petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

It's December so welcome to the 2023 featuring a different species each day for 24 days. We start with a Southern Migrant Hawker. A fairly recent arrival in the UK; this one was at in July. They like ditches with very little water, even if they dry out in summer. They're huge compared to most other UK species.

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 2 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar and today we have a Keeled Skimmer, a classic species of bogs and wet heaths throughout the UK. This one was at the wonderful #Devon #WildlifeTrust reserve at Bystock Pools in August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 3 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar Today's photo is a Common Clubtail. Despite the name they're not at all common. They like large, slow-flowing rivers. This one was by the Thames at Goring in late May. Despite the bright colouring they can be hard to spot when hiding like this. #Oxfordshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 4 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar Time for our first #damselfly and it's the Large Red, which is generally the earliest to emerge each year in April. This one was at the great #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust reserve #Ravensroost Meadows, in early June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 5 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Brown Hawker is a very fast-flying species which doesn't settle often so I find it very hard to photograph. Except when a female is laying eggs, as here at the fantastic #RSPB #StrumpshawFen in #Norfolk in July. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 6 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. One of our commonest species, the Blue-tailed Damselfly. This was at #RSPB #StrumpshawFen in #Norfolk in July, but there are probably some at the pond in your local park. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 7 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Common Darter is a very common species in late summer & autumn. In sheltered places they will last into November if it's sunny; there may even be a few now if you're near the south coast. This one was at #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust #LowerMoorFarm in August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 8 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. The White-legged Damselfly is a particularly beautiful #damselfly with wide white legs & intricate patterning. It avoids ponds preferring slow-flowing rivers. This one was by the #RiverThames at #Goring #Oxfordshire in June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 9 of the 2023 . Common Emerald . This is a newly-emerged male, with bright green colouring, no blue patches yet and the wing spots still very pale. Sadly these aren't as common in the UK as they once were. In the rest of Europe this would be called Common Spreadwing rather than Common Emerald. At Meadows in June.

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 10 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. It's a Sunday in Advent so I'll post my favourite species, the Banded Demoiselle. The female is bright green, the males have patterned wings and make display flights over the water to impress her. Beside the #RiverThames at #Goring #Oxfordshire in June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 11 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Four-spotted Chaser is common, bulky and males are fond of fighting over ponds. Which makes them great to watch and a frequent food-source for hobbies. They also mate in flight, during which they're joined into a circle, with the female flying upside down and backwards. It's quite a sight. This male was at #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust #Ravensroost Meadows in June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 12 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Azure #damselfly is very common and lives almost everywhere in the UK. The males are one of two common species that are almost entirely bright blue. This mating pair was at my local park in #Swindon in June.
#Wiltshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 13 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Migrant Hawker is our commonest large species in the autumn, sometimes feeding in large numbers at the edge of woodlands. This female was at #RSPB #FenDrayton Lakes in October. #Cambridgeshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 14 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Common Blue is one of two UK damselfly species which are very common and have males which are very blue. In really good spots you may see them flying in swarms. This one was at #Thursley Common National Nature Reserve in August. #Surrey #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 15 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Broad-bodied Chaser is an easy species to spot in early summer - they're large, they like to sit in the open to sunbathe and males are bright blue. They're often the first species to find a new pond, if it's large enough for them. This one was in the #NewForest in June. #Hampshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 16 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Willow Emerald is a new species to the UK in the last 20 years. It's longer & thinner than the Common Emerald and flies later in the summer. This male at the wonderful #RSPB #Otmoor in September. They have spread across the UK quite rapidly, starting from Suffolk, now as far west as Oxford & as far north as the Humber #Oxfordshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 17 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Delving back into the past to find a pink species for the third Sunday of advent. Violet Dropwing doesn't occur in the UK - this was in #Rome in 2016 at the Villa Ada park. They are an African species which is spreading north through southern Europe in recent years but is still a long way from reaching us. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 18 of the 2023 . It looks very like the two common species with blue males, but Southern Damselfly is one of our rarest species. This one was in the , a stronghold for them, in June.

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 19 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Norfolk Hawker. Also known as Green-eyed Hawker, but don't tell our Norfolk county recorder that! This one at #RSPB #StrumpshawFen in July but they're now quite widespread outside #Norfolk too - they have been quite a conservation success story in recent years. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 20 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Small Red-eyed #Damselfly is one of two UK species with red eyes and blue tails. Both species are often seen sitting on vegetation on the surface of a pond or ditch. It arrived here in 1999 and has spread across most of England & parts of Wales. This one at #Oxford motorway services in August. #Oxfordshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 21 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Scarce Emerald #damselfly looks very like Common Emerald. The eyes are brighter blue and it's a bit more chunky looking. There are also some more subtle but specific & reliable differences if you know what to look for. It's confined to eastern parts of the UK - this one at #CanveyIsland in July. #Essex #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

petersketch,
@petersketch@toot.wales avatar

Day 22 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Black-tailed Skimmers are often seen sunbathing on the ground or other flat surfaces. This one was on a boardwalk over the bog at #Thursley Common National Nature Reserve in August. #Surrey #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates

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