With a day off work yesterday, I was originally going to go looking for Southern Emerald Damselfly in west Kent but with cloud reported from mid morning with sunny spells, I instead opted for a more relaxed session at Oare Marshes to enjoy the odonata delights that this reserve holds. Arriving at 08:30, I walked slowly along the seawall towards the Dainty sight where it was obvious there were a lot of Ruddy Darter around. Every step saw them flying up from the path and vegetation. This continued all the way to the site and when there, they were everywhere too. I must have seen c1000 Ruddy Darter but in truth, it could have been double that. c20 Four spotted Chaser were noted around the ditches throughout the session. Arriving at the Dainty site, it was quite windy but in a good search around the small area that is open to the public, I managed to find c30 Dainty Damselfly. There were a few males flying around the breeding pool and a number of males were seen and photographed in the long grasses. They certainly are a superb species to put your eye on and take photos of. Also in the area where c40 Scarce Emerald Damselfly, 1 Norfolk Hawker, 4 Emerald Damselfly and a few Black tailed Skimmer. With the cloud thickening up around 11am, I made my way back to the car whilst dodging the many Ruddy Darter along the way. After some lunch, I made my way over to Westbere where a good range of species were noted in improving weather. I will post what I saw and some photos in the next few days.
Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) - male
Wonderful images Marc, and c.1,000 Ruddy Darter (possibly 2,000) I think you'd better send some up north, where in our area, it's the second rarest of our regular breeding species to the Golden-ringed Dragonfly. A Ruddy Darter found within few miles of my home town last year was a MEGA find.
ReplyDeleteRegards....Pete.
Many thanks Pete. It's amazing how a few hundred miles can separate the species and the numbers there are. Take care.
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