An Early Autumn

After a lacklustre summer, it seemed Autumn was all too eager to get started and arrived right on cue. Even as the calendar clocked over into September, the temperatures fell and clouds and stormy rain appeared. But as always September also brought some bright mild sunny days later on in the month to enjoy.

One of my favourite things about this time of year is watching late Common and Ruddy darter dragonflies doing aerial battle and, once paired up, ovipositing over the pond backlit by that soft, hazy golden autumnal sunshine filled with gossamer spider parachutes. This year was no exception and it seems too that the early spring pond work finally bore fruit as at long last I spotted a Southern Hawker female ovipositing amongst the bulrush roots.

Dragonflies are supremely resilielnt and one of nature’s evolutionary survivors. However uncertain and chaotic things may seem, I find it somehow reassuring to observe dragonflies knowing that they have been on this planet for over 300 million years, predating both dinosaurs and birds, and have survived millenia of change.

Common Darter dragonfly stretching out in the autumn sunshine perched on flowering Purple loosestrife

A female Southern Hawker dragonfly ovipositing amongst Bulrush roots, hopefully a seal of approval for the spring declutter work

Ruddy Darter dragonfly basking on a reed

The Dragonflies Return

One of my biggest concerns last summer was the reduced diversity in the dragonflies visiting our pond, due I suspected to “ecological succession”. Over time ponds naturally fill in and the water becomes more acidic from leaves and organic material. This changes the nature of the habitat and correspondingly, of its inhabitants.

After eight years of benign neglect, our pond plants and marginals had established and flourished so well that there wasn’t a drop of open water left on the surface of our pond. I’d read that certain dragonfly species, particularly larger species like Hawkers require this in order to breed.

True enough, last year we didnt see a single Hawker dragonfly, nor did we see Ruddy Darters and even our usually reliable Broad-bodied Chasers and Four-spotted Chasers didn’t linger. So over winter we prioritised a big clear out in order to create an area of clear water again, although we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to remove our Water-lily root Island.

The long cold spring seemed to delay dragonfly emergences so I was on tenterhooks and initially very uncertain whether our intervention was having a positive or negative effect in drawing in dragonflies. Thankfully the pond seemed to burst into life in our sunny mid June spell. Both Broad-bodied Chasers and numerous Four-spotted Chasers arrived in style, displaying their usual spectacular aeriel battle for territorial hegemony.

To top it off, just a few days ago I was delighted when I saw both Large-Red damselflies mating again and then this Emperor dragonfly ovipositing. This latter species in particular, not seen since our very first season and known for its preference for young very open ponds, seemed a promising sign. Sadly there are still no Hawkers about, but overall, it seems our local Odonata have given our major spring clean a seal of approval, which will hopefully bear more fruit in two year’s time with further new emergences.

You can read a short history of the dragonfly and damselfly colonisation of our new wildlife pond in this blog post . My last new species, a damselfly, arrived the following summer (July 2019) to make ten Odonata species in total. Not bad going for a garden pond!

*An Emperor dragonfly (blue form) ovipositing next to the recreated open water in our rejuvenated pond.*

*The Large Red damselfly, an early species, paired wtih an ovipositing female in our mature wildlife pond.*

Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly perched on an old Reedmace stem, they seem to have colonised well.

Azure Blue damselfly, perched on Lesser Bird’s Foot Trefoil. They are our most numerous damselfly.

In Search of Autumn...

Our mellow autumnal weather seems to be both treating and playing tricks on us this year.

As mid October arrived I started to search for turning leaves and classic signs of Autumn, but in vain. With such mild temperatures, the trees have determinedly held on to their cloaks of green as long as possible to maximise their intake of food.

A Stroll in Blickling Estate at the start of half term week yielded some fallen leaves but the canopy was disappointingly still richly decked in a gown of glorious green, with only the occasional tree starting to offer up a hint of gold at the very top of their crowns.

At last on a visit to Wells-Next-The-Sea at the end of the week, the mood had started to shift and begun to evoke a more autumnal tone. A gorgeously mild day, I watched several Red Admirals dancing brightly in the deceptively warm golden rays of the afternoon sun, but at last, I finally saw my first fully golden-gowned birch tree!

Meanwhile, further along the pathway, a suitably russet-hued Common Darter dragonfly cast a long shadow as it perched on a fallen pine introducing rich red umber tones to the Autumnal palette.

Phew! - our tardy Lady Autumn really has finally arrived with her gown of gold, just in time for the clocks to go back.

A red Common Darter dragonfly enjoying late October sunshine on a fallen pine tree

A still green canopy at Blickling Estate

A birch tree dressed in full golden regalia

There's No Place Like Home

I'm not ranging far at all, but sometimes you don't need to. This lovely female common darter from our wildlife pond posed beautifully on the lavender border next to my patio, right outside my living room french doors!

Common Darter dragonfly perched on English Lavender.jpg

Broad-bodied is beautiful...

Meanwhile our faithful Broad-bodied Chaser dragonflies, Libellula depressa, have returned for another season. This yellow coloured female has been busy making herself at home amongst our new, wildlife-friendly winter meadow Campion flowers in the sunny, sheltered west-facing Old Rose Garden…

Female Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, Libella depressa, perched on Campion in our winter meadow. Immature males are a similar colour — Female Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, *Libella depressa,* perched on Campion in our winter meadow. Immature males are a similar colour

Broad-bodied Chasers were the very first dragonfly to show up, arriving in the first week of June 2014, our ponds first season. According to the British Dragonfly Society and Brook’s fieldguide they are an early species that prefer shallow sunny ponds and lake margins. Broad-bodied Chasers are common and widespread across Britain, although they have become less common in Fenland districts owing to the loss of farm ponds. The species becomes less abundant in ponds in late successional stages, but can be encouraged back by clearing marking vegetation.

The wide dusky blue abdomen of the male is unmistakeable. Both immature males and females are yellow and black and look a little like Four-spotted chales but lack the additional dark spots.

In the immature stage Broad-bodied Chasers may wander widely and can be found among hedgerows. Once adults sucessfully mate at a site the male will adopt and guard the pond as his territory, only moving on if he runs out of luck. They certainly proved very obliging to photograph to as they perch frequently in between laps of the pond, returning to the same stem each time to look out for rivals and females. When in residence they’re highly territorial on their short patrols, I even observed one successfully see off a larger passing Southern Hawker dragonfly.

Male Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, Libellula depressa, the very first species to arrive and colonise our wildlife pond. — Male Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, *Libellula depressa,* the very first species to arrive and colonise our wildlife pond.

A female Broad-bodied Chaser ovipositing in the clear water of our wildlife pond in early June 2014

Four-spotted Chaser Dragonfly

In between the summer storms we've been having I made a quick dash over the the Norfolk Broads in my first attempt to see a Swallowtail butterfly. I had no joy on the lepidoptera front, but did get to see my first ever Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly, Libella quadrimaculata, which was busy egg-laying in a pool.

According to the British Dragonfly Society, Four-spotted Chasers prefer shallower bodies of water with good emergent vegetation and areas of clear water and are widespread across the UK. Named after the striking dark spots half way along its wings, there is a rare form called prenubia that has an additional dark mark on the end of the wings. Both males and females have a similar appearance and their dark appearance makes them well-suited to Britains cooler climate. On the continent the species is cyclically migratory and occasionally vast swarms can be seen, while this is very rare in the UK, the species is a wanderer which has no doubt aided its distribution.

Kiri

Photo Blog