Headlines - 19th August

I forgot to mention that I saw 3 Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta about my lake on the 6th, which was just before the storm on Monday.

Note: that as far as I'm aware that there are NO november records of Migrant Hawker in the national database.

I'm wondering how a specimen is so perfect this late in season. See picture 1 & picture 2

Myself and Janet Whelehan saw two Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta about 2km south of Cahore Point in Co. Wexford.

It was cloudy on Monday 17th October, but single Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta was on the wing in East Coast Nature Reserve, Newcastle, and one in my garden later.

On 15th October I had a lot of Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta activity around my lake. 4 females were ovipositing, and there were about 4 males seen as well. 3 of the females were ovipositing into Bulrushes (Reedmace Typha latifolia) and the other into Common Reeds. One of the females was ovipositing into the seedheads and leaf tips of the bulrushes. She even went upside down to insert eggs into top of the seedhead. She also tried some older stems, but assuming that she found them hard, she quickly moved on. All this within a couple of feet of me. The seedheads in question are about 2m above waterlevel and they can persist well into summer, unless the swans take them down in the spring. Of the other 2 ovipositing into the Reedmace, one was fairly near the water, and the other was somewhat inserting the eggs at a height in between the 2.

I also understand from Mr. Barrie Sheard that he saw Dragonflies at Peatlands Park, North Armagh, on 8th October; these are most likely to have been Common and/or Black Darters, both of which are common there and can be seen into early November. Common Hawker is also a possibility on 8th October.  

Geoffrey Hunt also reports Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum at Foynes, Co. Limerick, on 8th October.

David Nixon also reports a (female) Common Hawker Aeshna juncea (which he photographed) at King Street, Newcastle, Co. Down, on 8th October.

After searching unsuccessfully at Lough Keelan and Lough Money in the Strangford-Downpatrick area, in mid afternoon I arrived at an interdrumlin lake, most of which is now reed-bed, at Carrickanab near Clough (J453384) where I had also looked unsuccessfully in autumn 2004.  

When putting on my boots beside the car (at a spot where there are 2 gates close together)I saw a clear-winged hawker which looked on the small side 20-30 yards away flying alongside the hedge. Though by the time I got my boots on and stopped at he spot where I had seen it it appeared to have gone, not too long after I saw it (or possibly another specimen), within about 10 yards, at the junction of 2 hedges about 200 yards from the road, one running almost to the reedbed near the lake. It definitely seemed smaller than a Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) and indeed was slightly reminiscent of a Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata). Although I was expecting it to hawk up and down the hedge for a while (as I have often seen this species do in the South of Ireland) for some reason it flew over to the windy side of the hedge. I did not see it again although I stayed for more than an hour and examined the other, windy, side of the hedge and part of the area west of the lake, as well as the hedge close to the road.   I cannot be absolutely certain it was a Migrant Hawker but think it highly likely; Common Hawkers are certainly not common in the Lecale peninsula, although not unknown. The habitat (a reedy lake) is similar to habitat where I have seen Migrant Hawker in Cos. Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Kildare/Carlow, etc, but one does not usually expect Common Hawkers in these situations.
Assuming that it was a Migrant Hawker, whether it was locally bred or a migrant is hard to say. There was a probable Red Admiral butterfly along the roadside about half a mile away (I also saw 1-3 at Lough Keelan and another on dunes at Tyrella) but this is not necessarily significant, I also saw 1 or 2 Darter dragonflies in the field not far from where I saw the presumed Migrant Hawker, which were probably Common Darters (Sympetrum striolatum), though I did not chase them for fear of losing sight of the hawker.  

It is only fair to say that this may not be the first Northern Ireland record of Migrant Hawker. Robert Thompson tells me that in 1984 (I believe it may have been around 15th September) that (in addition to a Clouded Yellow, another migrant) he saw a Hawker dragonfly at Peatlands park, Co. Armagh, which based on previous experience abroad and subsequently in Southern Ireland (Co. Wexford, etc) he believes was a Migrant Hawker; he apparently saw it flying for about 15 minutes at a range of less than 10 yards and noticed the brighter blue and smaller size than Aeshna juncea (which is common in the Peatlands Park and often flies into early or mid-October). The first confirmed Irish records were not until 2000, when it was seen in Cos. Wexford and Wicklow (with Cork, Kilkenny & Waterford added in 2001, Carlow and Kildare in 2002, and Dublin in 2004); see http://www.habitas.org.uk/dragonflyireland/news.htm and http://www.habitas.org.uk/dragonflyireland/5627.htm  

I also saw a mating pair and about 4 other Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum today (13th) at Navan near Armagh; Matthhew Porter also has sent me a picture of a Common Darter taken at Carnfunnock Country Park near Larne, Co. Antrim, on 8th October (there were apparently 2 specimens).  

