Singapore has a reputation for being a good place to hunt Odonata. Being almost bang on the equator, my original suspicions were that Singapore would have an active population of dragonflies year-round but I checked first with a very accommodating called Anthony Quek, who writes a dragonfly and damselfly blog in Singapore. Anthony confirmed my suspicion about the year-round season and even offered to meet us and introduce us to his favourite Singapore location, the Lornie Trail and Sime Track. Sure enough we met and his favourite location was stunning producing 23 species in about three hours. We owe huge thanks to Anthony and are very grateful for his time, effort and assistance. Marvelous!

Heading into a territory inhabited by utterly unfamiliar species, prior to leaving for Singapore we managed to arm ourselves with three books that varied in degrees of usefulness.

1. Our first purchase was Dragonflies of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by A. G. Orr. The drawings/paintings are nowhere near as detailed as those of the stunning Mr. Richard Lewington but It was somewhat useful. It is seriously let down, IMHO, by there being nothing in the way of an index. The species covered do not even seem to be in any recognizable sequence within family group (e.g. Libellulidae). Not all species show both male and female, either, which I found awkward. So, a portable, somewhat handy pocket/field guide but not stunning.
2. Carol’s cousin acquired for us a copy of Dragonflies of our Parks and Gardens by Robin Ngiam, which is published by the National Parks Board of Singapore. This was more about the locations in which to go finding dragonflies than about the dragonflies themselves and, as such, it proved indispensable in coming up with a hit list of parks/gardens and nature reserves. It also comes equipped with an excellent separate reference card showing the 44 most common species of Odosto be found in Singapore. Very useful! A huge thank you to David, Carol’s cousin, for getting us a copy.
3. Since this was really also a 60th birthday trip, our dear friend Rosemary somehow tracked down and made a present of a copy of the book that I really, desperately wanted: A Photographic Guide to the Dragonflies of Singapore by Tang Hun Bun, Wang Luan Ken and Matti Hämäläinen. This is an excellent publication, despite the slight (debated?) limitations of its being a photographic guide; it proved indispensable and got so well used that it is showing signs of wear already. Wonderful! A huge thank you to Rosemary and her sleuthing abilities. [It isn’t available on Amazon.]

Some people wondered what we’d do for amusement in Singapore for a week and a half. I have to say that we didn’t make it round our hit list of locations but we still notched up 38 species, I think. For a dragonfly hunter, the place is stunning. We may just have to go back though, next time, I’d give more time to the wilder Nature Reserves than to the more manicured parks and gardens, though they are certainly worthy of visits. The Singapore Botanic Gardens I found to be particularly good.

Not all the locations we explored were from the book, David introduced us to one and we decided to visit another likely-looking spot, but here’s a run down of what we found where. There’s Google map to pinpoint the precise locations.

Singapore Botanic Gardens: 19 & 27-Feb-2013

Possible the best known haunt for dragonfly enthusiasts in Singapore and relatively easy to get to, though hit will be easier when its MRT [Mass Rapid Transit) station opens. David also knew it and offered to show us around on our first full day in Singapore so, the Botanic Gardens it was. For this first visit, we concentrated on the so-called “central core”, spending some time investigating Symphony Lake together with the small pond in the Ginger Garden. With every character being unfamiliar and new to us, it was hard for me to contain myself – I was like a pig in s**t and just couldn’t get enough of it. I was immediately blown away by one of the most colourful, yet apparently commonest dragonflies in Singapore, the Common Parasol (Neurothemis fluctuans). What a delight these creatures are. We also snagged a species which was not logged as being at SBG, the Scarlet Grenadier (Lathrecista asiatica), but I’m confident about my identification – the list of species was published in 2010, after all.

Later in our trip, after Cambodia, we made a second visit. Carol was interested in getting into teh Orchid Garden and I was interested to investigate Swan Lake, as well as spinning around the excellent Symphony Lake again. It’s a good job I did because, with a lot of patence and a little luck, I snagged a half-way reasonable flight shot of the photographically elusive Banded Skimmer (Pseudohemis jorina). We’d seen fleeting glimpses of these distinctively marked characters whizzing past but they don’t settle much.

SBG turned out to be our second most productive spot with 16 species:

• Agricnemis femina (Variable Wisp)
• Ceriagrion cerinorubellum (Ornate Coraltail)
• Pseudagrion microcephalum (Blue Sprite)
• Ictinogomphus decoratus (Common Flangetail)
• Agrionoptera insignis (Grenadier)
• Brachydiplax chalybea (Blue Dasher)
• Crocothemis servilia (Common Scarlet/Oriental Scarlet)
• Lathrecista asiatica (Scarlet Grenadier)
• Neurothemis fluctuans (Common Parasol)
• Orthetrum chrysis (Spine-tufted Skimmer)
• Orthetrum sabina (Variegated Green Skimmer/Slender Skimmer)
• Orthetrum testaceum (Scarlet Skimmer)
• Pseudothemis jorina (Banded Skimmer)
• Rhodothemis rufa (Common Redbolt)
• Rhyothemis phyllis (Yellow-barred Flutterer)
• Trithemis aurora (Crimson Dropwing)

