County list

Oxfordshire dragonfly list - October 2024

#	Species	Distribution	Comments
1	Beautiful Demoiselle	Localised. Perhaps increasing.	Appears to be expanding its range in the county, and is increasingly moving into sites where only Banded Demoiselle were found previously. Brownett mentions the River Swere in north Oxfordshire as a stronghold to at least the early 1990's [1]. There was a cluster of records from the extreme north of the County, with a scattering from various sites in the south, including Letcombe Brook in East Hanney (2004), the rivers Ock and Windrush, as well as the Thames at Tadpole Bridge [5]. There are 2010 records from Waterperry Wood and Stanton St John, both in the north of the County. In 2011/12 there were records from other sites in this general area - Waterperry Wood/Bernwood Forest and Otmoor. In 2017, there were again a few records from Otmoor.
2	Banded Demoiselle	Widespread	A common and widespread species, mainly early in the season, especially along the river Thames.
3	Emerald Damselfly	Localised and possibly declining	Occurs intermittently at a small number of sites in the county and appears to be declining. It is now much more localised than the recently arrived Willow Emerald. In 2016 Radley Lakes is the only known site for this species in the County.  Otmoor was previously the premier site but there were no records from there in 2015 and 2016. There is a scattering of odd records from a few other sites, such as Dry Sandford Pit [5]. Since then there have been various scattered records of small numbers from sites such as the Trap Grounds, Oxford and Longford Park, Banbury.  In 2023, there were records from just nine sites across the county.
4	Willow Emerald Damselfly	First record in 2019. Now expanding rapidly	Although this species was first reported as recently as 2019, it is now widely distributed all across the county. It is now almost certainly more numerous than Emerald Damselfly in the county.  The first county record was on 10 September 2019 by S Brooks at the unusual location of a dried up pool in the middle of Wytham Woods. At the time, this was the furthest west record for this species in the country. In 2020, there were records from three sites - Radley Lakes (1), Otmoor (small numbers of males and females) and the Trap Grounds where a breeding colony with more than 10 individuals was established, with ovipositing noted. By 2022, it was clear a major range expansion had occurred with reports from across the county, as far west as Faringdon, and as far north as the Banbury. In 2023 and 2024 there was continued spread, although the rate of increase appears to have slowed following its dramatic expansion last year.
5	White-legged Damselfly	Localised	Reasonably common in suitable habitat, i.e. well vegetated slow moving rivers such as the Thames, especially near Goring railway bridge.  In the 2015 there were more records than usual from other scattered sites including Chimney Meadows and the Cherwell Valley (between Grimsbury Reservoir and the M40). Since then there have been several records from the Thames downstream from Abingdon, and also the BBOWT reserve of Lambs Pool in the north of the county.
6	Large Red Damselfly	Common	Widely distributed in the County and usually the first species of the new season to be reported
7	Blue-tailed Damselfly	Abundant	One of the commonest damselflies in the County.
8	Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly	Rare.	Now occurs in small numbers at sites in Banbury and Didcot which are becoming increasingly overgrown and less suitable for this species. Brownett mentions records from the Lower Windrush Valley Gravel Pits in the early 1990's when they were being actively dug [1]. There are more recent records from the same area, up to 2000 [5] by J M Campbell. There were then no records until 2020, when a new site at Longford Park, Banbury was found by Brian Stone on 19 June. This stormwater pond held several individuals and breeding was clearly taking place. In 2021, there were further reports from Banbury and a new site in Didcot, again at a stormwater pond, was located. In 2022, there were again records from Banbury as well as at two different storm water ponds in Didcot. Smaller numbers were seen at these sites in 2023, probably because of the indifferent weather that year. Another issue is that without `management, these ponds rapidly become overgrown and probably less suitable for this species.
9	Southern Damselfly	Very localised	Present at Dry Sandford Pit, with a reported spread to the nearby BBOWT reserve of Parsonage Moor [2].   This is a very isolated population, and I have heard a suggestion they might have been introduced here several years ago. Recent habitat management at the BBOWT Cothill reserves has been beneficial for this species with an extraordinary one-day transect count of 425 at Parsonage Moor in 2022! Numbers dropped back to more typical levels in 2023.
