Dragonflies - First week of 2026

 

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

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. 

Small Tigertail (Eusynthemis brevistyla) - male)

Common Flatwing (Austroargiolestes icteromelas) - female

Whitewater Rockmaster (Diphlebia lestoides) - male

Forest Darner (Austroaeschna pulchra) - female

Not a bad start to 2026!

Winter Damselflies

There are a lot of comments around at the moment by people noticing that some birds seem to think winter is over already for this year! Various species from thornbills to ravens have been seen collecting nesting material, and several species of cuckoos have been heard calling, both here in Canberra and elsewhere, quite unseasonally, suggesting they think the birds whose nests they parasitise might also be active, or nearly so.

And it’s true that for mid-July we have had relatively few severe frosts or particularly low sub-zero temperatures. It seems the dragonflies and damselflies have also picked up on this.

It was a slower wind-down to the dragonfly season this year, in my view, with several species persisting for longer than I would expect them to. Wandering Ringtails (Austrolestes leda), and even a few Inland Ringtails (Austrolestes aridus) which seem to be rather itinerant here in Canberra but had a relatively good season this year, were being found well into May, and even June. Not only by me, but by number of people submitting their photographic records to Canberra Nature Map (CNM). Tau Emeralds (Hemicordulia tau) also seemed to persist, admittedly in relatively small numbers, longer than I am used to, with one reported as late as 14 June.

And yesterday (17 July), a record came in to CNM from Shorty, aka ‘rawshorty’, of a Wandering Ringtail on Mount Ainslie saddle. What’s more it was a teneral male, meaning it was only recently emerged from its watery larval home (presumably a small dam in the Mount Ainslie Nature Reserve) and was not yet fully coloured-up, and was munching into what looked like a small water beetle or some such.

A teneral Wandering Ringtail (male) photographed by Shorty on Mount Ainslie.

It is known that in some places (that have a distinct winter that precludes pretty much all dragonfly activity) Wandering Ringtails may ‘over-winter’, which is not a usual behaviour of damselflies. But I never expected this would occur in Canberra which really does get very cold! I had made some half-hearted efforts in previous years to see if I could find any overwintering individuals, but had never been successful. So, when Shorty’s image showed up I thought it time to have another look.

I rationalised to myself that the best bet would probably be a small, well vegetated swamp with a northerly aspect which would allow any sunshine to warm the shallow waters quickly. So I decided to check out a tiny seepage swamp on the northern flanks of Black Mountain, just off Belconnen Way, where I know Wandering Ringtails can be abundant when the summer conditions are favourable. I had recorded a late emergence event of this species there on 14 May (32 individuals including seven mating pairs) and assumed they would be the last for the 2019-20 season.

When I arrived, the sunshine was weakly obscured by a haze of high cloud, there was a slight breeze, and it was a balmy 12.5°C (it had got down to a relatively mild 0.2°C overnight). It all looked very quiet except for the four cockies and four Wood Ducks and I spent a good 15 minutes scrutinising the sedges for any perched damselflies. But then, just as I was about to leave and was doing one final scan with the binoculars – there it was. A male Wandering Ringtail. All by itself, not moving but being gently buffeted by the breeze and presumably trying to soak up as much warmth as was possible. I clicked away, even the 400 mm lens finding the distance difficult, but any attempt to get closer would mean approaching it from the other side of the swamp and directly into the low-angled sun. But I had my proof and felt quite chuffed. And it really hadn’t been that difficult.

An adult male Wandering Ringtail at a tiny swamp on the northern flanks of Black Mountain in mid-July

I went and checked out the nearby small dam, largely shaded by trees, and as expected found no activity there at all. Returning to the swamp, I went to take just a few more photos, but the damselfly had moved on. I eventually relocated it about 2 metres away, and in a clump of sedge right on the edge of the opposite bank. I worked my way around slowly and what I hoped was unobtrusively until close enough to crouch down and use the little Lumix camera on macro, getting near enough to largely overcome the poor lighting direction. When my closeness did eventually disturb it, it fluttered weakly just 20 cm away and re-perched. Poor thing, I thought, not even warm enough to be able to fly properly.

It wasn’t until I got home and downloaded the photos that I realised the macro shots were of an individual with a malformed wing-tip, and obviously different to the individual I first photographed with the long lens. So – at least two males were present on this tiny swamp in mid-July. There’s no way to know if they were survivors of the emergence I recorded two months previously in mid-May, or had emerged much more recently, like Shorty’s male on Mount Ainslie, but it is clear that, at least this year, this incredibly hardy little species (they are only about 35-40 mm long and incredibly slender) can survive a Canberra winter!

Canberra Nature Map is at: https://canberra.naturemapr.org/ 

Rhapsody in Blue Ringtail

Before starting to read, consider if you'd like to listen to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue while you read this post - if so you could try this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFHdRkeEnpM

Last Summer I introduced myself to the amazing world of dragonflies and damselflies in the Canberra region. Prior to that I’d taken opportunistic photos of some fairly spectacular dragonflies (see for example earlier posts on Cape Dragonflies and Top end Dragonflies), but this was a concerted and systematic effort to try to find out what was present in the various watery habitats of the ACT.

