In recent talks about dragonflies I’ve mentioned the possibility of Norfolk Hawker turning up and incredibly it has! I was surveying a privately owned site Isle Pool and saw a male and a separate mating pair. So 3 in total! To the best of my knowledge this is a Shropshire first which is superb! I can only apologise for my lack of photography skills, but even with these photos you can see the green eyes, clear wings and the yellow triangular mark on segment 2 of the abdomen. To my knowledge no Brown Hawkers have been recorded in Shropshire yet this year and Norfolk Hawker does have an earlier flight season, so if you see anything brown in the coming weeks give it a really good check if you get the chance. Also be aware that this species is currently legally protected in the UK and as such should not be handled or netted. And I repeat Isle Pool is private.
Keep me posted…
