Oxon Odonata - Red-veined Darters!

It's the time of year when summery things such as Odonata and Orchids come to the fore in my forays into nature. Fortunately there is some good Odo habo close to home so I've been visiting the Trap Grounds on my local patch to see what was about on the local pond. So far Hairy Dragonfly has been the best find there this year. I also went on my annual visit to nearby Duke's Lock Pond. This is a known site for Variable Damselfly which is quite scarce in the county with just a couple of reliable sites for them. I chose a good day to visit as not only were there a few of my target Damselfly about but also there was lots of other species about. On the Damselfly front I found Large Red, Common Blue and Azure, all in modest numbers. On the main pond itself, views were very restricted due to the overgrown bankside vegetation. However I managed to spot a Hairy Hawker, a couple of Downy Emeralds, an Emperor, a Broad-bodied Chaser and a Black-tailed Skimmer. However, the most interesting sighting was a brief view of a "red" Darter species. I saw it only for a matter of a second or two but clearly enough to notice the relative straight, non-waisted red abdomen. So "not a Ruddy Darter" was my initial through given the abdomen shape. However, I also saw some red in the wings. Given the time of year, what I had seen and the weather conditions with a sweltering hot plume of southern air over the country, Red-veined Darter had to be a reasonable shout. The only problem was that the views has been so brief. For what would be an Odonata rarity, I really wanted something more concrete. I put the news out as a "possible" and left it at that. A couple of other enthusiasts paid visits over the next few days but without success. One that got away, seemingly.

Azure Damselfly

Common Blue Damselfly

Variable Damselfly

Two days later I was away up in Yorkshire doing some orchiding (that's for another post) when GB managed to find three definite Red-veined Darters on a quarry pit in the north of the county near Banbury. What's more he had the photographic proof that I had been lacking which even included an ovipositing pair. With very hot weather down in Oxon that day it was ideal conditions for dragonflies though, frustratingly, I wasn't going to be back home until after 7pm which would be too late to try to twitch them. Sadly, the weather forecast was much more unsettled for the following days. "Had I missed them?" I fretted.

The next morning I was in two minds about even trying for them given the "overcast with sunny intervals" forecast. However, a message exchange with our esteemed county recorder where he mentioned that while out surveying he'd already seen lots of Odo's was enough to push me to have a go for them. So in the end I set off for Wroxton Quarry sometime after 9am, arriving at around 10am. There I found GB himself and a few other enthusiasts. Initially there was no Odonata activity and a stiff breeze started to make me think it was going to be a wasted trip. However, after a while the sun came out enough to warm things up for things to start flying and we soon spotted the first Black-tailed Skimmer and then a red Darter species. We spent quite a bit of time between us trying to make out diagnostic features in flight and at a distance, either visually or photographically, before we all agreed that they were indeed Red-veined Darters. In the end we saw up to three of them which was great count though no ovipositing couples today. 

Red-veined Darter, above, courtesy of Ian Lewington, below courtesy of Gareth Cashburn

I stayed long enough for IL to arrive and see them and then decided to head back home again. In a contented frame of mind, I chose the scenic route home along the back country roads and through pretty Oxfordshire villages. This was a lovely county tick and a nice revenge for dipping one at Radley Lakes quite a few years ago. I imagine that they will become increasingly common in the county as global warming continues to do its thing.