To sum up, I am reasonably sure I did see a Migrant Hawker in Co. Down on 8th October, but cannot rule out the possibility it was a (smallish) Common Hawker. Of course it would be great if someone else can could confirm this, either there or at some other lake (usually dominated by Reeds or Reedmace) near the coast of Co. Down.

However the Knock Lake record is the first report of it in numbers in Co. Dublin, and may perhaps be the progeny of migrant specimens there 2 or more years ago.

Of course 1 or more of these species (certainly the Common Darter) are likely to be seen later than this; the Common Darter usually flies well into October (I have seen it as well as Black Darter several times in November, with Common Blue Damselfly also on 1st November 1998 and Common Hawker on 3rd November 1975).  

Brian Nelson tells me that Colm Ronayne had Migrant Hawker in Co. Dublin in 2004

There was at least 1 mating pair and an estimated 5 or 6 males (1 male caught was in very good condition) at the east end of the lake (where I saw Lesser Emperors in mid-July). At the west end of the lake, a suspected female and 1 or 2 males were also seen. This makes approximately 10, nearly all males, but there could have been a few more. I did not search the north end of the lake although it looked less suitable.  

A bonus was a male Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum which may still have been in reasonable condition, as the blue and black were still clearly defined. The latest Irish date given in the Dragonfly Ireland book published in 2004 is 3rd September 2000. This is the only time I have definitely seen it in September though I saw a possible specimen at Coolorta in the Burren of Co. Clare (a known site) on 10th September 2002.  

There were about a dozen or so Darters; Ruddy darter Sympetrum sanguineum seemed to be slightly commoner, with a female and about 4 or so males identified, and 2 or 3 Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum. No Brown Hawkers or any Zygoptera were seen, even though one would expect Common Blue damselflies to be flying.  

As to whether the Migrant Hawkers were migrants or locally bred, it is hard to say. 2 Red Admiral butterflies and 2 Silver Y moths were seen, but I have seen these widely in small numbers in various counties in the Republic of Ireland during the last week, so this may not be significant. Both Emperor and Lesser Emperor Dragonflies were seen here in July by Peter Doyle and others includuing myself; these could also have been the progeny of migrants from earlier years. These 2, together with Migrant Hawker, make 3 Odomata species recorded for the first time in Co. Dublin this year, all (and only) at Knock Lake. This is also the most northerly recorded site in Ireland for all 3 species.  

I shall be keeping an eye out for Migrant Hawkers in the coming days in Northern Ireland, eg at lakes near the coast of Co. Down. Knock Lake is dominated by Reedmace (Typha latifolia) and there are plenty of suih lakes in Co. Down.  

I also saw some Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta at 2 sites in Co. Waterford (Tramore dunes), 1 in Kilkenny (Lough Cullin) and Wexford (Doo Lough); I will supply fuller details of these and other Odonata of interest seen during 3rd-11th September in the coming days.

Today, I had 3 Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta foraging together on my drive.

Other sighting of note was a teneral female Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum

1/8/2005: Mullaghattin, Co Louth: male Common Hawker Aeshna juncea  

13/8/2005: Mullaghattin, Co Louth: female Common Hawker Aeshna juncea, 3 female Ruddy darter Sympetrum sanguineum, 1 female Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum 

20/8/2005: Mullaghattin, Co Louth: female Common Hawker Aeshna juncea, 2 female Ruddy darter Sympetrum sanguineum, male Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula  

27/8/2005: Knock Lake Co Dublin: about 20 Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum, all male; 4 Blue-Tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans, 25 male Ruddy darter Sympetrum sanguineum, 5 female; 1 female Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum; 1 hawker species  

28/8/2005: Ratheskar Lake, Co Louth: about 150 Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum, mostly males, with 6 females and a number of mating and ovipositing pairs; about 20 Ruddy darter Sympetrum sanguineum, mostly males, some mating pairs; 16 Blue-Tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans, mostly males, 1 mating pair; one Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum; 3 Brown Hawker Aeshna grandis; 3 other unidentified hawkers, at least one was not a brown hawker.