Kent Ridge Park: 20-Feb-2013

The National Parks publication lists three places in some detail where 30+ have been recorded. One of these is the Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG – above) and another is Kent Ridge Park (KRP), which is where we headed next. While SBG is quite formally planed and manicured, KRP sports a couple of water bodies, one larger and one quite small, that are more natural, wilder and rougher, in appearance. It was also very quiet, unlike SBG – we saw but three or four other people while we were there. It was most notable for two sightings: Carol managed to spot the absolutely diminutive damselfly, the Variable Wisp (Agriocnmemis femina), for the first time and we got our first sighting of some Yellow-barred Flutterers (Rhyothemis phyllis) which posed, albeit not very favourably.

Nowhere near the claimed 30+ species, this is what we saw:

• Agricnemis femina (Variable Wisp)
• Pseudagrion microcephalum (Blue Sprite)
• Agrionoptera insignis (Grenadier)
• Brachydiplax chalybea (Blue Dasher)
• Crocothemis servilia (Common Scarlet/Oriental Scarlet)
• Lathrecista asiatica (Scarlet Grenadier)
• Neurothemis fluctuans (Common Parasol)
• Pseudothemis jorina (Banded Skimmer)
• Rhodothemis rufa (Common Redbolt)
• Rhyothemis phyllis (Yellow-barred Flutterer)

Bishan Park: 25-Feb-2013

Bishan Park is a sizeable green space in the middle of a very built up area. Its most notable feature is a drainage canal, acting as a flood defence, which has been magically transformed from a sterile, straight concrete canal into a meandering river-like waterway with grassy banks and emergent vegetation. The transformation is very recent (~1 year ago) but it’s working: we found Crimson Dropwings (Trithemis aurora) along its banks. In addition to this newer habitat, there are a couple of lakes, one of which, the lotus pond, has quite a reputation for supporting Odos.

Given its apparent reputation, I have to say that Bishan Park was something of a disappointment to me. The National Parks publication features it as one of those places with 30+ species but we began by having trouble finding very much moving at all. Even the benches were occupied by snoozing representatives of the Indian subcontinent. At the reasonably highly rated lotus pond, we saw very little. Things improved slightly as we made our way back towards the local MRT station, though, and we snagged our first Singaporean Common Bluetail (Ischnura senegalensis). There was also a very nice maturing male Crimson Dropwing (Trithemis aurora) with it’s adult colour beginning to develop.

Our total of eight species here didn’t seem very impressive given the site’s published  reputation.

• Agricnemis femina (Variable Wisp)
• Ischnura senegalensis (Common Bluetail)
• Pseudagrion microcephalum (Blue Sprite)
• Brachydiplax chalybea (Blue Dasher)
• Diplacodes trivialis (Blue Percher)
• Neurothemis fluctuans (Common Parasol)
• Rhodothemis rufa (Common Redbolt)
• Trithemis aurora (Crimson Dropwing)

Johore Battery, Changi (Monster Gun): 26-Feb-2013

This was an intriguing, different habitat that our host David introduced us to. During the Second World War, there were some large guns, tagged Monster Guns, facing seaward to defend against Japanese invasion. They proved a little ineffective since the sneaky Japanese attacked from behind down the Malaysian peninsular. The guns were fed with ammunition from an underground bunker. At the Johore battery, the bunker’s system of corridors is now mapped out on the surface by a series of matching concrete channels. During Singapore’s reasonably frequent tropical downpours, these channels trap water and this is the habitat that seems to be supporting populations of at least six species of dragonfly.

This is where we snagged our best shots of the delightfully named and shaped Trumpet Tail (Acisoma panorpoides).

• Acisoma panorpoides (Trumpet Tail)
• Crocothemis servilia (Common Scarlet/Oriental Scarlet)
• Diplacodes trivialis (Blue Percher)
• Neurothemis fluctuans (Common Parasol)
• Orthetrum sabina (Variegated Green Skimmer/Slender Skimmer)
• Trithemis aurora (Crimson Dropwing)

(Frankly, I found six species on this pocket-handkerchief sized piece of rough ground considerably more impressive than the eight we managed at Bishan Park. Of course, that could have been our fault.)

Lornie Trail/Sime Track: 28-Feb-2013

This was the jewel in our SE Asian crown, though we did have a lot of local help in the form of the very accommodating Anthony Quek. Lornie Trail is on the southern side of the MacRitchie Reservoir in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. It features in the National Parks book and it was on my hit list. However, left to my own devices I would almost certainly have stuck to the board walk along the southern edge of the reservoir and seen relatively little. Anthony led us along a rough track, skirted a fancy golf course on our left with a good water body to our right, then into a forest area called Sime Track. It was in the forested area of Sime Track that we encountered several very different forest species of Odonata, the kind of species we just don’t support in Europe (to my knowledge, that is).

