Woodlife Trails

The best place around here for watching dragonflies and damselflies is the Forestry Commission’s Broaks Wood. I go there once a month to check what’s about.

I was examining some gorse when I heard a familiar voice.

“There’s one on your left.”

It was the Dragonfly Man. Until recently, I’ve not known his real name. He doesn’t say hello or goodbye; he just talks dragonflies so I have dubbed him the Dragonfly Man.

I strained to look into the gorse but there was no dragonfly in sight.

“There!”

I jumped as the voice came from about 3 inches away from my ear. I followed an outstretched arm and an old, gnarled, pointing finger, and, sure enough, there was a tiny red damselfly.

“How did you see that from way back there?” I asked.

There was no answer as he had already wandered off to look into the main pond.

“You know the trick about putting in a stick at 45 degrees at the edge of the pond?” he said.

Yes, I thought. You’ve told me every year for the past sixteen years.

“Look. There’s a big blue one. It’s going to land on the stick!”

He doesn’t appear to know the names of the dragonflies, which is quite endearing. He just watches them, photographs them and tells people where they are and how to get closer to them. He showed me how to get a Common darter on my finger. In fact, he’s responsible for me starting this fascination with these prehistoric creatures.

“If you come early, they won’t be flying. It’s got to be a certain temperature before they fly. You’ll see them hanging about on the gorse bushes. Some go really high up in the trees. When the sun comes out they start their hunting and their battles.”

You can’t help but get carried along on the waves of his enthusiasm.

Even though you might have heard him say the same thing a hundred times before, there will inevitably be something you have missed; so it’s worth following him around for a while.

“I got a great picture of the big brown one yesterday,” he said in his sing-song Suffolk accent. I looked at the screen on his camera to see a blurry picture of a four-spotted chaser. Should I tell him he really ought to go to the opticians? It hardly seems appropriate. He just gets so much enjoyment from his study.

His attention was diverted by a young couple looking at the pond.

“There’s one there!” He shouted to them. I smiled as he wandered up to them and pointed with an outstretched arm.

This video is dedicated you, The Dragonfly Man, for the many years of sharing your endless knowledge and enthusiasm.