effort now is the perfect time to get out and see what is visible in your local area.
The Emperor Dragonfly first appeared on the Montgomeryshire Canal here at Four Crosses on 5/6/06 and they should be visible anywhere where there is open water along the length of the canal at the moment and on ponds and lakes. The males are more commonly seen patrolling 10-20 metre corridors of water and are always on the move in hot and sunny weather. They are notoriously difficult to photograph because they rarely rest and when they do it is usually on vegetation that is too distant for photography at the waters edge. However, on the 7/6/06 I found one tired male who had given up patrolling in the 27 degree heat and allowed me to get some good close up images. Here are a few.....
Male Emperor Dragonfly (click to enlarge)
Mating activity amongst the Azure damselflies was very intense on 9/6/06 with many pairs flying in tandem, in mating wheels, or ovipositing on emergent plants.
Severn Farm Pond Nature Reserve - Welshpool Industrial Estate I dropped in here today and there was surprisingly very little activity. The lack of species present may be partly explained by a rather unhealthy looking dull surface sheen on most of the water which has perhaps been caused by dust from the adjacent timber yard. Azure damselfly were the most common species with most in tandem or ovipositing. In addition there was a lone Large Red-eyed male damselfly, a male Large Red damselfly and one male Banded demoiselle.
River Severn - Rhydesgyn to New Cut, Severn Vyrnwy Confluence In an attempt to get some photographs of the Club-tailed Dragonfly I followed the Severn Way footpath along the argae flood defence bank at the above location today. The heat was fierce mid afternoon and I only managed two hours searching but I did see two Club-tailed dragonflies (too distant to photograph) as well as male and female Banded demoiselles, male and female Common damselfly, numerous Azure damselflies and the first White-legged damseflies I have seen since I started recording three years back. The White-legged were all females and were often confusingly flying with immature female Common Blue damselfly which also look very pale in their teneral coloration. They used to be relatively common on the Montgomeryshire Canal, but are now rarely seen except where the canal runs close to the River Severn eg. at Abermule.
Female Banded Demoiselle
Left: Teneral female Common Blue damselfly lunching on a cranefly. Centre and Right: Female White-legged damselfly (click all pictures to enlarge)
3 June 2006 A large update follows for the last month. May got us off to a fairly bad start with low temperatures, wind and constant rain making for pretty poor dragonfly recording opportunities. Azure damselflies started to appear around 10/5/06 in small numbers. Tammy Stretton (MWT) reported teneral azures on the Montgomeryshire Canal in Welshpool at SJ226070 on 16/5/06 and on Middletown Hill at SJ301127 25/5/06. On 24/5/06 there was a large emergence of Azure damselflies on the Montgomeryshire Canal generally and many tenerals were seen in groups of 10 or more. Particularly large numbers of azures were seen again on 31/5/06 on the Montgomeryshire Canal at Four Crosses and on 2/6/06 in Welshpool where Tammy Stretton also spotted her first Large Red-eyed damselflies along with Blue-tailed and Large Red. Large Red-eyed damselflies were recorded on the canal at Four Crosses on 1/6/06.
Large Red-eyed damselfly pair in tandem (left) Pair of Azure damselflies in mating wheel (right) (Photos courtesy of Tammy Stretton) Click to enlarge all pictures
Jane Oakes (Education Officer, MWT) reported a Broad-bodied Chaser at Pwll Penarth Nature Reserve (SO137926) on 23/5/06 and I saw a single male and female on the canal at Four Crosses on 3/6/06. This is a very colourful species and is about the size of a small hummingbird with a good distinct thrumming sound from the wings in flight. The abdomen pulsates noticeably in warm weather which tends to make the bright abdominal coloration shimmer even more. Here are some photos I took of the two on the canal at Four Crosses.........
Male Broad-bodied Chaser (left) and female (right) - click to enlarge
Also making an appearance on the Montgomeryshire Canal at Four Crosses are the demoiselles. These delicate looking dragonflies with their highly irridescent colouring on the thorax and abdomen are more often found near slow running water with marginal plants, but usually make an early appearance on the Montgomeryshire Canal in late May and early June. First to appear were two female Beautiful Demoiselle on 31/5/06 at Four Crosses followed by male and female Banded Demoiselles on the 2/6/06.
Female Beautiful Demoiselle - click to enlarge
While not a Montgomeryshire record I did make an excursion to Fenns and Whixall Moss on the Wrexham County border on 3/6/06 to photograph the nationally rare White Faced Darter. Normally only found at the latter location, one location in Staffordshire and in isolated groups in Cumbria and Scotland this species has recently been sighted close to the Montgomeryshire boundary at Knockin, Shropshire and the potential for it to spread into Wales seems good. The species normally prefers peat bogs with pools or ditches of water and emergent vegetation. I was lucky to see and photograph both an immature and mature male and thought it would be useful to post these up here in case anyone thinks they may have seen one in Montgomeryshire. As a bonus I also got a nice set of photographs of the many Four-spotted Chasers which were active on the moss pools.
Mature male White Faced Darter on Whixall Moss - click to enlarge
Immature male White Faced Darter on Whixall Moss - click to enlarge
Four-spotted Chaser, Whixall Moss
3 May 2006 The dragonfly season has started! Tammy Stretton (Farm Liaison Officer, Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust) sent in the first record for 2006, a female Large Red Damselfly on the Montgomeryshire Canal in Welshpool earlier today (photo below). I also saw my first Large Red on the canal in Four Crosses in the evening. We should see the Large Red damselfly numbers increase now then they will be joined by the Blue-tailed damselfly, Red-eyed damselfly and Azure damselfly towards the end of the month. Keep those records coming in!
Female Large Red Damselfly (Photo courtesy of Tammy Stretton)
Young male Large Red Damselfly (click to enlarge all pictures)
18 April 2006 I have created a Dragonflies of Wales discussion forum which you can access from the main navigation menu. The forums are intended to promote open discussion and exchange of information on the observation, recording and photography of dragonflies throughout Wales. I hope you will all visit often and contribute to the forums. Let me know what you think and whether there are any additions you would like to see added to the forums.
17 April 2006 A Happy Easter to everyone! A small gift for the Easter Holiday!! I have put together a monthly calendar using some of my own dragonfly photos covering April - Dec 2006. Here is an example of the April 2006 sheet:
Click to enlarge to A4
You can download the zipped file below (1.17mb in size). Simply unzip the contents open the folder and print each month out on A4 paper. For the best reproduction good quality bright white paper or glossy photo paper is recommended.
9 April 2006 Another recording season is nearly upon us! First sightings in the County should start with the Large Red Damselfly in the last week of April (if it is warm) or the first two weeks of May. Keep your eyes peeled for activity and don't forget to send in those records!
A big thank you to Al Parrot and David Pryce who managed to send in nearly 1,400 records between them from some previous years of continuous recording. These have added significantly to the County distribution of some species.
Looking ahead I am hoping to run a couple of observation/photography forays along the R. Severn/Vyrnwy to observe Club-Tailed Dragonfly emerging between 15th-31st May (weather permitting). If you want to join me let me know.
I also want to get to the ponds at Gregynog Hall near Newtown from June onward as they have been suggested as a location where many species may be present for easy observation.
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