Thursday 22 July 2021

Southern Migrant Hawker Season is Here

Last year at Nethergong, I was lucky to find a male Southern Migrant Hawker which in itself, was a very good record inland. It was patrolling a small pool surrounded by reeds which had dried up. I managed to take a record shot at distance which at the time, I was happy with as it proved the record. Jump forward a year and last week I was walking around Nethergong when I noticed a small Hawker which when it come to land at some height, was an immature male Southern Migrant Hawker. The next day I found another in a different area there and then as I walked through an open area, I suddenly noticed quite a few dragonflies on the wing. As I scanned them all, they all seemed to be immature Southern Migrant Hawkers apart from 1 male. There were at lest 10 Southern Migrant Hawkers in the air at once, quite a spectacle to see but excellent to have such a scarce species this far inland. I waited around in the hope one would land but with the heat building up, they stayed on the wing. With my first day of the summer holidays today and with the sun shining, I arrived at Nethergong at midday with a view to looking for Willow Emerald Damselflies in preparation for my dragonfly tour their Saturday. After parking up, I thought I would go and look at the same area the Hawkers appeared in last year in the hope maybe a male Southern Migrant Hawker may be present. As I got nearer, I could see a few Hawkers flying over the reeds and they were indeed Southern Migrant Hawkers. There were a few small areas of dried up mud which they prefer to lay their eggs in and spending the next 3 hours in this area, I was pleased to see at least 6 Southern Migrant Hawkers which included a tandem pair which then flew down into an area, probably to oviposit. How amazing that would be to have these breeding on site. Throughout the coarse of the session, I was able to spend my time attempting flight shots and photographing them perched where I had excellent views of this stunning species. The heat eventually got the better of me and feeling quite accomplished, I made my way back to the car. I suspect I will find myself back there tomorrow to once again, enjoy one of our most attractive coloured dragonflies... and maybe attempt a few more photos. 






























Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis) - male

10 comments:

  1. Fantastic Southern Migrant Hawker in flight, but it is a well deserved Marc.

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    1. Many thanks Bob. Just excellent to have this species on site and the bonus of a few photos too.

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  2. Those blue-eyed beauties are fabulous, Mark, and superbly captured as always. I hope that, one day, I will see one myself. I hope that the weather holds for you on Saturday - up here it's not looking like it's going to be that good!
    Best wishes - stay safe - - - Richard

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    1. Many thanks Richard. They seem to be spreading well down here and are am absolute treat for the eye. You will have to drive south to see this species, you won't regret it. Take care.

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  3. Excellent. I hope to find where my immature ones are breeding in the next few days.

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    1. Many thanks Bob. Look for recent dried up pools with plenty of cracks in. They often like where cattle have been down to the water and left hoof prints which have then dried. Good luck with your search. Take care.

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  4. Wonderful photographs yet again Marc. Nice to see you have something good to photograph, I'll look forward to the next batch. Take care.
    Mike.

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    1. Many thanks Mike. I thought my sighting last year was a one off so pleased there are a few back this year. I'm going to make the most of them while I can. Take care.

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  5. Once again another set of cracking images.

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    1. Many thanks for your kind words, much appreciated.

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