10	Azure Damselfly	Widespread	A numerous species, but needs careful examination to separate from the commoner Common Blue.  Particularly abundant along the Roman Road at Otmoor, early in the season where hundreds can be found on a fine day.
11	Variable Damselfly	Very localised	Only known from a few locations in the County, which tend to change. It was seen in 2010 and previously [7] in the Cothill/Parsonage Moor area, but between 2013 and 2016 there have been no records from that site. In 2017, another was found. Roger Wyatt had been monitoring a second site near Yarnton for several years, but in 2013 he found only 4, down on previous totals and there have been no records since then. There was a further record of 6 at this site in 2020, per Roger Wyatt.  In 2016 Wayne Bull located another site at Iffley Meadows, but there were no further records. In 2015, Martin Wackenier found several in a small area by the River Thames close to Barton Fields nr Abingdon. They appeared to be concentrated near a pool at N51.669995,W1.260927. This colony was still present in subsequent years but in reduced numbers. In both 2022 and 2023 there were only two records, from the Barton Fields/Radley Lakes area.
12	Common Blue Damselfly	Abundant	Probably the commonest damselfly in Oxfordshire.
13	Red-eyed Damselfly	Widespread	Occurs quite widely at many sites.
14	Small Red-eyed Damselfly	Major recent range expansion	Since its arrival in the mid 2000s, this species has been gradually expanding its range and can now be found anywhere with suitable habitat. In 2017, the first record for VC23 was from Blenheim Lake (southern end) and the best site was Faringdon Folly Park Pond. After years of being confined to a small number of sites, its range appeared to expand hugely in 2020 with records from many new locations. The highest numbers came from Otmoor, with many records provided by those looking for the elusive Southern Migrant Hawkers. In 2021, there were records from further additional sites, with the highest numbers found at the Grove Meadows Stormwater pond. Further range expansion occurred in 2022 and 2023.
15	Small Red Damselfly	One site	Regular records from the special habitat in the Cothill NNR/Parsonage Moor area from 1910 to 2023! [5]. Cothill NNR may be more productive than Parsonage Moor for this species. In 2021 there was a remarkable isolated record of a single seen at a stormwater pond in Cholsey - the first ever in the county away from the Cothill area!
16	Club-tailed Dragonfly	Localised. Good weather early in the season can still lead to plenty of records.	An elusive species localised to suitable habitat such as the Thames, where it is reputed to occur along its full length in the County, albeit at a low density on some stretches. The best known site is the railway bridge south of Goring, although even this are not guaranteed to produce sightings. The Thames at Little Whittenham Woods gave a remarkable count of 14 on 9 May 2009 [3]. The 2017 BDS Clubtail count produced only a handful of records of adults/recent emergents, with only one upstream of Oxford at Tadpole Bridge. Larger numbers of exuviae were found, especially downstream from Goring. The 2020 season produced an unusually high number of records of exuviae, emergents and adults with the most sightings being from Goring (or Gatehampton) Railway Bridge and Cholsey Marsh. All records were downstream from Oxford. Records in 2021 and 2022 returned to a more typical level, probably due to the poorer spring conditions. 2023 saw another surge in records, perhaps associated with the fine early season weather that year.
17	Hairy Dragonfly	Increasingly reported and spreading to new sites.	From 2020 this species was reported from many sites across the county, including along the River Thames and is no longer a localised species The main site, early in the season, used to be Otmoor where it had been seen in small numbers since 1998 [5]. In 2010 and subsequently it was found at Radley Lakes by Wayne Bull. In 2013 there were new site records from the Pinkhill reserve at Farmoor and Whitecross Green Wood. In 2015, there were reports from more new sites - the Barton Fields area of the River Thames, to the south of Radley Lakes and the Parsonage Moor BBOWT reserve near Cothill.  Since then further first site records have included the Trap Grounds in Oxford (2017).
