Each dragonfly or damselfly species has its season: so, for example, the chasers and skimmers are long gone, as are most of the blue damselflies. Of the hawkers, the most common at the moment is the migrant hawker (above) - but males only, we haven't seen a female in weeks. There are also some notable absentees this year: we haven't seen a single red damselfly.
This is the season of the common darter. They're everywhere, along the hedgerows, sunning themselves in the dust of the farm tracks, sitting in 'wheels' on bushes, and in tandem, ovipositing on every available piece of water.
The willow emerald damselfly is relatively new to this country but is the most common of the damselflies now. We counted a dozen or more by a woodland ditch - there had obviously just been a hatching. This species is fairly easy to identify, with a small 'spur' on the side of its thorax, but....
....others are much more difficult: I think this is a female common blue damselfly.
As well as the dragonflies we have found on the road, murdered by passing vehicles, we also found this one, with its abdomen missing. Minutes before we had seen a hawk, possibly a kestrel, veering in its flight high above us, obviously catching dragonflies.
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