Upcoming Event: Club-tailed Dragonflies at Radley

Upcoming Event

CHANGED DATE! We’ve had to change the date of this event. It will now take place on Saturday 29th May.

Club-tailed Dragonflies: site visit at Radley to see the emerging dragonflies (hopefully!) NOW ON Saturday 29th May

The Club-tailed Dragonfly is a striking yellow and black nationally rare dragonfly with a stronghold on the Thames in Oxfordshire. They are one of the earliest British dragonflies to emerge, and can be seen from late April through to the end of May and into June.

At this site visit, we hope to see the emerging adults at Radley Boat Club and also the larvae, which live in the river gravels.

The visit will be led by Dr Jeremy Biggs, Freshwater Habitats Trust’s Director, and co-author (with Penny Williams), of the forthcoming ‘Ponds, Pools and Puddles’ New Naturalist book.

Please note that this visit is real natural history, and we may not see either adults or larvae of this rare dragonfly, though we’re timing the visit to give us the best chance. We’ll also be able to take a look at some of the other underwater life found in the River Thames, possibly including one of Britain’s rarest mayflies, and talk about the pollution problems facing the river.

The visit is limited to 12 people, and is suitable for adults only. You can bring ordinary footwear as we won’t be going in the water.

We will meet at 10.30am at the top of the private road to Radley Boat House (SU53505 98863), where there is limited car parking. You may need to park a little way away and walk to the meeting point, as the surrounding roads are very narrow. Please park cars considerately to avoid blocking resident access. Alternatively, there is plenty of room at Radley railway station car park which is a 15 minute walk from the meeting point. The location is easily accessible (a 15 minute walk or 5 minute cycle) either by the 35 bus or train to Radley Station.

If you’d like to come along, please email Project Officer Ellie Mayhew on emayhew@freshwaterhabitats.org.uk to book your place. Feel free to circulate to anyone else who might be interested.

We hope to see you there!