Scarce Chaser on the Salisbury Avon!

I have just received a record from the Kent odonata recorders [John and Gill Brook], who were visiting the area on 29th May. They were walking the Avon Valley Path just West of Woodfalls and spotted a female Scarce Chaser by the side of the path! This is only 1.5kms East of the Salisbury Avon, which suggests the population on this river in Hampshire may be expanding Northwards! I ask that anyone who lives or visits the area has a look at the river here to see if they are on territory there. I will try and get down but it's at the opposite end of the county to me [60 odd miles away!!] Many thanks to Jill for adding this important sighting to the Living Records website:o)

School Dragonfly Recording Group

Yesterday I was delighted to receive a letter from Sherston C 0f E Primary School. The Headteacher, Nicholas Bowditch, explained that they have recently formed a dragonfly recording group as part of their studies of the school pond they created just over a year ago. Their school recorder, Theo Griffin, has been entering observations on the BDS form and I received the first of these with the letter.
This is doubly exciting - not only that a school is taking specific interest in odonata but that these records, of 3 species, constitute the first sightings from that particular 10k square for the current Atlas Project time period!
I look forward to more records and observations from them - perhaps we have some professional naturalists in the making...:o)

11th June 2011.

Rather belated in adding this - but Damian Pinguey visited the pond at Chippenham on Saturday where, as well as a Broad-bodied Chaser,4-spot Chaser, Azure and Blue-tailed Damsels, he saw a semi-mature Black-tailed Skimmer. The first to be reported to me this year though no doubt there are plenty about - particularly in the CWP. Surprisingly there was no Emperor present as they are usually a constant feature at the pond at this time of year! This mixed weather is possibly having some odd effects on emergences.

19th May 2011

Records sent in by Paul Winter from Cadnam Common [in modern Hampshire but in VC8 for recording purposes] included territorial male Emperor Dragonflies clashing and a mature male Keeled Skimmer on territory! Both new for the year. Paul's photo can be seen at: http://patchwatch.blogspot.com/

Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) ♀.

Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) ♀., originally uploaded by od0man.

A late afternoon visit, in sun, to Conigre Mead nature reserve, Melksham produced 4 male and 2 female Scarce Chasers. All tenerals, these were my first for the year. It will be interesting to see if the work on the Sainsbury's extension will affect their recent local colonisation of the Bristol Avon through Melksham. But I fear that the proposed route of the Wilts & Berks Canal restoration will have a more profound impact...
Also present were a few teneral White-legged Damselflies, a few Azure Damsels and many roosting Banded Demoiselles.

White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes)Teneral ♂.

White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes)Teneral ♂., originally uploaded by od0man.

Another new species for the year! I found 3 females, freshly emerged, and this teneral male at Tockenham Reservoir near Wootton Bassett. Still water is an unusual habitat for this species but they may have come from the small feeder stream running into the lake.

Friday 6th May 2011.

During my lunch break today I visited a stretch of the River Marden, a tributary of the Bristol Avon. Rob Turner, while bird ringing here last year, saw a Golden-ringed Dragonfly! I thought that if that species was here then it was a good bet that Beautiful Demoiselle ought to be too - and so it proved to be. I found 5 males and 9 females, all immature in herbage adjacent to the river. This stretch is near the Calne Sewage Treatment Works and, despite that, is a very picturesque location!
So I was pleased to add a new dot to the Wiltshire map - and possibly the first sighting of this species this year.