Aurantiaca phase Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly

Aurantiaca phase female Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly (c) P. Grennard

Paul Grennard visited the Baglan Industrial Area (as described below) today, and found this very nice aurantica phase Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly. The bright orange colouration indicating it's an immature female.

Paul also called into the Neath Canal at Penrhiwtyn and found 3 male Red-eyed Damselfly in flight there.

Neath Canal at Penrhiwtyn

female Hairy Dragonfly

I returned to the Neath Canal in the Penrhiwtyn area yesterday to check on Dragonfly numbers and found there to be a drastic decrease from the numbers taken on 2 previous visits (before the stormy weather). I also checked the Square Pond. The Water Lilly clusters on the Square Pond are quite extensive in some parts but the Damselfly numbers were quite low :-

2 Red-eyed Damselfly, 20 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 4 Azure Damselfly and 2 Common Blue Damselfly. No dragonflies noted here.

At the Neath Canal it is clear that the Water Lilly surface cover has in the large part been removed, although plenty still coming up and on the fringes. However, Damselfly numbers were surprisingly low, on what was a hot afternoon.

1 Red-eyed Damselfly, 4 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 3 Common Blue-Damselfly and 12 Hairy Dragonfly. Away from the main bodies of water a female Hairy Dragonfly (above), Variable Damselfly (1) and Azure Damselfly(12)

Golden-ringed Dragonfly above Cwmavon

female Golden-ringed Dragonfly

An early morning visit with MSC student James Owen to look for Chats in the vicinity of Foel Fynyddau produced a female Golden-ringed Dragonfly. James found this fresh, and rather wet, individual clinging to Gorse where it remained completely immobile.

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly at Baglan Industrial Estate

male Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly

Today, at the old Panasonic site (SS749915), there were very good numbers of Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly on the wing. Mostly males but also some tandem pairs. There was also a significant emergence of Common Darters. Other species were less common but this site has a lot of potential!

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly(50+), Blue-tailed Damselfly(9), Azure Damselfly(1), Four-spotted Chaser(2), Broad-bodied Chaser(1), Emperor Dragonfly(1) and Common Darter(50+)

teneral male Common Darter

Beautiful Demoiselle at Tonna lock

female Beautiful Demoiselle

A visit to the Neath Canal on 17/6/12 produced 2 Beautiful Demoiselle, a male and a female. Starting off at Tonna lock (SS773993) and walking to Clyne produced decent numbers of Odonata on the wing with the vast majority of them situated around the lock including both Beautiful Demoiselle.

Beautiful Demoiselle (m+f), Large Red Damselfly(16), Azure Damselfly(100+), Blue-tailed Damselfly(7) and Common Blue Damselfly(1)

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly at Crymlyn Burrows

male Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly

I was quite surprised to find this male Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly at Crymlyn Burrows, today. It was found in flight around a small pool which is located at the boundary with Earlswood Golf Course (SS72359327). I tend to associate this species with more upland habitats, but the pool itself looks perfect for them. One interesting thing is that this pond floods on the very high tides and therefore the water must experience temporary increase to it's salinity. I'm not sure whether that rules this pond out for possible long term presence by Scarce Blue-tails and this male was the only one observed to be present today? However, the weather was very changeable with only brief periods of sunshine and my visit occurred briefly before midday. Better conditions may well produce better numbers?