Monmouthshire dragonfly recording update 8, June 2024
We’re only a few weeks into the 2024 flight season for dragonflies in the county and I have no major dragonfly sightings to report yet. Instead, this newsletter contains some great news about the Gwent Levels, and some ideas for areas to explore off the beaten track elsewhere in the county.
Two dragonfly hotposts announced on the Gwent Levels …
The British Dragonfly Society is pleased to announce that Newport Wetlands and Magor Marsh are designated Dragonfly Hotspots. These two sites are stand-out localities within the Gwent Levels, a wetland mosaic of marshes, ponds and ditches and a landscape which supports excellent habitat for dragonflies. BDS designates sites as Dragonfly Hotspots because they support a good variety of dragonfly and damselfly species, are easy to access, and can provide opportunities for local communities to learn about dragonflies and get involved with dragonfly conservation and events.
The launch events are taking place in Dragonfly Week (6th-14th July), which is an annual celebration of dragonflies, with events running nationally throughout the week. In collaboration with Natural Resources Wales, the Living Levels Partnership, RSPB and Gwent Wildlife Trust, we have arranged events at Newport Wetlands on Saturday 6th July and at Magor Marsh on Sunday 7th July, to which everyone is welcome. More details will be on the BDS events page shortly: https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/news-events/our-events/
… and ten little-known areas to explore
Newport Wetlands and Magor Marsh are two sites whose dragonfly fauna is very well known, and other examples in the county are the moors around Blaenavon and the River Wye around Monmouth. Conversely, some other parts of Monmouthshire have no dragonfly records at all. Between these two ends of the dragonfly recording spectrum are areas of the county where some interesting dragonfly species have been found in the past, but from which we have no recent records. All of these still hold good dragonfly habitats, which suggests that these species may well still be there.
And some of these species might give a clue that there are other, even more interesting species to be found. A poorly-explored river with records of Banded Demoiselle may have White-legged Damselfly or even Common Clubtail; an area of moorland with records of Emerald Damselfly or Four-spotted Chaser could also host Black Darter, Common Hawker, Keeled Skimmer, or Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly. And in the agricultural lowlands which make up a large part of Monmouthshire, ponds with records of common dragonfly and damselfly species could also host scarcer species such as Red-eyed Damselfly, Ruddy Darter, or even likely colonists such as Lesser Emperor and Southern Migrant Hawker.
Below I’ve highlighted ten areas, spread across the county. Each area is just 10 square kilometres in size, small enough that just one or two visits should enable you to turn them from poorly-explored into well-explored areas. On the maps I’ve shown the main rivers, woodlands, towns and villages and so on, and I’ve used data from the Monmouthshire Ponds and Lakes inventory, which is currently in preparation, to plot waterbodies that we know exist (or existed in the recent past, but note that some of these may now be overgrown, or dry and unsuitable for dragonflies).
So, if you’re the sort of person who likes making new discoveries, but perhaps are unsure about breaking new ground in completely unvisited parts of the county, why not make a visit to one or more of these areas this summer?
1. Blackwood and Pontllanfraith
In the west of the county, this area includes stretches of the Rhymney and Sirhowy rivers and two groups of ponds, one west of Blackwood and the other east of Maesycwmmer.
The rivers here should hold Beautiful Demoiselle, Golden-ringed Dragonfly and on the slower stretches possibly Banded Demoiselle.
The Aberbargoed area has provided records of Black-tailed Skimmer and Four-spotted Chaser so they could also occur in this area. Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly has been found on a pond at Pontllanfraith crematorium and this may not be an isolated site. Other upland specialities such as Emerald Damselfly or even Keeled Skimmer could be possible too.
2. South of Ebbw Vale
This area includes parts of the Ebbw and Sirhowy rivers, groups of ponds in and near Tredegar, and near Waun-Lwyd, and a promising upland area with several ponds, east of Ebbw Vale, as well as another upland area to the south of the town.
A visit to this area is very likely to be repaid with some interesting species. Brown Hawker is spreading south from its established population at Waun y Pound and so is likely to turn up. Some of the six moorland specialities that are found around Blaenavon probably also occur here (these are Emerald Damselfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Common Hawker, Black Darter, Keeled Skimmer and Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly).
In the river valleys, Beautiful Demoiselle and Golden-ringed Dragonfly should be present.
In addition, any of the more common species should be present at the ponds here, so this area could be found to support up to 20 species if surveyed thoroughly.
3. Pontypool to Abersychan
The Afon Lwyd runs south from Blaenavon through this area, and there are some upland areas with ponds south of Abersychan, and north of Trevethin.
Given the proximity to Blaenavon, the same six moorland species listed above for Ebbw Vale could also occur.
