River Thames near Pinkhill, 14 July evening

Lesser Emperor 5+

Andy Last per the WhatsApp forum

Lesser Emperor (c) Andy Last

Lesser Emperor (c) Andy Last

Bodicote, 11 July

New storm water pond at SP4535138131:

5 Common Blue Damsels
4 Azure Damsels
5 Blue Tailed Damsels
2 Scarce Blue Tailed Damsels males
4 Emperor Dragonflies
1 Lesser Emperor male
2 Four Spotted Chaser
3 Broad Bodied Chaser
8+ Black Tailed Skimmer
2 Keeled Skimmer males southern end 
1 Common Darter
1 Red Veined Darter male

Wayne Bull

Keeled Skimmer (c) Wayne Bull

Keeled Skimmer (c) Wayne Bull

Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly (m) (c) Wayne Bull

Lesser Emperor (c) Wayne Bull

Radley Lakes, 10 July

4 Emerald Damsels 3 males 1 female Orchard Lake
1 Willow Emerald female just north of Orchard Lake
100's if not 1000's Common Blue Damsels
5 Blue Tailed Damsels
15+ Red Eyed Damsels
6+ Small Red Eyed Damsels Orchard/Bullfield Lake
7 Emperor Dragonflies
10+ Lesser Emperors 3 pairs in tandem inc 1 pair ovipositing on Bullfield Lake plus males on Thrupp lake, orchard Lake, Bullfield Lake and Lake H I     
5 Brown Hawker
1 Southern Migrant Hawker male Orchard Lake 1st for Radley SU5200596993       
1 Four Spotted Chaser
50+ Black Tailed Skimmer    
3 Common Darter     
10+ Ruddy Darter

Wayne Bull

Southern Migrant Hawker - first for Radley (c) Wayne Bull

Emerald Damselfly (c) Wayne Bull

Willow Emerald Damselfly (c) Wayne Bull

Blenheim 10th July

Norfolk Hawker - 1 male still in the same area as before patrolling the main area of reed bed. I've seen it a few times this week and I'm fairly sure it's the only one here at the moment.

Red-veined Darter - 4 males perched up on the west side of the Queen Pool. I've not seen any on the main lake over the past few days so they seem to be exclusively on the northern end of the Queen Pool.

Lesser Emperor - approximately 8 seen, but likely far more than this across the lakes.

Downy Emerald - 1

No Southern Migrant Hawkers seen today.

Norfolk Hawker (c) Gareth Casburn

Red veined Darter (c) Gareth Casburn

Lesser Emperor (c) Gareth Casburn

Otmoor RSPB, 10th July

From car park to second screen and roman road.

Banded Demoiselle 1

Willow Emerald Damselfly 2

Blue-tailed Damselfly 6

Azure Damselfly 4

Common Blue Damselfly 3

(hundreds of blue damselflies over the main waterbodies)

Red-eyed Damselfly 50+

Small Red-eyed Damselfly 7 (only close ones seen from 1st screen)

Brown Hawker 18

Southern Migrant Hawker 7+

Emperor 4

Four-spotted Chaser 2

Black-tailed Skimmer 40+

Ruddy Darter 200+ 

(no Common Darters seen at all!)

Farmoor Reservoir causeway, 9 July

8 Lesser Emperor!

James Wainscoat

Lesser Emperor (c) James Wainscoat 

Wroxton area, 9th July

Wroxton Abbey

Small Red-eyed Damselfly 1 (only 1 definite, but not thoroughly searched for)

Wroxton Quarry

The pool that the Red-veined Darters were recorded ovipositing in earlier in the season is now completely dry.

Radley Lakes, 9 July

Lesser Emperor - tandem pair over Bullfield Lake.

Across all lakes there were a minimum of 

3 Emperors, 
3 Ruddy Darters, 
30 Black-tailed Skimmers, 
200 Common Blue Damselflies, 
60 Red-eyed Damselflies
3  Blue-tailed Damselflies.  

Orchard Lake had plenty of Black-tailed Skimmers but few other dragonflies

Brian Walker

Black-tailed Skimmer © Brian Walker

Emperor © Brian Walker

Ardington, 9 July

Pool to SW of village. SU430881

Emperor - 1m
Blue Damsels

Stephen Burch

West Challow, 8 July

North of the village, Childrey Brook forms a small lake, a corner of which can be viewed from the adjacent FP. SU368886.