Even the open area we examined beside the golf course was producing some very new species for us and we ended up netting 23 in just a few hours. The star catch was probably this critically endangered Restless Demon (Indothemis limbata).

• Agriocnemis femina (Variable Wisp)
• Archibasis melanocyana (Blue-nosed Sprite)
• Ceriagrion cerinorubellum (Ornate Coraltail)
• Lestes praemorsus decipiens (Crenulated Spreadwing)
• Podolestes orientalis (Blue-spotted Flatwing)
• Pseudagrion australasiae (Look-alike Sprite))
• Pseudagrion microcephalum (Blue Sprite)
• Vestalis amethystina (Common Flashwing)
• Acisoma panorpoides (Trumpet Tail)
• Aethriamanta  gracilis (Pond Adjutant)
• Crocothemis servilia (Common Scarlet/Oriental Scarlet)
• Diplacodes nebulosa (Black-tipped Percher)
• Indothemis limbata (Restless Demon)
• Nesoxenia lineata (Striped Grenadier)
• Neurothemis fluctuans (Common Parasol)
• Orchithemis pulcherrima (Variable Sentinel)
• Orthetrum chrysis (Spine-tufted Skimmer)
• Orthetrum sabina (Variegated Green Skimmer/Slender Skimmer)
• Rhyothemis phyllis (Yellow-barred Flutterer)
• Rhyothemis triangularis (Sapphire Flutterer)
• Trithemis aurora (Crimson Dropwing)
• Trithemis pallidinervis(Dancing Dropwing)
• Tyriobapta torrida (Treehugger)

Exploring a small part of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve was great compared to the smaller and more manicured parks and gardens. On a return trip to Singapore, should one occur, this sort of wilder environment is certainly where I’d concentrate my efforts. There are several to choose from on Singapore island.

Marina Bay Gardens: 2-Mar-2013

On our last full day in Singapore, we wanted to do the classic touristy thing and go to Raffles Long Bar for a Singapore Sling. Just below the city and within easy reach, is another new development called the Gardens by the Bay at Marina Bay. This has some fresh water and a bridge over to it, optimistically called Dragonfly Bridge. We thought we’d go and investigate before hitting Raffles. As a useful way to occupy a part of a day, it was worth doing, though not stunning. We nabbed seven species, one of which was a difficult to identify oddity called the White-barred Duskhawk (Tholymis tillarga) which seems to hide up during the main daylight hours – one had invaded the house at which we stayed on our first evening. A second, which we couldn’t get on pixels ‘cos it never stopped flying but we fairly confident of, was the Saddlebag Glider (Tramea transmarina euryale).

• Ischnura senegalensis (Common Bluetail)
• Pseudagrion microcephalum (Blue Sprite)
• Crocothemis servilia (Common Scarlet/Oriental Scarlet)
• Diplacodes nebulosa (Black-tipped Percher)
• Diplacodes trivialis (Blue Percher)
• Neurothemis fluctuans (Common Parasol)
• Orthetrum sabina (Variegated Green Skimmer/Slender Skimmer)
• Tholymis tillarga (White-barred Duskhawk)
• Tramea transmarina euryale (Saddlebag Glider)

So, Marina Bay Gardens turned out to be as productive as Bishan Park, for us.

Below is a spreadsheet of the species we spotted by location.

At most of the following sites, we were not primarily hunting Odos so those we spotted were somewhat incidental. The exception was the Siem Reap River, which we set out to investigate, specifically with Odos in mind, on our last morning.

There’s Google map to pinpoint the following locations.

Sra Srang: 22-Feb-2013

At Sra Srang before entering Banteay Kdei temple, I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted am unknown dragonfly flitting about and perching. It turned out to be a Dancing Dropwing (Trithemis pallidinervis), which ended up being quite a common species. Beside the temple itself there was a small lake with were Common Amberwings (Brachythemis contaminata), though it took a few days to identify those. We also spotted a Common Scarlet (Crocothemis servilia), called Oriental Scarlet in the European theatre by Dijkstra/Lewington.

• Trithemis pallidnervis (Dancing Dropwing)
• Brachythemis contaminata (Common Amberwing)
• Crocothemis servilia (Common Scarlet/Oriental Scarlet)

Suddenly, a day of temples seemed more appealing.

Angkor Thom, Terrace of the Elephants: 22-Feb-2013

I’d lost track of how many temples we’d done by now. Though I couldn’t see a nearby body of water outside the Terrace of the Elephants, there were some Odos perching in the short grass in front of the stone-carved elephants. These, I would later discover, were again Common Amberwings (Brachythemis contaminata) which I believe are classed as groundlings. Zooming about and refusing to settle was also a moderate swarm of Yellow-banded Flutterers (Rhyothemis phyllis) and also, I fancy, what I later suspected to be a Variegated Flutterer (Rhyothemis variegata), though that must remain unconfirmed.

