What would you think if I said Emperor, Golden-ringed, Odonata and Azure? It sounds to me like words taken from a text book on some old forgotten time like Romans or the Aztecs. In fact this is about something much much older. In fact I’m talking about something from 350 million years ago, long before people evolved. In fact these are from before birds, mammals or even reptiles evolved. That’s right, we have something from the Paleozoic Era roaming amongst us here on the Exminster marhs. And they are ... Dragons. Well more specifically Dragonflies. Majestic creatures which can reach speeds of 10–15 metres per second (22–34 mph). They come in a multitude of colours like Azure, gold and emerald. Captivated? I sure was. The three hour long dragonfly survey which covers an extensive part of the marsh revealed species like; four-spotted chaser, black-tailed skimmer, southern hawker, emperor and golden ringed all calling Exminster marsh their home. Along side the dragonflies where Azure and Blue tailed damselflies appearing in almost every sector. Damselflies can be told from dragonflies as they are smaller and tend to fold their wings back over their body when they land. Damselflies may be smaller, but are no less impressive with their bright colours and numerousness.
What else has been happening here on the marsh? The residential volunteers have been kept busy with courses like ATV and weed wiping. And our major task has been moving the location of our workshop, which has taken a lot of hard effort from everyone here on the reserve. You never realise how much stuff you have until you move. And finally, we have finished this years breeding bird surveys. With lots of juvenile warblers and waterfowl being seen, along with families of tits, starlings, buntings, wagtails, magpies, finches, cormorants, herons and more.