According to the national Dragonfly Society there are 46 resident breeding, or regular migrant, species on the current British list, plus a further 10 vagrants that may occasionally be encountered depending on where you live. In East Dorset and the neighbouring New Forest region the total number is more like 32, possibly 34, but realistically that's about it. But even then, some are going to be rather difficult. Having spent some time reading up on each species and establishing some likely locations I feel that, from a personal point of view, 25 is a more sensible target figure.

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Considering that I've never made any real attempt to photograph dragonflies, I was rather surprised that I was able to find photos of so many. In some cases, though, they're the only photos I have. It's not that I haven't been interested in them, quite the opposite really, but they need a dedicated approach with a long lens as they're not usually conducive to normal close-up 'insect-type' macro photography.

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I'm going to try to give them more attention as I certainly require a lot more photos if I'm going to properly represent each species. I'll have to see how the 2024 season pans out, but even if I only manage half of what I'm planning, there should be enough material come the end of the year to make this a fully working section of the website.

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In the meantime, here's a list of my target species consisting of 9 damselflies and 16 dragonflies. 

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