• Brachythemis contaminata (Common Amberwing)
• Rhyothemis phyllis (Yellow-barred Flutterer)

Angkor Thom, Phimeanakas Pool: 22-Feb-2013

This erstwhile swimming pool being used by a local for fishing, is now overgrown with plenty of emergent vegetation and here we were lucky enough to find a couple of Cambodian specialities (i.e. dragonflies that we couldn’t have seen in Singapore), two Neurothemis species: the Pied Percher (N. tullia) and Russet Percher/Fulvous Forest Skimmer (N. fulvia). Common Redbolts (Rhiodothemis rufa) were also present.

• Neurothemis tullia (Pied Percher)
• Neurothemis fulvia (Russet Percher/Fulvous Forest Skimmer)
• Rhodothemis rufa (Common Redbolt)

The delightfully black-marked Pied Percher definitely made the day. (They often/usually have a white band outboard of the black.)

Angkor Wat: 23-Feb-2013

We arrived at Angkor Wat at 5:30 AM, well before sunrise. Even before the sun had risen, I was very surprised to spot some red-bodied Odos zooming about just above the surface of the reflecting pool. I still don’t know what they were, unfortunately. After the obligatory sunrise photo shoot, we wandered around the temple itself and then I had a chance to re-examine the reflecting pool where, once again, the good old Common Amberwing (Brachythemis contaminata) put in several appearances, together with a Variegated Green Skimmer (Orthetrum sabina), called the Slender Skimmer in the European area by Dijkstra/Lewington.

• Brachythemis contaminata (Common Amberwing)
• Orthetrum sabina (Variegated Green Skimmer/Slender Skimmer)

Bakong: 24-Feb-2013

At this, my 10th temple in two days, being decidedly templed out and irresistibly drawn to the moat with critters flitting about, I elected to remain outside while Carol went into the temple with our guide. Good decision, this turned out to be the second most productive spot in our brief Cambodian tour and netted us not only our first sighting of a Trumpet Tail (Acisoma panorpoides) but also our only sighting of a Scarlet Basker (Urothemis signata).

• Acisoma panorpoides (Trumpet Tail)
• Aethriamanta aethra (Blue Adjutant)
• Diplacodes nebulosa (Black-tipped Percher)
• Rhodothemis rufa (Common Redbolt)
• Rhyothemis phyllis (Yellow-barred Flutterer)
• Urothemis signata (Scarlet Basker)

Suddenly, a day of temples seemed more appealing.

Siem Reap River: 25-Feb-2013

On our last day, with a couple of hours to kill before our flight back to Singapore, we went to investigate the river flowing through the middle of Siem Reap just at the end of the street in which our hotel stood. This was really our only specific Odo hunting time in Cambodia. And very productive it was, too, with 11 species being recorded, including our first glimpse of the impressive Common Flangetail (Ictinogomphus decoratus), still our sole non-Libellulid dragonfly of the SE Asia trip. My most thrilling highpoint, though, was a Yellow-barred Flutterer (Rhyothemis phyllis) which, for the first time, settled and posed very cooperatively.

• Agriocnemis femina (Variable Wisp)
• Ischnura senegalensis (Common Bluetail)
• Crocothemis servilia (Common Scarlet/Oriental Scarlet)
• Brachythemis contaminata (Common Amberwing)
• Diplacodes nebulosa (Black-tipped Percher)
• Diplacodes trivialis (Blue Percher)
• Ictinogomphus decoratus (Common Flangetail)
• Orthetrum sabina (Variegated Green Skimmer/Slender Skimmer)
• Rhyothemis phyllis (Yellow-barred Flutterer)
• Rhyothemis variegata (Variegated Flutterer)
• Trithemis pallidinervis (Dancing Dropwing)

I entered Cambodia with no real expectations of seeing much in the way of dragonflies and left a very contented camper.

Below is a spreadsheet of the species we spotted by location.

We arrived at 10:00 AM and made our way via Upper Pond and Middle Pond. I drew a blank at the former but almost immediately disturbed a mosaic hawker (unidentified) when I approached Middle Pond. Its presence, albeit fleeting, was something of a pleasant surprise. Shortly, I was really happy as I disturbed a male Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) that had been warming itself perched on some sunny fallen autumn leaves. It was still early and cool, though, and activity was low so I left them to warm up to operating temperature while we investigated the autumn colours.

I returned to Middle Pond at midday where activity still looked subdued – until the sun emerged. I counted at least 10 Common Darters including three tandem pairs ovipositing. I was happy enough with that for a late season day but really wondered about the hawker. I spent an hour watching the darters and was about to call it a day when a mosaic hawker flew by me. She soon alighted on a fallen tree trunk in the water and began ovipositing right in front of me. This behaviour was enough to suggest that she was a Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) and indeed, she was.

What an unexpected treat to witness the continuation of two species so late in the year.

