More Clubtails!

The BDS website is reporting two further Clubtails:

1 on Cholsey Marsh reserve on 26th April
1 at Shillingford Bridge on 24th April.

Also a remarkable record of 20 Broad-bodied Chasers emerging from a garden pond in Caversham.

River Thames at Farmoor 26 April

1 Hairy Dragonfly
1 Large Red Damselfly
1 Azure Damselfly (teneral)

Barton Field 25 April

8 Large Red Damselflies

1 Azure Damselfly

Large Red Damselflies (c) M Wackenier

Trap Grounds: 25 April

2 male Azure Damselfly, 
1 Female Large Red Damselfly, 
1 Immature Male Broad Bodied Chaser

N. Devine

Broad-bodied Chaser (c) N Devine

Radley Lakes 25 April

I found four teneral Common Blue Damselflies at Radley Lakes this afternoon.

Teneral Common Blue Damselfly © David Hastings

Clubtail! Sutton Courtenay 25 April

Amazing early record from Connor Mackenzie who had a Common Clubtail in his garden in Sutton Courtenay, which is within 200m of the Thames!

Common Clubtail (c) Connor Mackenzie

Headington, Oxford 24 April

1 newly emerged Broad-bodied Chaser and 2-5 emergents from garden pond

Andrew Turley per iRecord

Trap Grounds: 24 April

2 Large Red Damsels

1 Azure Damsel
+ unidentified dragonfly briefly

per N Devine

Azure Damselfly (c) N Devine

Large Red Damselfly (c) N Devine

Barton Field 23 April

5+ Large Red Damselflies
1 teneral Broad Bodied Chaser (MW). First 2020 dragonfly record for Oxon?

per Martin Wackenier & Stephen Burch

Broad bodied Chaser (c) Martin Wackenier 

Large Red Damselflies (c) Martin Wackenier 

Large Red Damselfly (c) Stephen Burch. For a larger image go to this page on my website

Trap Grounds 22 April 2020

N Devine reports from the Trap Grounds today both Azure and Large Red Damselflies, which brings the total number of species recorded so far this season to two!

Azure Damselfly (c) N Devine

Large Red Damselfly (c) N Devine

Dry Sandford Pit 22 April

I returned to Dry Sandford Pit this afternoon, and found two pairs of Large Red Damselflies in tandem, with the females oviposiing. Also two single males and a teneral.

Large Red Damselflies © David Hastings

Dry Sandford Pit 20 April

While walking around Dry Sandford Pit this morning, I found my first Large Red Damselfly of the year. It was a mature male, but gave me the slip before I could photograph it. However, a teneral individual was more co-operative.

Teneral Large Red Damselfly © David Hastings

First sighting of the year - Large Red Damselfly

Thanks to John Broomfield for getting the Oxon Odonata 2020 season up and running! 

At 12:30, he saw a Large Red Damselfly at the Earth Trust, Little Wittenham

New BLOG!

Appreciate that the unprecedented times we are in may not be the most auspicious for launching this blog, but having got it all ready to go in a different era - early March, I intend to give it a try.

This year, instead of hosting the dragonfly latest news for Oxfordshire on my website, www.stephenburch.com, I plan to try this alternative Blog-based method for 2020.

I'm hoping this will further promote and encourage interest in dragonflies and damselflies within the entire current county of Oxfordshire.

This Blog is intended to replace the previous sightings page, which only I could write to, and allows others to post their own material.

Just let me know if you would like to post direct to this site, and I will do the rest.

Another advantage is that comments can be easily added.

While we wait for the first records for 2020, here is quick reminder of the 2019 season.

Keeled Skimmer 

Brown Hawker

Common Clubtail 

Emperor 

Four Spotted Chaser  

Migrant Hawker 

Southern Damselfly

Stephen Burch
April 2020