Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)

Southern Hawker

As its name suggests this colourful hawker is found mainly in the southern half of the United Kingdom but not exclusively so.

It emerges from mid to late July but is best seen when it is a fully mature adult, in mid to late August or early September, when they are at their most colourful. This is a particularly striking and large dragonfly.

Southern Hawkers can be seen on lakes, ponds, canals and are often seen in wooded glades far away from stillwater. They are frequent visitors to garden ponds and can be an amazing sight owing to their large size.

This hawker is most easily confused with the Common Hawker, which is not quite as common as its name suggests.

The male Southern Hawker having green and blue abdominal spots, where as the Common Hawker has all blue spots, narrow antehumeral stripes & no yellow triangle on segment 2 of the abdomen.

The female Southern Hawker is generally greener in overall appearance and has brown eyes. It has green antehumeral stripes & abdominal spots. It is also more scarce than the male

Photographic Overview - The Southern Hawker

All of my images are taken in handheld mode without the use of any camera support and this overview is written with that in mind.

The Southern Hawker is perhaps the most approachable of the Aeshna family. They will generally perch in accessible locations in hedgerows or similar low level vegetation. They are therefore relatively easy to photograph, presenting few compositional problems. This hawker will patrol regular routes, returning frequently to the same spot. Once a suitable perch has been located some really good shots can be obtained with a bit of patience. Ultra close ups are also possible, particularly on later season encounters.

One issue is the true representation of the blue spots on the abdomen. In bright light the blue may appear pale on the image, if it does experiment with varying angles of shot.

These images were obtained by stealth and patience alone, no other non photographic techniques were used. I hope you have enjoyed browsing and that you'll return again soon.