Likewise, in the river valleys, Beautiful Demoiselle and Golden-ringed Dragonfly should be present.
Small Red-eyed Damselfly has been recorded just to the south of here and is spreading into the uplands so this is another species to look out for.
4. Little Mill
Around the A4042 road and the railway line running from Pontypool to Abergavenny is a scattering of ponds. The upper stretch of the Berthin Brook runs eastwards through the centre of this area towards Usk, and on the western edge is a stretch of the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal.
Red-eyed Damselfly occurs on the canal further south around Cwmbran and could possibly occur here as well.
Beautiful Demoiselle has been recorded on the Berthin Brook and Banded could also occur given the proximity of the Usk.
Ruddy Darter has been recorded near Little Mill in the past.
5. The Trothy River
The Trothy river drains a large part of northern Monmouthshire. The section covered here runs through Llantilio Crossenny, and the surrounding land contains many ponds.
Beautiful Demoiselle has been recorded quite widely along the Trothy in the past and Banded Demoiselle and possibly even White-legged Damselfly could occur here too.
The ponds here are something of an unknown quantity so visitors here will be treading new ground, but Small Red-eyed Damselfly has spread northwards at a rapid date and is likely to have reached this area now and Ruddy Darter has been recorded from Llanvetherine, a little to the northwest.
6. North and east of Raglan
Just north of Raglan, north of the A40 Abergavenny to Monmouth road, is an area of low-lying farmland with a large number of ponds.
These ponds are likely to be another prime area to look for Small Red-eyed Damselfly.
Just outside this area is Dingestow Court Lake, with an sizeable species list including Black-tailed Skimmer, Four-spotted Chaser, Large Red Damselfly, Migrant Hawker and Ruddy Darter. Any of these species could occur on the ponds north of Raglan too.
7. West of Monmouth
The area immediately around Monmouth, including the River Wye and the stretch of the Monnow through the town, is very well-known. The stretch of the Monnow a little further upstream is much less well-visited, and the countryside south of here around Kings Wood contains a number of ponds which would be worth checking out.
The Monnow here has historical records of Common Clubtail, White-legged Damselfly and both demoiselles.
Emerald Damselfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer and Ruddy Darter have been found in or near Monmouth recently and this is also a good part of the county for Migrant Hawker.
8. Shirenewton to Caerwent
This area includes the Roughton Brook, which runs southeast north of Shirenewton, and there are a number of ponds south of the village.
Both Banded and Beautiful Demoiselles have been found on the Roughton Brook, and Golden-ringed Dragonfly has been seen in nearby areas and so could also occur.
Large Red Damselfly, Broad-bodied Chaser and Southern and Migrant Hawkers are among the other species recorded in this area previously.
If there are any undiscovered waterbodies in the area around Caerwent, this is close enough to the Levels that species such as Ruddy Darter, Four-spotted Chaser or Black-tailed Skimmer could occur.
9. Around Caldicot
We have surprisingly few records from the area around Caldicot. This area marks the eastern end of the main portion of the Gwent Levels (there is a further separate small section southwest of Chepstow). Running inland of the town is the Nedern Brook, which floods for much of the year. Northwest of the town there are many ponds on and around a golf course.
Red-eyed Damselfly has been recorded at Dewstow gardens in the past, and Small Red-eyed is likely to be found now at any of the ponds in the same area. Ruddy Darter has been found on the Nedern flood and it is possible that other Levels specialities such as Hairy Dragonfly and Four-spotted Chaser occur here or to the south of Caldicot.
10. The Gwent Levels south and west of Magor
This may be the most surprising inclusion in the list, because the Magor Marsh nature reserve, just south of the town, is very well-known.
However, we have no recent dragonfly records at all from the area of the Levels which stretches southwest from here towards the village of Redwick. There are also some ponds west of Magor which will likely have some dragonfly interest.
Hairy Dragonfly is present at Magor Marsh and so must also occur in this area. Common Darters are widespread on the Levels but Ruddy Darter has also been recorded in this section in the past. Four-spotted Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmer are also possibilities, and Migrant and Southern Hawker should be here in good numbers later in the season.
All of the more common damselflies of the Levels have been found previously, plus Emerald Damselfly. Red-eyed and Small Red-eyed damselflies have also been seen nearby. There is a chance that Variable Damselfly occurs here too as there are historical records from Magor Marsh and more recent records from the area west of Redwick.
Contributing your records
I’m happy to receive your records via any method which suits you: it’s better to receive a record than not to receive it. The iRecord system is my preferred method. If you’d like to use iRecord, please go to irecord.org.uk and create an account. I’m more than happy to show you how to use it over a video conference, or in person if you live somewhere within easy reach.
Steve Preddy, Monmouthshire County Dragonfly Recorder, British Dragonfly Society