Day 2 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Broad-bodied Chaser is easy to spot in early summer - they're large, they like to sit in the open to sunbathe and mature males are bright blue. This immature male (so the colours look like a female but the abdomen's not as broad) was at #RSPB #Otmoor in May. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography

Day 3 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Large Red #Damselfly is the first species to emerge each year in most of the UK. This mating pair was at #Ravensroost Meadows #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust reserve, in early May. They usually first appear in April. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife

Day 4 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Azure Damselfly is one of two very common blue species in the UK. There are some rarer ones too. This one at #RSPB #Otmoor near #Oxford in May. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography

Day 5 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. The aptly-named Beautiful Demoiselle. Demoiselles are larger than other damselfly species and unlike other odonata the males make display flights to attract females. This one in the #NewForest in July. #Hampshire #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography

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

Day 7 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Southern Damselfly is a rare species, one of the few that are protected by UK law. It looks very like the other blue damselfly species - pay attention to the markings at the front end of the abdomen if you're in one of the few parts of the country these occur. This one was in the #NewForest in early July. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography #Hampshire

Day 8 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Ruddy Darter is the second-commonest of the red species in the UK, very widespread. This one was at the wonderful #RSPB #StrumpshawFen, #Norfolk, in early August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography

Day 9 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Scarce Emerald Damselfly is restricted to the east here but commoner on the continent. It looks like the Common Emerald but is chunkier and has brighter blue eyes. This one in #CanveyIsland in July. The manky ditch I was searching when I found this will feature in this calendar a couple more times as it's a very good spot despite not being in a nature reserve. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #Essex #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography

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

Day 11 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Golden-ringed Dragonfly is one of our most spectacular species, brightly-coloured and huge. They don't often sit still so I was lucky with this one, at Hannaford on #Dartmoor in July. Yes, I was looking for High Brown Fritillary. No, I didn't see one. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #Devon #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography

Day 12 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Southern Emerald Damselfly is small and easy to overlook but for me this was the highlight of my year - it was the only UK breeding species I'd never seen. In the famous ditch in #CanveyIsland #Essex in July.
#DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography

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

Day 14 of the 2024 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Banded Demoiselle is my favourite species. The males make display flights with the dark wing patches making mesmerising patterns above the river surface. This one in #Swindon #Wiltshire in late June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife #photography

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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/