Norfolk Hawker Numbers Building

With the family going out shopping today which always last a good few hours, I was dropped off this morning at Nethergong at 10:30am where I spent an hour having a walk along the stream seeing what was about. The forecast was not that promising today with the odd sunny spell to be seen but it remained quite warm still so I was optimistic I would see something. As I walked up the side of the stream a few Banded Demoiselle rose up and 1 Hairy Dragonfly flew by. With the Willow Emerald Damselfly season next month, I wanted to clear a few walkways along the side of the stream as at the moment, its pretty high up so some time was spent doing this and as I did so, 1 Norfolk Hawker was disturbed in the process which then landed the other side of the stream. A view through the binoculars showed the eyes were still quite dark so this male had probably emerged a few days ago and is still maturing up. After a bacon sandwich and cup of tea, I then walked the fifteen minutes to Grove Ferry where I spent a glorious 5 hours in the company of the Norfolk Hawkers. After negotiating past a Mute Swan which didn't want to move, I checked a number of ditches and saw at least 15 Norfolk Hawker, no doubt more around in other areas. With the sun starting to come out, I was able to take a number of photos as they posed on the reeds and spent time chasing each other over the meadows.

 

Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isosceles) - male

 

It was also nice to see a mating pair which bodes well for the season and just spent time studying this stunning species. I met a couple of enthusiasts who follow my blog and it was nice to spent time in their company showing them the Norfolk Hawkers and other dragonflies and damselflies that are in the area as well as a good chat. A number of Emperor Dragonfly exuviae were seen as was 1 Hairy Dragonfly exuviae. Also seen in the area were c20 Hairy Dragonfly, a few Four spotted Chaser, 1 Emperor Dragonfly as well as Red eyed Damselflies, Banded Demoiselles and good numbers of Azure, Variable and Blue tailed Damselfly. I only walked a few hundred yards in a number of hours so no doubt a walk further afield will hopefully yield many more numbers of the species seen. With another week off next week, I shall hopefully return and walk other areas nearby to check what's about and monitor the numbers of Norfolk Hawkers on the wing. Weather permitting, I will be off to Thursley Common again over the weekend to look for emerging Brilliant Emeralds and their exuviae. Fingers crossed for a successful visit although this mission could be somewhat challenging.

 

Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isosceles) - male