• Aeshna cyanea (Southern Hawker)
• Sympetrum striolatum (Common Darter)

Normally, I would immediately follow the vernacular name with the binomial/trinomial name but the Highland Darter makes life potentially difficult since its relationships are debated. Dijkstra/Lewington refers to Highlands as Sympetrum (striolatum) nigrescens. Since the trip, I’ve been given a copy of a scientific paper which reported recent DNA studies, the results of which concluded that Highland Darters are really just dark forms of the Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum). Such a pity for an old romantic such as myself who would love it to have been at least a separate subspecies. To my eye – yes, I did find one, they look noticeably different from a “regular” Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) so, perhaps, something like Highland Darter (S. striolatum f. nigrescens) could be appropriate?

Our main target for the tour was the west coast of Scotland, specifically the Caravan Club site at Bunree, just north of Ballachulish. That’s too far to drag in one day so we paused near Carlisle at another CC site for four days on our way north. After Bunree we headed east to Edinburgh and the wedding followed by four more days in the north-east of England near Seahouses.

Though the weather remained appalling throughout our trip (only 1½ days with sun out of 19), a few suitable Odo-spotting opportunities en route were taken.

Haweswater RSPB Reserve: 31-Aug-2012

Having done the required touristy bit at Hadrian’s wall the previous day, we headed for this north-east edge of the English Lake District wondering if we might catch a site of England’s only resident Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). We didn’t. We did, however, spot a couple of dragonflies buzzing about in unpromising weather conditions. One posed sheltering in some long grass for our snappy camera. It was a female Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) and our first sighting of this species in the UK. No other suspects.

• Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea)

Campfield Marsh RSPB Reserve: 01-Sep-2012

A strong wind and overcast skies did not bode well as we headed for Campfield Marsh on the southern side of the Solway Firth. We tramped over half a mile in our Wellington boots (well done us for packing them) seeing nothing – well, a couple of swooping Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) preparing to run away to Africa, sensible things – before coming across a small pond with some action. Most of the action was sheltering from the wind but comprised:

• Common Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
• Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
• Black Darter (Sympetrum danae)
• Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

Walking further along a field edge and boardwalk produced more of the same until we finally turned back when two hawkers hung-up and presented themselves for portraits. The first was male Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) to go with our Lake District female from the previous day. Again, this was a first for us in this country. Finally, as we were almost back at the car, a male Southern Hawker posed slightly awkwardly, a little high up, in a hedgerow. So, add to the tally:

• Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea)
• Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)

Glenborrodale RSPB Reserve: 07-Sep-2012

Camped beside Loch Linnhe at Bunree on Scotland’s west coast, we suffered eight days of largely howling winds, driving rain and low clouds through which we saw neither the sun nor, even, the tops of the mountains. In a short morning of respite, we crossed to the opposite side of the loch and made for yet another RSPB reserve in search of my main quarry, the Highland Darter. We were about to give up as conditions deteriorated when I spotted movement. I snapped what looked very similar to a Female Black Darter (S. danae) but no, it was an actual female Highland Darter (S. striolatum  f. nigrescens).

This was the only warm body of the day; we did not, unfortunately, find a male to go with it. Oddly, nor did we spot any birds. Content, nonetheless!

• Highland Darter (Sympetrum striolatum f. nigrescens)

Tailend Moss NR: 11-Sep-2012

We stayed at yet another CC site in Edinburgh for our family wedding. Just outside Edinburgh to the west is Tailend Moss NR. After being rained off on our first attempt to visit, it began to look as if the same was happening to our second attempt but we drove through the rain. Quelle surprise! Parking wasn’t great, the car looking a little vulnerable in a gated offshoot to a main-ish road, but we eventually found the entrance and risked a visit. The sun was intermittent but at least there was some and we were soon closely examining Common Darters (Sympetrum striolatum) to make sure they weren’t Highlands – they shouldn’t have been over on the east – and chasing more Common Hawkers (Aeshna juncea).

The Common Hawkers proved most interesting in that we found two males, each with one half of an upper appendage missing. They were certainly two different individuals ‘cos the damage was to a different appendage, right in one case and left in the other. Curious! I wonder what is eating the tail-end of hawkers at Tailend Moss?

• Common Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
• Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea)
• Black Darter (Sympetrum danae)
• Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

Dunstanburgh Castle: 15-Sep-2012

On a regular touristy day gawping at a few castles on the north-east coast of England, we stumbled across an area of habitat just below the castle to the south and west. Not expecting much, we took a quick look and found:

• Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta)
• Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

Not that we’re stuck in a rut or anything, but we actually called in to Parc naturel régional de la Brenne twice during our 2012 spring trip to France. The first occasion was for a single night on our way south. Heading south. Our route from Luché-Pringé was going to be a slow cross-country tow before getting to a fast autoroute. Since the Étang de Bellebouche would provide a decent campsite close to said autoroute, we called in for just one night (30th May) to break the journey. The campsite pitches are not huge and the sanitary facilities are decidedly dated and tired but they’re adequate. Good decision since this stop provided my first sight of a Southern Emerald (Lestes barbarus).

