Ober Water & Silver Water, New Forest - 7th July

I had a spare morning and so decided to head into the New Forest to try and see Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly, a species I had tried for in the forest last year but failed to see. I tried Ober Water, a well known site for the species, parking at the Puttles Bridge car park south of the Rhinefield Hotel at SU271029. I then walked west along the Ober Water for around 2km, it was pretty tough going through heathland and bog and I was unsuccessful in my quest but did see a range of species including Beautiful Demoiselle, Gold-ringed Dragonfly, Keeled Skimmer, White-legged Damselfly, Small Red Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Black Darter and many Silver-studded Blue.

Female Keeled Skimmer - Ober Water, New Forest

Silver-studded Blue - Ober Water, New Forest

Silver-studded Blue - Ober Water, New Forest

Teneral Black Darter - Ober Water, New Forest

Small Red Damselfly - Ober Water, New Forest

Large Red Damselfly - Ober Water, New Forest

Female White-legged Damselfly - Ober Water, New Forest

Male White-legged Damselfly - Ober Water, New Forest

I then went onto Silver Water which flows south-west from the Puttles Bridge car park, this is also meant to be a good area for Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly and, in hindsight, the habitat close to Rhinefield Road appears suitable but I had no luck. I added Southern Damselfly and Azure Damselfly to the list of species for the morning.

Southern Damselfly - Silver Water, New Forest

Azure Damselfly - Silver Water, New Forest