Sites Part 3

Oxfordshire Dragonfly Site Guide - Part 3

Introduction

This is Part 3 of a guide to the best places for dragonflies and damselflies in Oxfordshire. 

Sites

See below for more information on these sites:

Wroxton College Lakes (contributed by Steve and Gill Holliday, Gareth Blockley. October 2024)

Wroxton College Lakes

Location

West of Banbury on the south eastern edge of Wroxton village. SP 420415

Access

Wroxton lies off the A422 Banbury to Stratford-upon-Avon road. Take any of the roads south of this road into the village, until you reach the main gates of Wroxton College. Parking is usually available by the village duck pond. Permissive access is available to the Abbey grounds which are generally open in summer unless temporarily closed for safety work. There is a donations box just through the main gates and donations are welcomed to help with management of the grounds and in maintaining access for visitors. Walk down the main drive and, keeping the Abbey on your left, follow the track down to the ponds. A circular route takes you alongside the margins of the ponds and an overspill channel at the eastern end. 

Habitat

Landscaped parkland and woodland including two large ponds created in the 18th century by earth banks on a brook. The upper, Her Ladyship’s Pool, is the shallowest and extensively covered with water lilies, edged with willows and marginal vegetation including burr-reed. A small channel then winds through woodland before reaching the largest pond, Great Lake, which has tree-shaded margins and marginal vegetation including Reedmace. Great Lake overspills through two cascades into a winding channel at its eastern end, with fringing vegetation and marshy areas. Paths enable a walk around both ponds and the channel although only a few sections of the Great Lake margins are accessible. 

Description:

This is perhaps the easiest site to see almost all of the regularly occurring species in the north of the county. The first damselflies are on the wing on sunny days from late April to May when Large Red Damselfly can be conspicuous along the margins of both main ponds, together with Blue-tailed and Azure Damselflies. A speciality at this time is Hairy Dragonfly with males often seen among tall fringing vegetation on both main ponds. In Brownett’s The Dragonflies of the Banbury Area (1990), Wroxton Abbey was one of only two sites listed for this species, with records in 1959, after which there were no records for many years and it was then presumed locally extinct. 

Sunny days in June and July can see a dazzling range of activity, especially on the Great Lake, where 100s of Common Blue Damselflies can be seen at times low over the water, along with Four-spotted Chasers and Back-tailed Skimmers. Both Emperor and Brown Hawker start to emerge and small numbers of both can usually be seen over the two ponds. Broad-bodied Chaser is regular but scarce, while Beautiful Demoiselles are more frequent and can be seen along the wooded paths and along the channel at the eastern end. Look out for Red-eyed Damselfly on lily pads on the upper pond where over 30 have been counted. 

Small Red-eyed Damselfly was first recorded in August 2024 when a breeding population discovered on algal mats on the Great Lake.  On sunny days in summer, Black-tailed Skimmers and Ruddy Darters will readily settle on the ground or fallen logs by the ponds and the occasional Southern Hawker can be found, often hunting away from water. 

Late season species include Willow Emerald Damselfly, first recorded in 2022 with ovipositing noted on ash and wych elm. A full survey in 23 September 2024 found at least 36 including several pairs in tandem. Migrant Hawker and Common Darter numbers both reach double figures in August and September with some still on the wing on sunny days in October. 

Dragonfly list (notable species in bold)

Beautiful Demoiselle

Willow Emerald Damselfly 

Large red Damselfly 

Azure Damselfly

Common Blue Damselfly 

Blue-tailed Damselfly 

Red-eyed Damselfly 

Small Red-eyed Damselfly 

Migrant Hawker

Hairy dragonfly

Brown Hawker

Southern Hawker

Emperor 

Broad-bodied Chaser

Four-spotted Chaser 

Black-tailed Skimmer

Common Darter

Ruddy Darter

Steve and Gill Holliday, Gareth Blockley. October 2024