We’d been trying to arrange a meeting with an e-friend who lives in France, a fellow Odonata enthusiast who runs nature trips in La Brenne. This we managed to do in the last week (2nd – 6th July) of our return journey when my e-friend met us for a day and showed us a few more useful locations in the park. Another good move since we found both an Orange-spotted Emerald (Oxygastra curtisii) and Yellow-spotted Emeralds (Somatochlora flavomaculata). This place is right up there in the most prolific sites list. Here’s a small map showing some of the locations.

A mere 60kms/40mls distant to the west lies the highly regarded (amongst Odonata fans) lies the Réserve Naturelle du Pinail or Pinail Trail in English. We called in once before in search of one its more unusual inhabitants but drew a blank. Well, actually we spotted one but not clearly, not for long and we certainly didn’t snap it. For ther sake of an hour’s drive each way, we went back again for a second try. This time we found our quarry, the Large White-faced Darter.Yellow-spotted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia pectoralis).

Parc naturel régional de la Brenne

Étang de Bellebouche (nord)

This is the area around the actual campsite beside the Étang de Bellebouche. The most prolific area are two small fishing lakes immediately behind the campsite rather than the very large étang itself.

• Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
• Southern Emerald Damselfly (Lestes barbarus) – new
• Small Emerald Damselfly (Lestes virens vestalis)
• Winter Damselfly (Sympecma fusca)
• Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
• Dainty Damselfly (Coenagrion scitulum)
• White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes)
• Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
• Common Clubtail (Gomphus vulgatissimus)
• Western Clubtail (Gomphus pulchellus)
• Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa)
• Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
• White-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum
• Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)
• Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
• Southern Darter (Sympetrum meridionale)
• Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea)

Étang de Bellebouche (sud)

• Southern Emerald Damselfly (Lestes barbarus)
• Small Emerald Damselfly (Lestes virens vestalis)
• Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
• Yellow-spotted Emerald (Somatochlora flavomaculata) – new
• Orange-spotted Emerald (Oxygastra curtisii) – new
• Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
• White-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum)
• Southern Darter (Sympetrum meridionale)

Étang de Cistude

• Southern Emerald Damselfly (Lestes barabarus)
• Small Emerald Damselfly (Lestes virens vestalis)
• Willow Emerald Damselfly (Lestes viridis)
• Winter Damselfly (Sympecma fusca)
• Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
• Dainty Damselfly (Coenagrion scitulum)
• Southern Darter (Sympetrum meridionale)

Terres de Picadon

A relatively new small but productive reserve in La Brenne with four of the Emerald Damselflies.

• Common Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
• Southern Emerald Damselfly (Lestes barabarus)
• Small Emerald Damselfly (Lestes virens vestalis)
• Willow Emerald Damselfly (Lestes viridis)
• Winter Damselfly (Sympecma fusca)
• Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
• Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
• Small Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma viridulum)
• Small Red Damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum)
• Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis) – new
• Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
• Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)
• Southern Darter (Sympetrum meridionale)
• Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea)

Maison du Parc @ Le Buchet

More Dainty Damselflies than you can point a camera at but otherwise unremarkable. A handy place for lunch, though, with a covered seating area, toilets and some excellent handmade ice cream.

• Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
• Dainty Damselfly (Coenagrion scitulum)
• Small Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma viridulum)
• Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)

Réserve Naturelle du Pinail

While visiting the Pinail Trail itself, we met a very friendly older French gentleman who was instructing a smaller boy who I presumed to be his grandson. They made a very enlightening sight. He advised us to visit another lake nearby. It wasn’t stunning on this occasion but I have included this “unnamed lake” for the sake of completeness.

Pinail Trail

• Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
• Common Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
• Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
• Small Red Damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum)
• Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
• Green-eyed Hooktail (Onychogomphus forcipatus)
• Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)
• Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
• Large White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia pectoralis)
• Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

(Unnamed) Lake

• Common Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
• Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
• Dainty Damselfly (Coenagrion scitulum)
• Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) 
• Green-eyed Hoktail (Onychogomphus forcipatus)

1. it’s interesting for Odonata and other insects;
2. it’s flat with good cycling routes;
3. we have some good friends living there.

When we stay there, we now stay at a small, basic but perfectly adequate campsite in Arçais, Camping de la Taillée, but there is a good alternative a few kilometres west at Damvix, which we used to use before our friends moved into Arçais full time. We spent a week there this trip which followed the year’s pattern by being uncharacteristically disturbed on the meteorological front. In common with there being fewer Odos at Fanjeaux this year, there seemed to be noticeably fewer here. I’m sure some of the reduction was generic and down to the appalling northern European spring weather.

A determined day trip away on the Île d’Oléron, I had been told of colonies of the rare Dark Spreadwing (Lestes macrostigma). Given half a chance, hunting for them was an irresistible draw so, on the one very good day we had, when temperatures hit 34°C/93°F, that’s where we headed. The information I’d been sent proved both accurate and reliable and we found them with no trouble and what a great sight they were. It’s always special to see a new species but, when that species is rather rare, it’s particularly exciting. As an unexpected bonus, we spotted our first Scarce Emeralds/Robust Spreadwings (Lestes dryas), too. Excellent!

