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Shropshire Dragonfly Watch BlogKeeping an eye on the dragonflies flying in Shropshire

Common Darter male

The purpose of this blog is to keep dragonfly enthusiasts up to date with dragonfly activity throughout the season. This way we should all know first hand what’s on the wing in Shropshire.

 

All are very welcome to be part of this seasonal diary. Get in touch via the  contact form with sightings and photographs so I can post them on the blog. Even if you’re new to dragonflies and not sure what you have photographed please send it in and get involved in the 2026 Shropshire Dragonfly Watch.

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Willow Emerald at Discovery Centre…

Laura and Kat Edwards-White have recorded 2 pairs of Willow Emeralds incop at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre- 1 pair on each of the 2 main ponds. This is great news as Willow Emeralds were seen…
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August 27, 2026
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Close up on Common Hawker…

Harry Beaman has sent in this fabulous close up of a male Common Hawker illustrating a number of helpful diagnostic features; yellow narrow antehumeral stripes, a yellow costa, yellow thoracic side stripes, a broad contact…
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August 20, 2026
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Keeled Skimmer sightings at last…

Incredibly Jan Shields ventured out last Thursday in the unbelievable heat to Cramer Gutter where she managed to record our first and only Keeled Skimmer sightings so far for this year. The female is beautifully…
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August 17, 2026
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Watch out for Willow Emerald…

I was checking a private pool near Habberley yesterday and was very surprised to see this male Willow Emerald Damselfly. Apologies for the photos, but you can see the length of abdomen which was really…
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August 10, 2026
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Hawking over puddles…

Mark Underwood has been monitoring Pole Cottage Pools on the Longmynd and reporting there are barely any pools left at all. Despite a largely dried out habitat there were still a few individuals hawking over…
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August 4, 2026
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Declining species to look out for…

Dry weather continues and waterbodies are drying up which is not great news for some of our declining species. Fortunately there is still water in Wildmoor Pool on the Longmynd where Ivan Grove saw this…
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July 31, 2026
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A good year for Small Red-eyed Damselflies…

Tom Lowe has visited Oss Mere just NE of Whitchurch and seen a good number of Small Red-eyed Damselflies. This delicate insect (left) has more striking bright red eyes and more blue extending in towards…
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July 23, 2026
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Migrant Hawker on the wing…

The first record of Migrant Hawker has come in from Selattyn near Oswestry. I would post the photo but sadly I cannot contact the recorder as the record has come in via iNat. Instead I've…
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July 20, 2026
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Activity at Attingham…

Jan Shields has sent in some lovely photos taken on a dragonfly course at Attingham Park yesterday. We saw numerous Ruddy Darter (left) and surprisingly only 1 Common Darter (below left). Emperors seemed to be…
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July 17, 2026
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Harassment in the heat!

Stephen Barlow has sent in this fascinating sequence of photos showing a male Black-tailed Skimmer harassing a female Brown Hawker looking to oviposit. Taken up at Marbury Big Mere, but such interesting photos had to…
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July 17, 2026
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Look out for hawkers in tandem…

Stephen Barlow has sent in this great photo of Lesser Emperors ovipositing. It was taken in Cheshire on Marbury Big Mere, but definitely worth posting on the Shropshire blog as this behaviour of ovipositing in…
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July 14, 2026
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Darter dilemmas…

Now we have 3 species of red coloured male darters on the wing I thought I'd take a closer look at the 2 you're more likely to see. Stephen Barlow has sent in this photo…
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July 13, 2026
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Bumble bee for lunch…

Mark Underwood has sent in these great photos from the Long Mynd. Firstly a female Golden-ringed Dragonfly enjoying a light lunch and below a lovely inflight Emperor Dragonfly and a female ovipositing. The Emperors were…
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July 10, 2026
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Red-veined Darter at Newton Mere!

Another day another Red-veined Darter! Harry Beaman recorded this fabulous male at Newton Mere yesterday (between The Mere at Ellesmere and Colemere). This is a textbook male with a single stripe on the side of…
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July 8, 2026
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Lesser Emperors in Shropshire!

It's all happening on the meres in Shropshire...Harry Beaman has seen around 15 (!) Norfolk Hawkers on Crosemere and 1 Lesser Emperor on 4th July. Lesser Emperor has only been recorded twice before in Shropshire…
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July 6, 2026
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Watch out for Lesser Emperors!

Stephen Barlow has sent in this stunning inflight photo of Lesser Emperor seen just north of the Shropshire border at Marbury Big Mere last Friday. John Roberts the Cheshire County Dragonfly Recorder informs me that…
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June 28, 2026
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Take care in torrid times…

Philip Bradley has sent in this beautiful tranquil scene of a female Emperor ovipositing near Pontesbury. If you look carefully at the lower left wing however you'll see the signs of wear and tear as…
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June 23, 2026
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Just to complete the picture…

Having posted a female Emerald Damselfly yesterday, Stephen Barlow has kindly sent a photo of an immature male also seen at Whixall Moss. This illustrates how similar immature males are to the females. You can…
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June 16, 2026

Species recorded in 2026…

Large Red Damselfly

13th April

Blue-tailed Damselfly

23rd April

White-faced Darter

24th April

Beautiful Demoiselle

25th April

Azure Damselfly

27th April

Common Blue Damselfly

29th April

Broad-bodied Chaser

30th April

Four-spotted Chaser

2nd May

Hairy Dragonfly

4th May

Common Clubtail

5th May

Banded Demoiselle

6th May

White-legged Damselfly

10th May

Red-eyed Damselfly

20th May

Emperor Dragonfly

24th May

Black-tailed Skimmer

29th May

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

5th June

Scarce Chaser

8th June

Emerald Damselfly

12th June

Ruddy Darter

14th June

Norfolk Hawker

18th June

Southern Hawker

18th June

Brown Hawker

20th June

Common Darter

21st June

Willow Emerald

21st June

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

29th June

Black Darter

29th June

Lesser Emperor

4th July

Red-veined Darter

6th July

Migrant Hawker

19th July

Keeled Skimmer

13th August

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