18	Common Hawker	Very rare/not present	All records in Oxfordshire of this species are considered suspect without photographic evidence due to potential confusion with the very similar Migrant Hawker. This applies to all the following historical records. The last record given by Brownett [1] was in 1983. There are just a handful of records since 2000 in the NBN database [5], from sites including Lashford Lane Fen, Parsonage Moor and Iffley Meadows. All subsequent reports have been unsubstantiated.
19	Southern Hawker	Widespread	One of the easiest hawkers to find in Oxfordshire. Visits gardens regularly.
20	Brown Hawker	Widespread	A commonly encountered hawker, but slightly less so than Southern.
21	Norfolk Hawker	One record	The first county record was of a single male patrolling near the first screen at Otmoor on 28 June 2024, well seen and photographed by Jeremy Dexter. So far, an isolated record probably of a wandering individual. Hopefully there will be more records in 2025 and beyond.
22	Migrant Hawker	Widespread	Can be numerous in late, good summers.
23	Southern Migrant Hawker	Very localised	Now appears to have established breeding sites on Otmoor and nearby Whitecross Green Wood (smaller numbers). The first county record was of an immature by Geoff Wyatt on 15 June 2020 from the western side of Otmoor. Further records of different immatures and, later, adults followed from different locations all across Otmoor but it remained elusive throughout with a maximum count of 3. It is likely to have first bred, unnoticed, the previous year. In 2021, there were further reports from Otmoor, but numbers were generally lower than in 2020, and disappointingly the species was even more elusive.  In 2022, the number of records had dwindled to only 2. Contrary to expectations based on the downward trend since 2020, in 2023 there were many more sightings from Otmoor than in any previous year. Also there were records from a new site in the county - nearby Whitecross Green Wood where it was much easier to find than on Otmoor!  In 2024, there were widespread reports from Otmoor, with the Pill area being particularly favoured. There were fewer reports from Whitecross Green Wood.
24	Emperor	Widespread	Again a widespread species in Oxfordshire, occurring at plenty of sites.
25	Lesser Emperor	Rare	Prior to 2024 this had been a very rare species, seen less than annually. There was then an unprecedented surge in records with reports from many sites scattered widely across the county. The reasons for this dramatic increase are not well understood. Previous reports were as follows. Records from Appleford Pit in 2006 (2), Radley Lakes in 2006 & 2007 and at Shellingford Pit in 2008. After a few blank years, the next record was on 31 July 2011 at Pit 60, Standlake Gravel Pits. The next report was of the first female for the county, photographed near Drayton in late August 2020. In 2022, there were two highly probable sightings from Radley Lakes.
26	Vagrant Emperor	Vagrant	On 27 February 2014, a large dragonfly was seen briefly at Pucketty Farm, Littleworth, near Faringdon by someone with limited Odonata knowledge. No photograph or detailed description was obtained, but from the time of year, the only plausible species of dragonfly was considered to be Vagrant Emperor. Remarkably, there was another record of a large dragonfly crossing the M4 near Swindon, about a week later.
27	Golden Ringed Dragonfly	Vagrant	Golden Ringed Dragonflies are normally associated with the acidic conditions in the northern and western areas of Britain, but there is a small breeding population in the Bracknell/Crowthorne area of Berkshire. A wandering individual from here may account for a remarkable record of one from Cholsey on 25 May 2012, seen by an observer experienced with this large, difficult to mistake species. This date is however very early for this species. There is a more recent record from just over the county border in Bucks in July 2014, at a similar distance from the Berkshire breeding area. The NBN database [5] used to contain a number of records in the early 2000s from the west of the county, but these seemed doubtful and have now disappeared, possibly because they were mis-located from the New Forest, 100km to the south!
28	Downy Emerald	Localised. Possibly increasing	Downy Emeralds favour ponds or small lakes with surrounding trees. Brownett mentions this is a scarce species with a northerly bias in the county. Records since 2000 are from a scattering of sites, mainly in the north of the county such as Rousham Ponds, Ditchley Park and Standford St Martin [5]. Due to lack of observer coverage, these records ceased from the mid 2000s. However in 2022, Wayne Bull was able to gain access to Rousham Ponds where his maximum count was a remarkable 10, with similar numbers found in 2023.  Other older records include a few from the south of the county, including the lake at Buckland House (no public access) and the ponds at Little Whittenham Wood (but not since 2001) [5]. More recent records have come from Otmoor and the Radley Lakes/Barton Field area. One or two have also been seen at the Trap Grounds, Oxford.