Here’s a small spreadsheet of the species we found while based at Arçais.

What a draw! We called in for our first exploratory visit on our meandering way back north from the Languedoc to visit friends in the Marais Poitevin. We stayed at a campsite that turned out to be literally 200m/yds away from the car park for les tourbières. Since we were outside of the main tourist season, it was relaxingly quiet. There appeared to be a few long-term installations but those units turned out to be unoccupied. With the added advantage that the couple running the place were delightful, finding a pleasant campsite so conveniently situated to our target habitat was bliss.

We were at Vendoire for only two days and, given the weather we had been experiencing, I couldn’t believe our luck; the weekend was perfect for Odos and me. The nature reserve is a series of some ten or so now flooded pits, bordered on the west and east by two modestly sized rivers. The mix of habitat types provided by the ponds/lakes is quite varied. These, together with the two rivers, offer a grand variety of conditions for the Odos. Hence, presumably, the boast of 40+ species. Actually, the couple running the campsite mentioned a number more like 50 species.

Weather-wise we really lucked out, the weekend weather being gloriously sunny so conditions were perfect both for Odos and for me. Given the weather we had been experiencing of late, I was very pleasantly surprised. In a short visit amounting to a day plus two hours, we amassed a count of 28 species, one of which remains uncertain because it refused steadfastly to settle for a positive id. In any event, the weather certainly showed off this place to very good advantage. I loved it, it’s brilliant!

Here’s what we spotted.

Damselflies

• Banded Demoiselle
• Beautiful Demoiselle
• Willow Emerald
• Winter Damselfly
• Blue-tailed Damselfly
• Common Blue Damselfly
• Azure Damselfly
• Large Red-eyed Damselfly
• Small Red-eyed Damselfly
• Goblet-marked Damselfly
• Large Red Damselfly
• White-legged Damselfly
• Orange White-legged Damselfly

Dragonflies

• Emperor Dragonfly
• Lesser Emperor
• Yellow Clubtail
• Green-eyed Hooktail
• Yellow-spotted Emerald [this was the uncooperative best guess]
• Four-spotted Chaser
• Broad-bodied Chaser
• Scarce Chaser
• Black-tailed Skimmer
• White-tailed Skimmer
• Southern Skimmer
• Ruddy Darter
• Common Darter
• Southern Darter
• Scarlet Darter

Technorati Tags: travel,France,Vendoire,nature,wildlife,dragonflies,damselflies,odonata,photography

• Mirepoix: River Hers
• Lac de Montréal
• Lac de Montbel (north-east end)
• Argens-Minervois: Canal du Midi

Fanjeaux: Les Brugues

As delightful as the campsite at Fanjeaux remains, all is not now rosy in the garden from a dragonfly fan’s viewpoint. In 2011 Luc made an arrangement (which I assume to be financial) allowing an intensive farmer of Koi Carp to use his lake. In addition to several thousand young Koi Carp, dozens of immense Grass Carp, each roughly the size of a nuclear submarine, were introduced “to control the vegetation”. The result has been the apparent complete removal of any floating vegetation, adversely affecting oviposition, certainly of the damselflies but also of Emperor Dragonflies. Added to this, any eggs which are successfully laid are in very real danger of predation by the several thousand voracious mouths of the growing  Koi Carp. To cut a long story short, in my observation this has decimated the Odonata population of the lake. Numbers of individuals are severely reduced and, indeed, I believe four species – those which are dependent upon floating vegetation – have been eradicated. Whilst I am personally greatly saddened by this loss of an erstwhile superb habitat, I am interested in returning to monitor developments. Besides, it’s still the best campsite in France.

Mirepoix: River Hers

Mirepoix is a delightful bastide town from a tourist point of view, anyway, but now we’ve discovered an odonatology attraction. On the north side of town flows the Hers river which provided a satisfying haul of dragons, on a first visit. In addition to the river banks, there was a “flush” caused by a less than attractive drainage pipe. Though the pipe itself may have been unappealing to humans, its trickle of water into suitable vegetation attracted a couple of flush-loving species, Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) and Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale). Indeed, this gave us our best shot yet of a female Keeled Skimmer.

Along the banks of the river itself, the main characters of interest were Common Clubtail (Gomphus vulgatissimus) and a particularly cooperative copulaing pair of Western Demoiselle (Calopteryx xanthostoma).

Lac de Montréal

In addition to the large, probably better known cousin in Canada, there are several towns/villages called Montréal in France. This one lies just a few miles east of Fanjeaux and is something we drive through when visiting Carcassonne. This year we discovered it had a small lake created, like many French lakes, by a dam. Small the lake maybe but, in about an hour, we spotted nine species of Odo although one of those remained steadfastly elusive and unidentified, though I think it was a red darter of some kind. My main interest was in one of the now missing species at our Fanjeaux campsite, the Dainty Damselfly (Coenagrion scitulum), which we observed ovipositing here.