Emperor 1m

Blue damsels - too far away to ID

Stephen Burch

Chalgrove and Stadhampton - 9th July

I checked both my local sites this morning for Lesser Emperor, without success

Oxford Way storm water ponds, Chalgrove (SU623977):

2 Emperor - a male on each pond
Black-tailed Skimmer - up to 6 males on larger pond and 3 more on second pond
1 Broad-bodied chaser (male)
1 Four-spotted Chaser
1 Banded Demoiselle
A few blue Damselflies

Very similar to my 16th June visit but an increase in BTS numbers

Stadhampton Meadows LNR (SU594987):

Beautiful Demoiselle (female)

2 Brown Hawker on territory

Numbers of Banded Demoiselle

1 Beautiful Demoiselle (fem)

Valley Park, Didcot, 8 July

Common Darter 5
Black-tailed Skimmer 11
Broad-bodied Chaser, 1 fem ovipositing 
Emperor 3 inc 2 ovipositing females
Lesser Emperor 1 male fly-over
Red-eyed Damselfly 2
Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly 1
Blue-tailed Damselfly many; inc. forms rufescens, rufescens-obsoleta and violacea

Tess Wright

Video showing Blue-tailed Damselfly "cleaning up" after eating © Tess Wright

Cholsey gravel pit, 8 July

SU 59552 88152

Lesser Emperor: 1

Oxonbirder

Farmoor Reservoir, 8 July

Lesser Emperor: 1m along causeway, then tandem pair

Conor Mackenzie, per the WhatsApp Group

John Allen Pit, Bishop's Court Farm, Dorchester, 7 July

Lesser Emperor:  c. 8 males and 2 females

Geoff Wyatt

Blenheim 7th July

Norfolk Hawker - 1 male seen briefly in flight a couple of times, on one occasion clashing with a Southern Migrant Hawker.

Southern Migrant Hawker - 5 or 6 males patrolling small territories at the very tip of the main lake in the same general area as the Norfolk Hawker.

Red-veined Darter - 3 males. One on the gravel path north of the Queen Pool, and two perched on the vegetation on the western edge. Certainly fewer now and not as active over the water as they were a week or two ago.

Lesser Emperor - 2 males 

Small Red-eyed Damselfly - several seen on the floating vegetation in the shallow water near the Fisheries Cottage.

Valley Park, Didcot, 7 July

Small Red Damselfly 1m - still present in same location as yesterday

Ian Lewington, per the WhatsApp Group

Dix Pit 7th July

Midday to 1pm

Lesser Emperor : about 10 individuals on the west side of the pit. They were spending a lot of time patrolling the adjacent grassland, and only coming back to the water occasionally. A pair in tandem landed in front of me, and the female started ovipositing.

Also:

Banded Demoiselle : 1
Common Blue Damselfly : hundreds
Emperor Dragonfly : blue-form female ovipositing
Brown Hawker : 3
Black-tailed Skimmer : 10
Common Darter : 1

David Hastings

Lesser Emperor ♂ © David Hastings

Lesser Emperor pair in tandem © David Hastings

Parsonage Moor/Cothill Fen 7th July

10 - 11.30am

Banded Demoiselle 1
Southern Damselfly 5
Blue-tailed Damselfly 2
Azure Damselfly 2
Small Red Damselfly 2
Emperor Dragonfly 1
Keeled Skimmer 9
Black-tailed Skimmer 6
Common Darter 3

David Hastings

Southern Damselfly ♂ © David Hastings

Small Red Damselfly ♂ © David Hastings

Keeled Skimmer ♂ © David Hastings

Clattercote Reservoir, 7th July

Lesser Emperor 2 (pair) - c.SP 45028 48559

Only seen briefly but well enough. After the male caught the female they flew up into the surrounding trees. I waited a little while for them to return but I didn't see them again.

Ruddy Darter 1
Brown Hawker 1

White-legged Damselfly 1:

It unfortunately seems like a very poor year for this species again. I've only seen singles on several recent walks locally. This site on a similar date in 2022 well over 60 were recorded (here).  

