The warm spring saw the earliest ever record for a Cheshire breeding species when Bryan Roberts found three teneral Large-red Damselfly at Mobberley on 1st April. A large hawker dragonfly was seen at Cholmodeley on 24th March and from the description this might have been Vagrant Emperor. On 12th November Paul Brewster made the final sighting at Burton Mere where he found several Common Darter flying.
Overall after a good start with six species flying by the end of April the rest of the year was characterised by low numbers and a decline in the number of records submitted. Highlights in the early summer were that the Hairy Dragonfly was confirmed to be present around Bar Mere in south Cheshire, and the White-legged Damselfly was found to be still present on the Dee around Aldford and Farndon albeit in low numbers. In the south-west the presence of Variable Damselfly was proved at Caldecott Green.
Later in the year there were very few sightings of Ruddy Darter. Black-tailed Skimmer was seen ovipositing at Danes Moss, Macclesfield on the edge of the hills. Whether this raised bog is suitable for the species remains to be seen.
Once again few records were received from south and south-east Cheshire and the Wirral. Searching for Variable Damselfly and Hairy Dragonfly to the south of Churton yielded some success in 2011 and would be worth repeating in 2012. Beautiful Demoiselle was only recorded once in the past year and I suspect that it could be found on the streams running into the Weaver between Crewe and Winsford and also to the west of the A41 between Malpas and Broxton.
© David Kitching 2012
Last updated 7.4.2012