HarPer’s bizarre - a naturalist's miscellany: Dragonflies

During the first week of 2026, I went out on three occasions to some of my favourite regular sites where I go dragonfly watching. There is no real 'story' to this post; it is just a gallery of the species I encountered.

Cotter Reserve - 2 January 2026

The first outing was on 2 January 2026. I met up with a fellow dragon-chaser and started at Cotter Reserve, where the Cotter River flows out from Cotter Dam. In addition to the species included below, we also saw Scarlet Percher and Common Flatwing.

Stout Vicetail (Hemigomphus heteroclytus) - male

Arrowhead Rockmaster (Diphlebia nymphoides) - male

Arrowhead Rockmaster (Diphlebia nymphoides) - female

Jade Hunter (Austrogomphus ochraceus) - male

Inland Hunter (Austrogomphus australis) - male

Inland Hunter male - close up

Mount Aggie - 2 January 2026

The next location we targeted was unusual given we were looking for dragonflies, as it is a mountain top, at 1,450 - 1,496 m elevation, and far from the streams and rivers in the valleys far below. But the Mount Aggie track is a surprisingly good spot to find a range of dragonflies, particularly darners. It is likely they come to this quiet mountain retreat when still young (i.e. in their first week or two as adults after emerging from their aquatic larval stage) to mature in relative peace before returning to their breeding habitat to stake claims on territories, mate, and lay eggs. Apart from the species shown below, we also saw a couple of male Southern Tigertails (Eusynthemis guttata). I didn't get any photos of them because my camera battery ran out, and my spare was back in the car! (I never seem to learn...)

Multi-spotted Darner (Austroaeschna multipunctata) - female

Southern Riffle Darner (Notoaeschna sagittata) - female

Southern Riffle Darner - close-up

Condor Creek - 2 January 2026

This, our final stop, is a section of Condor Creek where Warks Road crosses. The creek flows through a narrow corridor of native forest in an area of once extensive pine plantation. It is fairly protected by the dense streamside vegetation. Apart from the two species included below, we also saw Bronze Needle, Common Flatwing, Multi-spotted Darner, Blue-spotted Hawker, and Australian Emerald.

This brought our tally of species for the day, across the three sites, up to fourteen.

Southern Vicetail (Hemigomphus gouldii) - male

Southern Evening Darner (Telephlebia brevicauda) - female

Lake Tuggeranong (northern end) - 3 January 2026

This was essentially a quick visit to a site close to home that I have found to be reliable, at this particular time of year, for a small population of the scarce and seldom seen Powdered Wiretail. It also has a good complement and abundance of typical lake edge species, including Orange Threadtail, Eastern Billabongfly, Red & Blue Damsel, Common Bluetail, and Tau Emerald.

Powdered Wiretail (Rhadinosticta simplex) - male

Powdered Wiretail - close up

Orange Threadtail (Nososticta solida) - female

Orange Threadtail - close up

Eastern Billabongfly (Austroagrion watsoni) - male

Paddys River - 6 January 2026

This was my first stop on a day trip up the Corin Dam Road as far as Smokers Flat. This relatively short distance provides a range of habitat types from open river to mountain trickles and bogs, with elevations ranging from 680 m to 1,230 m.

This part of Paddys River is a great little stretch of water, mostly shallow and sandy, quite close to home, and on a sunny summer's day always provides a good range of damselflies and dragonflies. In addition to those featured below, I also recorded Common Flatwing and Common Bluetail.

Yellow-striped Hunter (Austrogomphus guerini) - male

Unicorn Hunter (Austrogomphus cornutus) - male

Scarlet Percher (Diplacodes haematodes) - male

Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum) - male

Bronze Needle (Synlestes weyersii) - female

Golden Tigertail (Eusynthemis virgula) - male

Golden Tigertail (Eusynthemis virgula) - mating pair in 'wheel' formation

Southern Vicetail (Hemigomphus gouldii) - male

Gibraltar Creek - 6 January 2026

This roadside stop in native forest with heath and sphagnum bogs is home to a range of species, particularly Alpine Flatwing and Swamp Tigertail, but somehow almost always turns up something a little different or unexpected. For me this time, it was a Small Tigertail and a Mountain Darner.

Alpine Flatwing (Griseargiolestes intermedius) - mating pair in wheel formation

Small Tigertail (Eusynthemis brevistyla) - male)

Mountain Darner (Austroaeschna atrata) - female

Gibraltar Creek at Smokers Flat - 6 Jan 2026

This is at the headwaters of Gibraltar Creek on the saddle between the Cotter River and Paddys River catchments. The small grassland dam was completely dry on this occasion, and there was little water in the creekline. Diversity was consequently relatively low, but there were still reasonable numbers of Alpine Flatwings. I also saw a couple of Multi-spotted Darners, a Southern Evening Darner, and a single male Southern Tigertail.

Multi-spotted Darner (Austroaeschna multipunctata) - teneral (recently emerged) female

Alpine Flatwing (Griseargiolestes intermedius) - male

Alpine Flatwing male - close up

Alpine Flatwing (Griseargiolestes intermedius) - female

Alpine Flatwing female - close up

Corin Forest pond - 6 January 2026

On my way back down I stopped in at the Corin Forest Recreation Centre - the pond there is always good for Metallic Ringtail and a bunch of other 'pond' species. In addition to the following I also saw lots of Tau Emeralds, Aurora Bluetail and Common Bluetail.

Swamp Tigertail (Synthemis eustalacta) - male

Metallic Ringtail (Austrolestes cingulatus) - tandem pair

Eastern Billabongfly (Austroagrion watsoni) - tandem pair

Wandering Ringtail (Austrolestes leda) - male

Woods Reserve - 6 January 2026

My final stop was at a fast-flowing stretch of Gibraltar Creek at Woods Reserve. This is a good spot for a range of faster river species, but the species actually seen on any given visit can vary fairly dramatically - which just adds to the interest.