Barlow Dragonflies

Barlow Fish Ponds are just a few miles away from home, and are a good place to see a few damsel and dragonflies. I spent a couple of hours there on Wednesday afternoon, and recorded Banded Demoiselle, Brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer and Common and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

The Banded Demoiselles (4+), were all males, and were mainly seen around the first two ponds. As far as I know, they are relatively scarce in Derbyshire. This is my first record at this site, and only my second in Derbyshire.  

Banded Demoiselle 

Brown Hawkers, on the other hand, are a lot more common, and I saw at least 6 females ovipositing around the site, along with several males perched up.

Brown Hawker ovipositing

Black-tailed Skimmer is a species that prefers to spend most of its time resting on the ground, and the male that I saw was doing just that.

Black-tailed Skimmer

Common and Blue-tailed Damselflies were also seen during this visit, with many pairs "in tandem" and ovipositing.

Blue-tailed Damselflies "in tandem"

Common Blue Damselflies "in tandem"

More information about all these species can be found on the British Dragonfly Society's website here.