Banbury area, 7th July

Grimsbury Reservoir

White-legged Damselfly 1

Brown Hawker 1

Borrow Pit pool, Upper Cherwell Valley

White-legged Damselfly 1

Brown Hawker 1

No Small Red-eyed Damselflies yet.

Cholsey (Lollingdon), 6 July

1 Lesser Emperor SU 57061 85358

Oxonbirder, per the WhatsApp Group.

Lesser Emperor ©Oxonbirder

Otmoor, 6 July

A lunchtime walk along the Oddington track to 100 acre and along the ditch on west side of 100 acre:

18 Southern Migrant Hawkers mostly flying males evenly spaced along the route. One tandem pair briefly. The pill area is drying out. 

Also on Noke pond - approx 60 small red-eyed damselflies (on 3.7.26)

Jeremy Dexter

Southern Migrant Hawker in flight © Jeremy Dexter

Southern Migrant Hawker settled © Jeremy Dexter

Valley Park, Didcot, 6 June

Small Red Damselfly! 1 male SU496913
Common Blue Damsels
10+ Blue Tailed Damsels
6 Scarce Blue Tailed Damsels
3 Emperor Dragonflies
1 Lesser Emperor male
Four Spotted Chaser
Black Tailed Skimmers
Common Darter

Wayne Bull

Small Red Damselfly © Wayne Bull

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly (immature female of Aurantiaca phase) © Wayne Bull

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly, male © Wayne Bull

Otmoor ( Roman Road Only ), July 5th

Brown Hawker 1, 
Migrant Hawker 2, 
Ruddy Darter 5, 
Common Darter 3. 

James Wainscoat

Face comparison of the 2 Darters:

Common Darter © James Wainscoat

Ruddy Darter © James Wainscoat

Dix Pit, Stanton Harcourt, 5 July

Along the west shore. c. 14:00 - 16:45

10+ Lesser Emperor - in most of the fishing bays, especially the most northerly one. At least one tandem pair occasionally ovipositing. Some very worn already. 

Also

Common Blue Damselfly 100s if not 1000s!
Red-eyed Damselfly
Emperor
Black-tailed Slimmer
Common Darter - 1 mature male

Stephen Burch

Lesser Emperor - another big crop (very challenging to get onto as moving so fast!) © Stephen Burch

The Red-veined Darter influx into Britain, 2026

I have just had some interesting information from Adrian Parr (the BDS Migrant Dragonfly expert) about this year's the ongoing Red-veined Darter influx:

"The RVD influx continues, and I've just heard of counts of 120 + 95 on two of the lakes on Bodmin Moor!! There have been over 470 records (though from slightly fewer sites) this year. I think it's now fair to say it's been Britain's largest ever influx.  

Keep an eye out for locally bred immatures, which may start emerging as early as late July. Such individuals rapidly stray from their breeding waters into surrounding grassland, and then ultimately migrate back south. 

But virtually nothing is known about the fine detail of all this, and I'm hopeful someone might keep a close eye on one of their breeding sites this year."

Stephen Burch

Standlake Common 4th July

Beautiful Demoiselle 2
Common Blue Damselfly 20+
Southern Hawker 3
Brown Hawker 4
Black-tailed Skimmer 1

David Hastings

Southern Hawker ♂ © David Hastings

Beautiful Demoiselle ♂ © David Hastings

Abbey Gardens, Abingdon, 3 July

River cut-off

Small Red-eyed Damselfly 2
Brown Hawker 2

Martin Green per Oxon Dragonfly WhatsApp Group

Queen Pool, Blenheim, 3 July

c. 10:15 - 15:15

10+ Red-veined Darter: Seen in the morning in flight from the north shore by the tree (SP440169), and from the west shore where geese hang out (a pair in tandem briefly). Maybe 4-5 in both locations. Also singles seen later settled on west shore (with Adam Hartley) SP438168 , north shore (under above tree) and east shore (with Gareth Casburn) SP441168. Probably somewhat fewer than last week? 