Still have Emperor Anax imperator on the wing with a male at my lake and the rest near enough the same as previous report a week back.
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum 60+
Blue-Tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans 3
Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa 5+
Ruddy darter Sympetrum sanguineum 25+
Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum 15+

My "bog" (historic fiield name) which I thought may not dry out after the late July rainfalls has receded quicker than expected. A largish area is still quite damp and there are some small pools remaining. In one of these pools I found a final instar Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta larva. Still masses of small newts. No Migrant Hawker exuvia found since finding the couple back in July.

Attached copies of some pics taken in Waterford City on 15th Aug 2005

Brown and Common Hawkers: Seen I think every day except 2 or 3 somewhere, and in nearly all of the above counties.
Hairy Dragonfly: Possible specimen (ie a smallish hawker) seen at Dromore Wood in Co. Clare: I have seen this 2 or 3 times in the 1st few days of August in Northern Ireland so this is not impossible (as far as I know it does occur at this site; I think I remember seeing it there in May 2002).
Black-tailed Skimmer: Seen at at least 2 sites in the Burren and near Lough Carra, Co. Mayo.
Ruddy Darter: Seen in Cos. Clare, Galway, N. Tipperary and Carlow.
Black Darter: Seen in Clare (1) and Roscommon (c. 4).
Common Darter: Widespread.  

No Keeled Skimmers or Four-spotted Chasers were seen. I wasn't really in the areas where one would expect Anax species or Migrant Hawkers.  

Banded Damselfly: Seen in Cos. Carlow and I think 1 or 2 other counties.  I was shown a few on the River Slaney at Altamont Gardens by the Duchas Warden, Paul Cutler, who also told me he had seen C. virgo there.  I also saw a Brown hawker, 1 or 2 Ruddy Darters and Common Darters, but failed to see Common Blue Damselflies even on the larger lakes (perhaps there was too much floating vegetation; I think this species, surprisingly, has not been reported from Co. Carlow!).  
I looked for Beautiful Damselflies at a site in Mayo (Belclare near Westport, where I have seen it in 1999 and 2000) without success.
Blue-tailed Damselfly: A few seen.
Variable Dfly: 1 at Scragh Bog, Co. Westmeath: I also saw another somewhere else.
Azure Dfly: 1 at Dromore Wood in Co. Clare. Emerald Dfly: Seen at 1 or 2 sites.
Scarce Emerald Dfly: I saw a few at Newchapel Turlough in North Tipperary and 3 at a new site,a  turlough at Castle Taylor, Co. Galway.
A possible Emerald was seen not far from a marshy area at the Hill of Curry in Co. Westmeath which is a possible looking site. I also thought Glen Lough in Co. Longford/Westmeath might prove possible but no Odonata were identified here.  

2 Scarce Emeralds were seen by some Welsh moth enthusiasts at Ballyvelaghan Lough in Co. Clare in the 1st week of August (though they recorded 25 Lestes sponsa); probably also seen here on 8th by several NI people.  

Weather during the fortnight was reasonable, with little rain during the day but 1 or 2 wet nights. There were however only about 2 days when it was really sunny and the temperature got to about 20 deg. C. or so (according to the car thermometer) whereas during the week in June some of the days got to 23-24 deg. C. It was also cloudy and sometimes rather breezy. Unfortunately forecasts of really good weather eg during the 2nd week, did not materialise.  The ground looked pretty dry in a lot of places (though vegetation was not suffering) and turloughs were at low levels ior dry in the Burren (yet in mid June levels had been high). I was told that a tanker I had seen around Lough Bunny in the Burren would have been collecting water!  

Today, had a single immature male Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta foraging over the garden meadow. It clashed briefly with an Emperor Anax imperator. Getting close to latest date for Emperor Anax imperator here with a male and an ovipositing female seen.

Also today, Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum, Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa, Blue-Tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans, Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum and Ruddy darter Sympetrum sanguineum, with the latter outnumbering the former, which is unusual.

I've had no luck with finding further exuvia of Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta. The 49mm rain that fell on July 28th rose the water level in my"Bog" by nearly a foot, doubling the surface area but increasing the emergent plants by more than 10 fold. After much searching today I found a single larva in what I think was 2nd last instar. Plenty of young newts though.

I think it's likely that my "bog" won't dry out this year, though September can be a very dry month so still a bit to go.