Peter SketchMar 9
We were asked for #YellowFlowers for this week's #WildflowerHour and by happy chance I saw my first open Goat Willow of the year during my visit to the #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust reserve at #LowerMoorFarm on Friday. #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 13
Day 13 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Common Blue #damselfly is very common and the males are very blue. Females are much darker. In the right habitat, such as here at the #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust #LowerMoorFarm reserve, this species will form swarms. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife
Show threadPeter SketchDec 10
Day 10 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Red-eyed #Damselfly is a bit larger than most damsels. Usually seen sitting on floating vegetation on a pond or slow river but this one was more cooperative. #LowerMoorFarm #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust reserve in May. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 6
Day 6 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Hairy Dragonfly is quite localised in the UK but spreading. It's the first of the really large ones to emerge. This one at #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust #LowerMoorFarm in May. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 7, 2023
Day 7 of the 2023 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Common Darter is a very common species in late summer & autumn. In sheltered places they will last into November if it's sunny; there may even be a few now if you're near the south coast. This one was at #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust #LowerMoorFarm in August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #wildlife #insects #wildlifephotography #invertebrates
Peter SketchAug 15, 2023
Let's have another #dragonfly photo. This is a Common Darter, at the #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust reserve at #LowerMoorFarm on Friday. #insects #wildlife #wildlifephotography #odonata
Show threadPeter SketchAug 13, 2023
Did I mention there was a Lesser Emperor #dragonfly at #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust #LowerMoorFarm on Friday? Showing very nicely right in front of the cafe. I recommend the lemon drizzle cake. #insects #wildlife #wildlifephotography #odonata
Peter SketchAug 13, 2023
Time for a #dragonfly photo. This is Brown Hawker which had been laying eggs and had just taken off. The first time I've managed to get a photo of this species in flight. At #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust #LowerMoorFarm on Friday while I waited for the Lesser Emperor to show. #insects #wildlife #wildlifephotography #odonata
Peter SketchAug 13, 2023
The #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust reserve at #LowerMoorFarm. Come for the Lesser Emperor dragonfly, stay for the plants. This one's Cut-leaved Cranesbill. #WildflowerHour #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #plantscience #photography
Peter SketchJul 23, 2023
Long-term followers may have noticed that I'm rather fond of thistles. This one is Welted Thistle, at #LowerMoorFarm #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust reserve during the week. #WildflowerHour #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #plantscience #photography
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Show threadPeter SketchDec 15
Day 15 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. It's the third Sunday of Advent, "Gaudete Sunday", so we should have a pink dragonfly. This isn't a UK photo, it's a Violet Dropwing, an African species spreading in southern Europe. This one in #Rome a few years ago. #Italy #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 16
Day 16 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Keeled Skimmer is a very common species of bogs and fens, rarely seen elsewhere. They look and behave a bit like darters, rather than like the closely-related Black-tailed Skimmer. This one was at #Thursley last summer. #Surrey #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 17
Day 17 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Southern Migrant Hawker is a fairly recent arrival in the UK, mainly seen in Kent and #Essex. I'd never managed a photo of one in flight before this, so very pleased. Seen at the famous ditch in #CanveyIsland in July, on the same day as the Southern Emerald that was day 12 of the calendar. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 18
Day 18 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Small Red-eyed Damselfly is a fairly new species for the UK but has spread right across southern England and Wales. They emerge later in the summer than their larger cousin the Red-eyed Damselfly. This one at #RSPB #FramptonMarsh #Lincolnshire in early August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 19
Day 19 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Small Red Damselfly is tiny and lives in wild, boggy heath areas. Since I love exploring such habitats, I am naturally very fond of this #damselfly. The closely-related Large Red is a common species in gardens - it is larger and its legs are black not pink. This one in the #NewForest in early July. #Hampshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 20
Day 20 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. White-faced Darter is small and rare but spectacular. It's a bog specialist and in the UK mainly lives in Scotland with a few in Cumbria and a couple of sites further south. This one from Whixall Moss, its only site in #Wales, a couple of years ago. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography #Cymru
Show threadPeter SketchDec 20
If you're enjoying the calendar, why not sign up for the British Dragonfly Society's free email newsletter for more info about UK dragonflies. https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/get-involved/sign-up-for-e-news/
e-newsletter - British Dragonfly Society

British Dragonfly Society
Show threadPeter SketchDec 21
Day 21 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Common Emerald is a declining species but widespread across the country. It likes overgrown ponds with lots of emergent vegetation. This immature male was at Rivermead in #Swindon in late June. #Wiltshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 22
Day 22 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Black-tailed Skimmer, seen from an unusual angle, looking down at one sunbathing on a low fence. The green eyes distinguish it from the related Keeled Skimmer from this angle where the colour of the abdomen is harder to see. At #WWT #Slimbridge last summer. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 23
Day 23 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Blue-tailed Damselfly is one of the commonest species. This is a male; females come in a variety of colour patterns. At the fake canal in East Wichel, #Swindon in August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 23
If you're enjoying the #DragonflyAdventCalendar you can join the British Dragonfly Society for only £25 a year (slightly more if outside the UK). Or they do a free e-newsletter which non-members can also sign up for. https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/
British Dragonfly Society - British Dragonfly Society

British Dragonfly Society
Show threadPeter SketchDec 24
Day 24 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Of course we end with Common Darter, often the latest-flying of our common species, well into October and sometimes November. This one at #CoateWater, #Swindon, in late August. #Wiltshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 25
A bonus day 25 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. After 24 of my own pictures I always end with this - E H Shepard's drawing of one of history's most famous dragonfly surveyors observing a Banded Demoiselle. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography
Show threadPeter SketchDec 25
Happy Christmas to those who celebrate, happy holidays to those who don't and happy #dragonfly watching in 2025 to one and all. #DragonflyAdventCalendar