A July visit to Foredyke Green pond

It's Dragonfly Week, and, to celebrate, I visited Foredyke Green Pond, which is my top dragonfly pond in Hull. We are in the middle of a heat wave and I was there at 7:45, warm enough, almost 20 oC and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Early in the year most of the perimeter path was inaccessible due to the high water level. The water is still quite high, and you need boots or wellies to go all around, the area at the back still wet and muddy, but the pond dipping platforms are out of the water now. 

First in the list were Blue-tailed Damselflies. Some tenerals were about, and a mating pair.

An Emperor was patrolling the pond. I watched intently hoping it would settle, but to no avail. Another male started patrolling over the eastern side of the pond, but they eventually met and one chased the other over the hedges. At some point, what appeared to be a female turned up and both makes started chasing in a very different way. I did not see her ovipositing. No photos of emperors today I'm afraid. A Brown Hawker appeared. He didn't like the Emperor and there were frequent squirmishes. I feel like the Brown Hawker had the upper hand, but both stayed in the pond. Two Brown Hawkers were at the pond at one point.

On the marginal vegetation it was easy to pick up Azure damselflies. A mating pair looked for a place to oviposit, and were disturbed by passing males.

Azure Damselfly.

Pair of Azure damselflies getting ready to oviposit.

I was very pleased to spot a Four-spot Chaser. It posed beautifully on sticks. Three individuals were present.

One of the last species to stir was the Common Darter. I finally found one on an end of the pond, and later two more turned up.

I scanned the center of the pond with my binoculars and spotted blue damselflies chasing. One of them stopped and I could inspect it to determined it was a Common Blue Damselfly.

I'm hoping to see dragonflies and damselflies every day this week!