August Sightings and News

Total species recorded during the 2007 season is 24

Tandem Common Darters at Stapeley. Photo © R Bradshaw 2007

29.8.07
A male Banded Demoiselle was seen at Bosley Locks (96C SJ906657) on the Macclesfield Canal this afternoon. Meanwhile Peter Shaw was at Newchurch Common (66E SJ607690) and reports good numbers of Brown Hawker, Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

26.8.07
Neil Friswell visited Bickerton Hill (55B SJ503530) where he found over 30 Migrant Hawker around the car park with several Common Darter and a single Southern Hawker.

Common Blue Damselfly on the back of an ovipositing Emperor Dragonfly at Stapeley 25.8.2007. Photo © R Bradshaw 2007

25.8.07
The pools at Stapeley Water Gardens (65Q SJ666513) continue to attract plenty of insects. Bob Bradshaw reports an ovipositing Emperor Dragonfly which was being considerably harassed by a couple of Common Blue Damselfly. Also present are plenty of Common Darter.

23.8.07
The wetter areas of Shemmy Moss (56Z SJ595687) yielded sightings of Common Hawker, Southern Hawker and Brown Hawker with plenty of Common Darter and Emerald Damselfly but I did not see any Black Darter. Back at Newchurch Common (66E SJ607690) there were plenty of Brown Hawker and Common Darter and a few Migrant Hawker and Red-eyed Damselfly. Numbers of all species are well down on the past few years.

Caught in the act! Female Brown Hawker about to land at Anderton 22.8.2007. Photo © Alan Redley 2007

22.8.07
Down on the Airport ponds at Woodend Lane (78V SJ799819) Bryan Roberts found Brown Hawker, Common Darter and a female Emperor Dragonfly. At Anderton Nature Park (67M SJ651751) there were Brown Hawker and Migrant Hawker seen by Alan Redley.

Female Southern Hawker at Macclesfield 20.8.2007. Photo © David Kitching 2007

20.8.07
Flying in a garden at Broken Cross (87W SJ895735) was a female Southern Hawker which obligingly landed inthe hedge for a few minutes whilst I fetched the camera. Alan Redley found a teneral male Migrant Hawker at Anderton Nature Park (67M SJ651751).

Teneral male Migrant Hawker at Anderton 20.8.2007. Photo © Alan Redley 2007

13.8.07
A female Migrant Hawker was seen by Ann Wilson in a garden at Widnes (48Y SJ495866) today.

12.8.07
A female Migrant Hawker was seen at Callands (58Z SJ599887) by Ken Cross.

Female Southern Hawker at Risley Moss 11.8.2007. Photo © Richard Buxton 2007

11.8.07
Richard Buxton returned to Risley Moss (69Q SJ666918) and added Southern Hawker to the site list for this year. At nearby Callands (58Z SJ599887) Ken Cross recorded Common Darter and Banded Demoiselle. Ken also walked along the Dee from Eccleston to Aldford (46A SJ414617) where he saw plenty of Banded Demoiselle, Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker and Brown Hawker.

Female Brown Hawker ovipositing at Paradise Farm 10.8.2007. Photo © David Kitching 2007

10.8.07
On a trip out to the ponds close to Church Minshull at Paradise Farm (66K SJ645615) I was initially disappointed when few odonata were visible but after a few minutes I was able to locate eight species. These were Emperor Dragonfly, Brown Hawker, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter, Emerald Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly and a few Azure Damselfly.

9.8.07
Bernard Rose found a freshly emerged female Migrant Hawker at Neston (27Y SJ295776) this morning.

Tandem Ruddy Darters at Aldford 8.8.2007. Photo © Neil Friswell 2007

8.8.07
When the sun shines there is certainly plenty to see across Cheshire. Neil Friswell recorded nine species around a pond near Aldford (45P SJ442582) including lots of Ruddy Darter and Common Darter. Migrant Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly and even a couple of Banded Demoiselle were present. Black Darter was found in abundance at Danes Moss (97A SJ907706) when Bryan Roberts visited. There were also several Emperor Dragonfly, including a fresh teneral, Common Darter, Brown Hawker and Four-spotted Chaser.

Immature female Black Darter at Danes Moss 8.8.2007. Photo © Bryan Roberts 2007

		7.8.07 This afternoon a female Brown Hawker was flying over the canal at Bosley Locks (96D SJ904663). 6.8.07 At Risley Moss (69Q SJ666918) Richard Buxton found plenty of Brown Hawker, Common Darter, Black Darter and a male Common Hawker. Mat Bingham reports a Brown Hawker and a few Blue-tailed Damselfly from the River Weaver at Saltersford Locks (67H SJ627751). 5.8.07 The prolonged wet weather in July appears to have had a significant effect on the dragonfly populations in upland Cheshire. A visit to the ponds near Oakenclough (96P SJ958696) yielded just one pair of Common Hawker wings and a few Emerald Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly and Common Blue Damselfly. At Neston (27Y SJ295776) Bernard Rose found a male Common Darter at a garden pond. Meanwhile Bob Bradshaw was at Stapeley Water Gardens (65Q SJ666513) where he found plenty of Common Darter, with a couple of Brown Hawker and Emperor Dragonfly with a single ovipositing Southern Hawker. 3.8.07 A walk on Bickerton Hill (55H SJ522545) yielded a couple of teneral Migrant Hawker feeding at the edge of the woods. Further on at Chiflik Farm (55C SJ514540) a male Brown Hawker was busy feeding.
Male Common Hawker at Risley Moss 6.8.2007. Photo © Richard Buxton 2007

Male Black Darter at Risley Moss 7.8.2007. Photo © Richard Buxton 2007

2.8.07
There were still plenty of Red-eyed Damselfly flying at Newchurch Common (66E SJ607690) today. Also seen were Emperor Dragonfly, Brown Hawker, Common Darter, lots of Common Blue Damselfly with Blue-tailed Damselfly, Azure Damselfly and Emerald Damselfly.

If you have made any Odonata observations in Cheshire and would like to share them with others or wish to take part in the recording scheme please email me. Good quality photographs of Cheshire Odonata for use on the news pages are also very welcome.

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