A couple of weeks ago, I made the trip over to Hothfield Common near Ashford to look for the Keeled Skimmer at its only site in Kent. I visit most years and am always amazed how this species hangs on there in the acidic pools which are very small. Somehow they manage to defy the odds and can be seen in low numbers here. I would hope that they would open up the pools more but every year, there seems to just be a couple of puddles. I arrived in warm sunny conditions late afternoon where on arrival, the heat seemed to be keeping the dragonflies down and probably in the shade. After a search along the boardwalk, I managed to find 3 Keeled Skimmer, all males perched up. Luckily they were close enough for me to get a few images after I had done some stalking. A smart species and one that I hope continues to grow in number at this site in the future.
Yesterday (Sunday), I led a private dragonfly tour for two clients at New Hythe in warm sunny conditions where we noted 30+ Lesser Emperor, 5+ Emperor Dragonfly, 6 Norfolk Hawker, 3 Brown Hawker and a good supporting cast of Common Blue, Blue tailed, Red Eyed and Small Red eyed Damselfly along with Black tailed Skimmer, Ruddy Darter, 1 Downy Emerald, Banded and 1 Beautiful Demoiselle. A really nice day in excellent company.
Keeled Skimmer - male
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