2024 Review (Part 1)

It seems with December around the corner that the dragonfly season is finally over, unless we have some warmer weather in the next few days and the odd Willow Emerald Damselfly or Common Darter are still out there. Looking back over the year, it has certainly been an excellent one with plenty of visits to sites in and out of the county and quite a few trips led. As far as personal highlights go, I suppose it has to be the long trip to Dorset to see the Scarlet Darters which were a new dragonfly for me. This was quickly followed by seeing the Scarce Blue tailed Damselflies at Sandwich Bay which were a new damselfly species for Kent. It was pleasing that the Dainty Damselfly continues to do well in Kent with over 300 seen at Sandwich Bay and over 50 seen at Oare Marshes on my visits. Pleasing also to hear that it was seen in other areas at Sandwich Bay and I'm sure there are still other unknown colonies still out there waiting to be found. A few trips to New Hythe produced c30 Lesser Emperor Dragonfly along with only the second ever Golden ringed Dragonfly to be found there. Oare Marshes produced good numbers of Scarce Emerald Damselfly, I had c30 at least, and pleasing to see a few Southern Emerald Damselfly at Cliffe when I was leading a trip. My local patch of Nethergong delivered the Willow Emerald Damselflies and a welcome return to c14 Southern Migrant Hawkers which were observed mating and egg laying. Hopefully these will survive the winter and emerge next year. This year also saw me after a good few years searching finding my first Beautiful Demoiselle Exuviae, 2 Lesser Emperor Dragonfly exuviae and Scarce Emerald Damselfly exuviae. When I read this all back, it certainly has been an excellent year, both meeting fellow enthusiasts, experiences and for the camera too. With many hundreds of photos taken throughout the season, choosing some favourite ones is always hard work but I think I have managed to pick some which reflect some of the amazing trips that were made this year. I will post them in two instalments for you to hopefully enjoy and appreciate. Thank you for looking in and I will post part 2 in due coarse. 

Large Red Damselfly - female

Banded Demoiselle - male

Norfolk Hawker - male

Scarce Emerald Damselfly - male

Dainty Damselfly - male

Dainty Damselfly - male

Lesser Emperor Dragonfly - Ovipositing pair

Scarlet Darter - male

Scarlet Darter - male

Willow Emerald Damselfly - female

Southern Love!

As far as dragonflies go, there's just something special about the Southern Migrant Hawker. A relatively new species to the country which seems to be doing very well in some areas and slowly spreading. I think if I was going to persuade anyone to watch dragonflies, I think the Southern Migrant Hawker would be up there to show off. The colours are simply out of this world, they pose beautifully at times and love to perch and they pause to hover at times to allow lovely flight views. With all the early season photos on social media a while ago and me thinking I might not get a chance to enjoy this species this year, I was over the moon when I found a single male on territory in a field next to Nethergong campsite. A few visits over the past week has produced 14 Southern Migrant Hawkers which have included a mating pair, a pair seen ovipositing, a rare female blue morph female and plenty of photo opportunities. I wonder where they have all come from? Have they all just randomly passed through and found the ideal habitat or did they emerge nearby. It's questions like these which make it all fascinating. After returning from Cornwall over the weekend, I spent a few hours yesterday on site where there were still 6 Southern Migrant Hawkers present. With some time, patience, field craft and plenty of photos taken, I hope that I have captured the beauty of these dragonflies. I'm normally my worst critic but having had the time yesterday (which is vital) to success, I was able to produce a number of photos which I am really pleased with. they really are a species I love to spend my time with. As well as clicking away, there's always learning going on about each species I photograph. Other species noted in the past few days has been plenty of Migrant Hawkers, Willow Emerald Damselfly, Common and Ruddy Darter and the odd Emperor Dragonfly and Brown Hawker. 

Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis) - male

Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis) - mating pair

Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis) - mating pair

A 'NEW' Species for Kent!

For the past week, I have been away with my wife Michelle at Land's End, Cornwall which was excellent, but last Monday whilst driving up, I received a message that some Scarce Blue tailed Damselflies had been found at Sandwich Bay, a NEW species for Kent. Whilst this news was indeed very welcome, I had the problem of being over 300 miles away at the other end of the country. I just had to pray that they would stay. Photos appeared throughout the week where up to 5 or 6 had been seen which was encouraging and even mating and ovipositing observed. We arrived back home yesterday where I found out that they had still been seen that day so with some nice sunny weather and light winds forecast for this morning, I thought I would arrive at 08:30 to see whether I could find any at rest in the grasses before they got too active. I arrived in good time and after speaking to Andrew Lipczynski who had made the excellent discovery at Sandwich, I made my way up to the newly formed pools which literally have hardly any vegetation yet but were attracting the male Scarce Blue tailed Damselflies. After getting the camera ready I started walking around and checking the grasses and it wasn't long until a small damselfly was disturbed. A glance through the binoculars revealed my first ever Kent Scarce Blue tailed Damselfly. I could now relax and spent some time checking the id features and taking a few photos. What a stunning little damselfly and in Kent, I still can't quite believe it. I continued on for a couple of hours where I managed to see 6 SCARCE BLUE TAILED DAMSELFLY  which included 2 female. I wasn't quite sure whether I would be able to successfully id a female but having had a look in a few books, I was soon able to get my eye in and find two at rest in the grasses. Their overall green colour really made them blend in to their surroundings but with patience, I was able to obtain a few pleasing images which show off well the features. What an amazing morning and always nice to see a new species in Kent. I wonder where they have originated from? Have they come over from the continent and how do they find each other when they arrive. Whatever the answers, they are most welcome and fingers crossed that they manage to emerge next year and start a small but growing colony. A massive well done and congratulations must go to the staff at Sandwich Bay for making this new habitat and clearly demonstrating that if you build, they will come. 

Scarce Blue tailed Damselfly (Ischnura pumilio) - female 

Scarce Blue tailed Damselfly (Ischnura pumilio) - male

Hawking About!

It's been a very busy time of late trying to fit everything in but I have managed a few sessions where I have bumped into a few species during my walks. Whilst out birding last week, I came across a Norfolk Hawker warming up in the early morning sunshine and with a bit of patience and fieldcraft, I was able to move in and get a few pleasing photos. Not too long after, I went and checked an area to see if the male Southern Migrant Hawker was on territory but despite the warmth, I couldn't find it although it was still early in the day. I decided to then check the vegetation nearby and soon saw a bright blue dragonfly standing out amongst the green foliage. Again, I moved in slowly taking a few photos each time before moving a little nearer. It just goes to show with a bit of luck and patience and checking various habitats, the dragonflies can be found and it was certainly pleasing to find both of these species. Ten years ago, they both would have been major rarities but we seem to take them for granted now. It does seem that some species are doing well as the world slowly warms up. I wonder in ten years time what new species we will be seeing more regularly?

Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isosceles) - male

Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis) - male