At the end of the season I had seen and photographed 32 of a total of somewhere around 50 species that I think are likely to occur in the ACT (based on my interpretation of the Theischinger and Hawking 2006 Field Guide and occurrence records in the Atlas of Living Australia). Some of these were featured in an earlier post, Damsels - Down at the Local.

This season, apart from wanting to find as many as possible of the expected species I didn’t pick up last year (I’ve got two so far – Slender Ringtail and Powdered Flatwing), I’ve been trying to get a better idea of the time and sequence of emergence of dragonflies and damselflies after the long Canberra winter. 

A teneral (recently emerged immature) female Slender Ringtail Austrolestes analis, 24 Oct 2015.

Male Powdered Flatwing Austroargiolestes calcaris, Orroral Valley, ACT, 8 Nov 2015.

So far it is pretty clear, and not surprising, that the first emergences occur in the shallower water bodies at lower elevations (presumably because the water warms more quickly than water bodies that are either deeper or at higher elevations). The earliest species I saw, in mid-September, were Wandering Ringtail and Tau Emerald at a small pond at the local golf course. And I’ve only just in the past week or two (i.e mid-November) started to see the occurrence of river dragonflies in the lower reaches of the mountain rivers.

One of the most spectacular emergences I’ve witnessed this season has been at the large pond at the entrance to the National Arboretum. I drive past this most days on my way to and from work, but had always considered it to be fairly uninteresting and sterile – the pond, and arboretum, are still in a fairly early stage of development. I was in for a shock!

My first visit to the pond was on 17 October, and I wasn’t expecting much – just filling in surveyable sites really. And at first there wasn’t much to be seen along the narrow muddy edges fringed with rushes. But as I approached the end of the pond where the run-off from the surrounding slopes enters, the numbers of Blue Ringtails and Red and Blue Damsels increased, and there was also a single Australian Emperor and a few Tau Emeralds.

Adult male Blue Ringtail Austrolestes annulosus, Australian National Arboretum, 9 Nov 2015. 

A tandem pair of Red & Blue Damsels Xanthagrion erythroneurum, 9 Nov 2015.

Three weeks later when I returned, on the afternoon of 9 November, the numbers of damselfies had increased greatly and I estimated a total of at least 300 Blue Ringtails and probably about 60 Red & Blue Damsels, just at that end of the pond. The large number of teneral (immature newly emerged adults) Blue Ringtails I saw in the clumps of rushes and tall grasses bordering the pond indicated the population is still on the increase. The emperor and emeralds were still there, and I also picked up a handful of fairly newly emerged Common Bluetails.

Newly emerged (teneral) male Blue Ringtail. The areas of pale orange will eventually mature to a bright sky blue. During this vulnerable stage, when they are comparatively soft and weak-flighted, they tend to stick to the safety of dense grasses and other vegetation.

A teneral female Blue Ringtail.

The following photos attempt to convey a sense of the intense activity at the pond.

Perching spots were at such a premium that the different species even tolerated each other briefly. 

Blue Ringtail and Red & Blue Damsel sharing a perch.

Pairing up was a clear priority...

The protagonists of this newly established pair were a little awkward and had some trouble knowing just how to get it on, but eventually figured it out. 

Nuh-uh - wrong!

Let's try that again...

nearly there...

Ahh - yes, that feels right!

There was a lot of competition involved, leading to some pretty debauched behaviour. This male tried his luck with a female who was already paired up...

...and this one even tried it on with a hapless female who was all but dead and was floating on the water!

There were swarms of ovipositing tandem pairs of both Blue Ringtails and Red & Blue Damsels - presumably there were suitable water plants and twigs just below the surface that provided prime egg laying sites.

Both Blue Ringtails and Red & Blue Damsels are species which will totally submerge when laying eggs, the female dragging the male below the surface as she works her way deeper and deeper down a submerged plant or twig.

Two pairs of ovipositing Blue Ringtails. The lower pair is completely submerged; the upper pair is still working its way down the substrate, while another male flies past.

But not all had a successful or happy ending!

This is the biggest massing of damselflies I’ve yet experienced. Which is interesting, because last season, the only Blue Ringtails I recorded were a couple of males at the local golf course dam in November and December. This year I’ve already seen them in reasonable numbers at Acton Beach on Lake Burley Griffin (deeper water), and the lower reaches of the Gudgenby River (admittedly at still water of the pondage created by a weir). It’ll be interesting to see if they tend to be an early season specialist. Or whether this year might be a good year for them whereas last year wasn’t – for whatever reason. I have no idea yet how much variability there might be from year to year.

Another thing that is intriguing me for the moment is the absence so far of any Blue Skimmers which are normally very common. Last year, I saw my first Blue Skimmer on 26 October and that was in the backyard so I wasn’t even looking for them. 

Like with nearly everything – the more you find out, the more questions arise to be answered. But then isn’t that the fun of it?