Note these key ID features to distinguish from maturing Ruddy and Common Darters: 

• Prominent red veins on inner parts of wings
• Pale pterostigma with dark borders
• Blueish lower part to eyes (but muted on some today)
• Pale stripe on side of thorax (also muted on some individuals today)

Also seen:

Banded Demoiselle
Blue damsels: 100s
Emperor 5+
Brown Hawker (near Fisherman's Cottage)
Black-tailed Skimmer

Stephen Burch

Red-veined Darter © Stephen Burch

Red-veined Darter [two image composite] © Stephen Burch

Emperor (west shore) © Stephen Burch

Blenheim 3rd July

Late morning visit that overlapped with Steve Burch concentrating on the west shore of the Queen's Pool near the Fishery Cottage (so the usual RVD location). Conditions sunny and warm with a light breeze.

A few red Darter sp. which were probably Red-veined that were mostly briefly views or flying far over the water. One close perched individual was confirmed to be a Red-veined Darter (see photo)

1 Lesser Emperor briefly

Quite a few Emperors, Black-tailed Skimmers and Four-spotted Chasers
100's of blue Damselfly sp. over the water

Adam 

Red-veined Darter

Valley Park, Didcot, 2 July evening

This new storm water site with open access is in Didcot, just south of the A4130 link road from the A34. It was described in Ian's initial post back in May -  https://oxondragonflies.blogspot.com/2026/05/valley-park-didcot.html.

The OS coords of the main spot he reported then are SU497913.

For this visit, Ian reports that the best area seemed to be the north shore of the eastern pool.

13+ Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies . 5 males, the rest were tenerals of both sexes - their normal emergence period extends from late May until into July, with a peak late June (Brooks & Lewington, 2002).

15 Blue-tailed Damselflies
2 Four-spotted Chasers
3 Black-tailed Skimmers
3 Emperors
Common Darters and Common Blue Damselflies

Ian Lewington

Scarce-blue tailed Damselfly (immature, Aurantiaca phase) © Ian Lewington

Scarce-blue tailed Damselfly (immature, Aurantiaca phase) © Ian Lewington

Scarce-blue tailed Damselfly © Ian Lewington

Blenheim, Queen Pool, 2 July

100s Blue damselflies, 
10 Black-tailed Skimmer, 
2 Red-veined Darter

James Wainscoat

Red-veined Darter © James Wainscoat

Black-tailed Skimmer © James Wainscoat

Blenheim 2nd July

Norfolk Hawker - 1 male in the area reported previously. Clearly defending a territory, chasing a couple of Brown Hawkers. It perches up for long periods out of view so not easy to locate.

Brown Hawker - 3

Ruddy Darter - 5 males

I didn't check for Red-veined Darters on the Queen Pool today.

Norfolk Hawker

Brown Hawker

Otmoor, 29 June

1 Norfolk Hawker - along the track to the second screen (near the starling viewing point).

Paul Wyeth

Norfolk Hawker © Paul Wyeth

Trap Grounds 27th June

First visit to the Trap Grounds for a while in sunny, post-heatwave conditions.

~6 Small Red-eyed Damselfly
3 Blue-tailed Damselfly
Lots of Azure Damselfly
Brown Hawker
Emperor

Emperor and two Banded Demoiselle along the canal. Also a probable fly-through Silver-washed Fritillary - a rarity for this site!

It's great to have the Small Red-eyed Damsels back again after going AWOL last year. There were some ovipositing pairs so hopefully their future is more secure at this site.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly distant record shot 
(with wrong camera settings to add to the poor quality)

 

New Oxon Dragonfly WhatsApp Group

Following the previous post on this topic, there seems to be some interest in a WhatsApp Group for Oxon Dragonflies, to run alongside, and be complementary to this Blog.

Hence I have setup the Oxon Dragonfly Forum WhatsApp Group. Below is an invite link for those wishing to join (assuming I set it up correctly!):

https://chat.whatsapp.com/CogcYwStSmS2ou1Q1TzY5c

Stephen Burch

Oxfordshire Dragonfly Recorder (VC23).

The initial icon for the group is Gareth Casburn's superb image of a Red-veined Darter at Blenheim:

Blenheim, 29 June

Red-veined Darters c. 5 on west side of Queen Pool in cool windy conditions

Wayne Bull

Red-veined Darter © Wayne Bull

Red-veined Darter © Wayne Bull