A visit to Wilsons Pits during the Royal Wedding

I was so disappointed that the weather this morning wasn't up to much as I had big plans to go spotting instead of watching the Royal Wedding. By lunchtime, though, the sun was poking through so I stepped out to nearby Wilsons pits for an hour or so. Here, I saw 3 Hairy Dragonfly, 100+ Azure Damselflies, 30+ Red-eyed Damselflies, 3 Blue-tailed Damselflies and 5 Common Blue Damselflies.

Broad-bodied Chaser

Doug Goddard reports seeing this Broad-bodied Chaser at Yardley Chase. This is then a record for Northants with 9 species recorded before the end of April. I suspect there may be quite a gap until the next species emerges which is usually Downy Emerald.

Red-eyed Damselfly at Southfields Farm Marsh

I took a walk up to Southfields Farm Marsh this lunchtime, without the camera. It was sunny but with a cool breeze. I managed to see a Large Red and Banded Demoiselle on the River Ise and at the marsh, Azure Damselflies, Large Red, Blue-tailed and a single teneral Red-eyed Damselfly. This makes our total 8 species before the end of April, which is the same as the record year of 2007. It is possible that Broad-bodied Chaser may also be out somewhere, so keep those eyes peeled around small shallow ponds (especially garden ponds).

Azure Damselflies at Finedon

Doug Goddard reports seing Azure Damselflies and Large Red Damselflies at Finedon Country Park.

Banded Demoiselle on the Nene

On Easter Sunday, I took a walk around the main sailing lake at Thrapston and found 7 Banded Demoiselle, 1 Hairy and 1 Common Blue Damselfly.

Large Reds abd Blue-tails at Salcey Forest

Chris Emary reports both mating pairs of Large Reds and Blue-tailed Damselflies at Salcey Forest.

Mass Emergence of Hairy Dragonfly

Graham Bentley texted me tis morning about a mass emergence of Hairy Dragonfly at Ditchford. I dashed off immediately an met Graham there filming an adult. We counted 20+ adults and watched several take their maiden flight into the trees. While hunting for more, we saw 20-30 Common Blue Damselflies emerging and flying into the grasses.

While walking the Mother-in-Law's dog around Thrapston Lakes, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a recently emerged Banded Demoiselle taking its maiden flight.

More Dragonflies appear

With the hot weather still with us (and set to continue for a while), the Spring emerging dragonflies are starting to appear. In a normal year, only the Large Red Damselfly will have emerged so far. This year though, I have received the following extra records:

Graham Bentley reports a Four-Spotted Chaser at Fermyn Wodds Country Park on 21 April (see photo above).

Darryl Sutcliffe found a recently emergered Hairy Dragonfly at Stanwick Lakes on the same day.

The last good April ws in 2007, when we saw 8 species on the wing by the end of the month. With three so far, we are on track to meet this. Mind you, the remainder of 2007 was poor with severe floods over many parts of the UK, so I hope this spell of good weather doesn't signal the same event this year.

First Large Red Damselfly of the year

David Warner reports seeing the first Large Red Damselfly of the year at Storton's Pits. This is about a week earlier than normal, but not surprising considering the good weather recently.

Common Darters still around

November 6th, 11 degrees and I still manged to find three Common Darters at Ditchford this afternoon. It was a lovely autumnal day with good low sunlight warming up the trees and logs around the lake. These males were perched soaking up the sun and one even caught a fly to eat. The latest date for Darters in Northants is 29th November, so there are still a few weeks to go and these males still look in good condition, so as long as there is a food source they may survive a little longer.

Southern Hawkers and Common Darters at Fermyn Woods

We took a walk around Fermyn Woods CP on a beautiful sunny autumnal afternoon. It was around 12 degrees, but nice and crisp. Around the three min ponds, we saw 6 Southern Hawker, including an oviposting female and a number of Common Darter. Not bad for mid October.

Early October Sightings

As we get more autumnal, our dragonflies are on the decline, however there are still some to be seen when the sun comes out:

4th Oct - Darryl Sutcliffe reports a late season Southern Hawker at Brixworth Country Park.
7th Oct - Migrant Hawkers and Common Darter on the River Ise at Burton Latimer.
10th Oct - A Common Blue Damselfly was seen at Billing Mill.
11th Oct - Darryl reports 6+ Common Darter, 4+ Migrant Hawker & a Southern Hawker at Brackmills Industrial Estate, Northampton.

Late Sepember Update

Still plenty of dragons flying, with Migrants, Common Darter and Ruddy Darter along with Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies at Wilsons Pits on Wednesday 21 Sept. I also disturbed a teneral Darter that flew into the trees. I was hoping it was a Red-veined Darter as around now is the expected emergence time. I took a grab shot from quite a distance, but it was a Common Darter. Still, this is quite a late emergence although given the predictions of cold weather coming, its future may not be too bright.

Darryl visited Brackmills Industrial estate in Northampton and saw the following: 7 Migrants, including two males by the fishing pond, and at least two females hunting in the glades; 3+ Common Darter.

14 degrees C and four species flying at Ditchford

The weather really is changing and this lunchtime it was only 14 degrees at Dtichford, with some sun. Still, four species were flying in these cool temperatures: Migrant Hawker, Brown Hawker, Common Darter and Common Blue Damselfly. I suspect that this year won't be noteworthy for late sightings, although Anglia News weather said temperatures are set to reach 22 degrees next week!

Yesterday (16th), Doug Goddard and Bob Bullock saw an Emerald Damselfly. This is a good late date, despite the cooling weather.