Old Lodge, E. Sussex for Brilliant Emerald
This is an extensive site with heather, pine woodland and a lake within Ashdown Forest.
We hope to see Brilliant Emerald at this woodland glade site. We walk on well made but muddy paths to Warren Heath – 4 miles there and back. Hiking boots recommended (and possibly gaiters against ticks.) 100m over rough heath to one pond. Bring a packed lunch to eat by ponds to see what flies past. No facilities on site.
Possible coffee & cake afterwards at ‘Cuppies and Cream’ in Hartley Witney.
Our first visit to this extensive site, managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust. The main area of interest will be The Moors reserve – a complex of habitats including watercourses and bogs; wellies recommended! Previous records for July include a good range of species, with the possibility of Lesser Emperor. After lunch, weather and time permitting, there may be the opportunity to explore Spynes Mere further north.
A joint meeting of BDS Hants, Surrey, Berkshire Group with Butterfly Conservation, Surrey branch.
Along with the early-season Hairy Dragonfly, Wood White and Skipper butterflies should also be present.
A visit to Staines Moor SSSI to search for Hairy Dragonfly, seen in 2023 but not photographed, Large Red Damselfly (only one recent record, in 2020) and other early-season species, led by Sue Webber & David Hepper.
Our annual social meeting, hosted by Bill & Chris at Bordon, for HSBG members.
We’ll be planning our Field Meetings for 2025, discussing species, sites, research, conservation and possibly even foreign trips.
Click here to register for free
This will be an online event held over Zoom open to members and non-members. It will be free but donations are welcome.
The full programme will be confirmed shortly so please keep an eye on this page.
Confirmed Speakers
Dragonflies on the Bog ~ Scott Shanks, Scotland Project Officer
Meet our newest team member and learn about our exciting new project targeting Scotland rare bog dragonflies.
Understanding predator-prey dynamics in a changing world: insights from damselfly and crayfish interactions ~ Szymon Sniegula, Institute of Nature Conservation
How do invasive alien predators shape the fitness traits of native prey across life stages? Can native prey adapt to the combined effects of biological invasions and climate change? This seminar explores the evolving predator-prey dynamics between the blue-tailed damselfly Ischnura elegans and several crayfish species, focusing on how non-consumptive effects (NCE) from native, alien, and invasive alien crayfish influence prey life history and physiology. By comparing the NCE of different predator types, we examine how seasonal time constraints and warming affect damselfly responses. Additionally, we investigate whether and in what direction macro- and microgeographic variation drive differences in antipredator strategies across egg, larval, and adult stages. This work highlights the importance of integrating ecological, physiological, and evolutionary perspectives for effective conservation in an era of global change.
Priority Sites in Devon ~ Dave Smallshire, author and Devon County Dragonfly Recorder
Priority Sites’ support viable populations of important species, as determined from detailed records of dragonflies. The process of identifying them will be described, followed by the results for Devon over the past 40 years.
European Red List: moving from assessment to conservation planning for Odonata ~ Geert De Knijf, Institute for Nature and Forest Research
The recent reassessment of the 142 Damselfly and Dragonfly species in Europe resulted in the categorization of no less than 29 species (or 21%) as threatened. Nearly all red list species are confined to Mediterranean streams and rivers, or small nutrient-poor waterbodies, such as bogs. The aim of the Assess-to-Plan (A2P) for the European Red List Odonata project is to strengthen the connection between the red list process (the assessment) and conservation action on the ground, through planning. Building from the reassessments and additional knowledge and views of +30 European experts, we developed a preliminary action plan for the species categorised as threatened, using the A2P and multi-species conservation planning approach developed by the IUCN Conservation Planning Specialist Group. Here we present the most important actions for both groups of species.
Dragonfly Conservation Europe ~ Roy van Grunsven, Dutch Butterfly Conservation
Research on dragonflies has a long history in Europe and in many countries, there are organisations studying dragonflies. There has been an informal network of European odonatologists with a biannual congress, ECOO. However, there was no formal organisation. In order to help put dragonflies on the agenda at a European level and promote collaboration between odonatologists in different countries, Dragonfly Conservation Europe was founded in 2024.
Conservation of Dragonflies: Sentinels for Freshwater Conservation ~ Michael J Samways, Author and Professor at Stellenbosch University
Conservation of Dragonflies: Sentinels for Freshwater Conservation is a new publication for naturalists, citizen scientists, entomologists and conservation scientists, as well as practitioners and policymakers around the world.
Dragonflies are among the most familiar and popular of all insects, deeply embedded in human cultural history. They are iconic and tell us much about the environments in which we and they live. Their conservation is an important part of biodiversity conservation.
Purchase your copy from the NHBS store.
Dragonfly research and conservation in France: national monitoring initiatives and Dragon project ~ Martin Jeanmougin, Dragon Project Manager; Renaud Baeta, ANEPE Caudalis, French association of Centre-Val de Loire, Sogap project manager; Valérie-Anne Lafont, Project Manager of the National Action Plan for Dragonflies, OPIE
Highlighting some national dragonfly monitoring initiatives and research project taking place across the channel. STELI, SOGAP and CIMaE monitoring programs will be presented through their complementarity. Dragon project, which began in 2023, is using opportunistic and standardised data to investigate species distribution and population trends, as well as potential causes and drivers of change and variation.
Programme
| 09:30 | Welcome |
| 09:45 | Priority Sites of Devon |
| 10:15 | Understanding predator-prey dynamics in a changing world: insights from damselfly and crayfish interactions |
| 10:45 | Break |
| 11:00 | Dragonfly research and conservation in France: national monitoring initiatives and Dragon project |
| 11:30 | Dragonflies on the Bog |
| 12:00 | Break |
| 12:15 | Q&A morning speakers |
| 12:45 | Lunch |
| 13:45 | European Red List: moving from assessment to conservation planning for Odonata |
| 14:15 | Dragonfly Conservation Europe |
| 14:45 | Break |
| 15:00 | Conservation of Dragonflies: Sentinels for Freshwater Conservation |
| 15:40 | Q&A afternoon speakers |
| 16:10 | End |
Join BDS & NatureScot to help improve the ponds for dragonflies at this wonderful Hotspot near Tayport in Fife.
10.00am – 3pm. Meet at the Morton Lochs car park – What3Words ref https://what3words.com/
Wear wellies (or waders if you have them), bring waterproofs, lunch & a cup (tea/coffee & biscuits provided).
Please book by filling out the form below:
A bonus meeting to make up for disruption to our schedule caused by poor weather.
