Early Autumn Dragonflies

Now, I am a firm believer that Autumn starts on 21 September after the Autumn Equinox, and detest the modern dumbing down of this event, where Autumn is often described as starting 1 September simply because it is a convenient date. So, these sets of records are the first from the Autumn 2013 season, starting 22 Sept.

Darryl Sutcliffe reports seeing  2 male Brown Hawkers at Pitsford Reservoir on 22 September 2013, plus Migrant Hawkers, Common Darters at the River Ise Brook in Kettering.

On the same day, Stuart Page reports a single Blue-tailed Damselfly at Ditchford.

Barnwell Country Park was buzzing with activity on 26 Sept, where Terry Wood reports seeing Common Darter, Ruddy Darter, Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker and Brown Hawker - an good number of species for early Autumn!

At Ditchford, the cooler conditions have reduced numbers, but there are still plenty of Migrant Hawkers and Common Darters around. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a handful of male Common Blue Damselflies. No females, though I am sure there are some around.

Migrant Hawker (with a feather stuck to his wing!)

Common Darter

Common Blue Damselfly

Mid September update

The poor weather has quietened things down a bit, but I am still receiving reports (up to 16 Sept) of Migrant Hawkers, Southern Hawkers, Ruddy and Common Darters. It looks like the cool, windy & wet conditions have seen-off the last of the Damselflies.

Just time to post a reminder that The Dragonflies of Northamptonshire is now available. Please contact me mark.p.tyrrell (at) ntlworld.com for more information.