Recording in Cheshire 2016


Cheshire Odonata 2016

The last year was disappointing with extended cool and poor weather leading to low numbers of most species seen and no great surprises. Although only  Large Red Damselflies were seen in April, Downy Emerald were flying in early May at Gull Pool and these were soon followed by Red-eyed Damselfly at Maw Green near Crewe and Hairy Dragonfly at Curton. Common Clubtail were recorded at several locations on the River Dee including  Aldford and Farndon but only in the last week of May and first week of June.

In 2015 no records of Beautiful Demoiselle were made but this year Neil Friswell found several along the Forge Brook in South Cheshire near Wybunbury. I am sure that this species is significantly under-recorded in Cheshire as it occurs in difficult to access locations well away from the centres of population. It would make an interesting project for someone to target this species for a year or two. The White-legged Damselfly is not easy to find in the County as it occurs in very low numbers and can easily be overlooked. Only one record was received from Neil Friswell who found it at Crewe-by-Farndon on the Dee.

One species that seems to be doing well is the Black-tailed Skimmer which has steadily established itself as a breeding species right across from the coast on the Wirral up to the hills of East Cheshire. The two males at Cheshire's Close near to the Staffordshire border provided a new 10km square record in the uplands. It had a flight period  in the County of 3½ months.

The colony of Small Red-eyed Damselfly at Warmingham Flash near Sandbach continued to thrive and I would expect it to be found at other suitable habitat in forthcoming years. It was only seen mid-July to mid-August. There were no records submitted for Golden-ringed Dragonfly although an adult was seen near Buxton, close to the boundary.

The final total of species seen during the year was 25.

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© David Kitching 2017

Last updated 5.2.2017