Lac de Montbel

The Lac de Montbel is a large man-made reservoir involving several dams and is, unsurprisingly, a resource featuring watersports. We tried it once a couple of years ago and it proved rather unexciting. However, this year we discovered that we had been looking in the wrong place. This year we discovered the north-eastern end of the lake which proved much more productive from a wildlife perspective. Here we found nine species of Odo including one of this year’s almost ever-present newbies, the Southern Emerald Damselfly (Lestes barabrus), and, most excitingly because it alighted for Carol, a Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope).

This north-east end of the lake also proved interesting for butterflies including a new one to us this year, Large Chequered Skipper (Heteropterus morpheus).

Argens-Minervois: Canal du Midi

This is some distance east of Fanjeaux towards the Mediterranean coast. Though it didn’t produce a notable species count, I’ve highlighted it because we spotted White Featherlegs (Platycnemis latipes) lurking around the marina here, rather uncooperatively from a photographic viewpoint, in the reeds. There was also a restaurant beside the canal which served what must be the worst chips/French fries I have ever eaten but that’s another story.

The precise locations mentioned in the spread sheet below are on my Google map of French locations.

This was our third visit to Luché-Pringé, though only our second since developing my Odonata obsession. The campsite is delightfully situated on the outskirts of the rural village/small town with easy access on foot to boulangers, a boucherie, a small supermarché and a money machine. In addition, the campsite is right on the banks of le Loir supporting good numbers of Odos plus a variety of other n-legged critters. Given all these undoubted benefits, it is hardly surprising that this stop is becoming one of our favourites. Besides, it makes a good recuperation stop following a couple of days of travel getting to France.

Whilst here, as well as the wild flower fans finding a pair of fields sporting the densest population of poppies they’ve ever seen in their lives, we also expanded our Odo hunting activities to another series of lakes, Lacs de la Monnerie, near La Flèche. Neither location yielded any surprises or new species but teh counts were reasonable in the good late May weather. Little did we know that Europe’s weather was about to collapse for the rest of the year.

Two maps will help to clarify this report: a Google map of the trip and my French locations map with precise site markers.

Le Loir @ Luché-Pringé

• Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
• Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
• Goblet-marked Damselfly (Erythromma lindenii)
• White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes)
• Orange White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis acutipennis)
• Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
• Western Clubtail (Gomphus pulchellus)
• Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa)
• Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva)
• Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)

Lacs de La Monnerie @ La Flèche

We spotted these potentially interesting lakes on our maps just a spit west of our campsite at La Flèche, so we thought we’d give them a try. They were not much further on than the stunning poppy fields to which we had been magnetically drawn. The lakes turned out to be a bit touristy in a leisure complex, base nautique kind of way but it was off season so relatively quiet.

We were pleasantly surprised to find a Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) lurking about here, though it didn’t really look like typical habitat for that species.

Here’s the list:

• Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
• Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
• Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
• Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale)
• White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis acutipennis)
• Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
• Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva)
• Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)

After our week of walking we had a free day to explore Madeira’s main town, Funchal. Carol is into flowers so we decided to head for the local, supposedly famous, botanical gardens on the very pleasant, if somewhat expensive (€28.00 per person including entrance fee), cable car.

Once in the gardens, I tagged along dutifully displaying as much interest as possible in the flora. It was actually quite colourful and enjoyable; I don’t dislike flowers, they simply don’t particularly excite me. Half way up a steep slope my eye caught a flutter of movement in my peripheral vision. I spotted a dragonfly land on a plant stem in the bed beside which I was standing. My jaw dropped. Perhaps had I understood flight seasons on Madeira, it wouldn’t have been quite such a surprise, we were a long way further south, after all but it was such an unexpected encounter.  Keeping my eyes locked onto my newest best friend, I begged, borrowed and stole Carol’s proper camera and lens and began snapping away while my quarry posed cooperatively.

I was aware of the existence of something called an Island Darter and wondered if this might be an example, though that felt a little hopeful. Had I known more, I’d have known it was an Island Darter, though, because this looked like a Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) but that species is “replaced” by Island Darters on Madeira and the Canary Islands. The most noticeable distinguishing feature, without resorting to capture and hand lenses, seems to be that Island Darters have almost completely black femurs whereas Common Darters have a distinct yellow stripe all down their legs, including the femurs.

This specimen is quite interesting from another viewpoint. Although the colouration is most reminiscent of a male, this is actually a female as indicated by the shape of the abdomen and appendages, together with the half-segment black lines along the length side of the side of the thorax. I was similarly confused by a male-looking female Ruddy Darter in Provence last year.

Whether Island Darters are a distinct species or a subspecies of the Common Darter appears to be open to question and debate. Hence, the binomial/scientific name is often written Sympetrum (striolatum) nigrifemur. For simplicity, though, I’ll refer to it as S. nigrifemur . I’m just delighted to have seen one to count as my first Odo of 2012.

This surprise encounter made us wander around the garden scrutinizing the various areas with water features looking for more Odos but, alas, we found no more.