29	Broad-bodied Chaser	Reasonably widespread	Can be found at a number of sites, including Otmoor and Shellingford Pit in good years.
30	Scarce Chaser	Very rare	The Dragonfly Recording Network (DRN) [5], contains one single unconfirmed record from Cassington Gravel Pits in 1986 by an un-named observer. However in 2014, there was a confirmed record of one male on Otmoor on 6 July by Terry Sherlock and Jason Coppock, with some photos to support the ID. Given its increasing range in the country, more records may occur in future. The second record was from the River Thames at Pinkhill on 29 June 2018  by Brian Walker. In 2022, John Bloomfield found a male along the Thames upstream from Shillingford which remained for a few days at least. Other observers found 2 males and a possible female, so breeding may have occurred.
31	Four-spotted Chaser	Widespread & numerous	Can be very abundant at some sites, e.g. Otmoor.
32	Black-tailed Skimmer	Widespread	Likes muddy edges of ponds etc. Not difficult to find in the County, e.g. Otmoor, Pinkhill and Standlake Pit 60.
33	Keeled Skimmer	Very localised	This is generally an acid water species and probably a relatively recent colonist. It now occurs at Dry Sandford Pit (since 2006) and Parsonage Moor/Cothill NNR. The numbers reported from the BBOWT transects have been increasing for both Dry Sanford Pit and Parsonage Moor. In 2020, there was a single isolared record from a completely different site in the extreme north of the county - the stormwater pond at Longford Park, Banbury. There have been no further records since then. In 2021, records emerged of a male and an immature seen at the Lye Valley NR, Oxford, with a male also reported the previous year. In 2022, the peak numbers reported here had grown to 9, so it is to hoped that a new colony will become established here. In 2021, there was a single report of a male at Sydlings Copse BBOWT, but nothing since. It is notable that all these sites, apart from the stormwater pond at Banbury, contain rare examples of alkaline, calcareous fen.
34	Black Darter	Extinct	This is also usually a species of acidic habitats, but the most recent record is from as long ago as 1986 at Hill End Camp. There are also a few even older records from Cothill, but none recently, suggesting this species is now extinct in the County.
35	Ruddy Darter	Widespread	A common species in Oxfordshire.
36	Yellow-winged Darter	Vagrant	Brownett mentions 4 records, the most recent being from Clattercote Reservoir in 1995, which coincided with an unprecedented influx of this species into Britain. More recently, there was a record by G Hopwood at Aston Rowant on 27 August 2006 [4],[5] which again coincided with an influx of this species.
37	Red-veined Darter	Vagrant	This species remains a very rare visitor to the county, despite increases in other species with southerly origins. Brownett mentions just 1 record from 1976. There are two more recent records, from Otmoor in June 2006 and Radley Lakes in June 2007 [5]. The 4th record was from Radley on 13th September 2012 by Wayne Bull, in a year during which there were several records from Crookham/Greenham Commons in Berks. There were no further records until 2020, when Wayne Bull again saw and photographed an immature at Radley Lakes on 4th September at a very similar location to that in 2012.
38	Common Darter	Widespread & abundant	Surely the County's most numerous dragonfly, later in the season.

References

[1] Anthony Brownett, (1996)."The Dragonflies of Oxfordshire", Brookside Books, Banbury
[2] BBOWT Wildlife Life News, January 2010 
[3] British Dragonfly Society Hot News for 2009
[4] British Dragonfly Society Hot News for 2006
[5] The Dragonfly Recording Network records can be viewed via the NBN Gateway which is a powerful interactive database with limited access to casual visitors
[6] Adrian J Parr, "Migrant and dispersive dragonflies in Britain during 2008", Journal of the British Dragonfly Society, Vol 25, no 9, p 95, 2009.
[7] Wayne Bull, personal communication