The Ponds and Dragonflies at Lee Park Golf Course

The Ponds and Dragonflies at Lee Park Golf Course

Over the last few years dragonflysightings have increased dramatically at Lee Park, the variety of species and the numbers of these that can be seen have now made itone of the best sites inLancashire.

Our species list now stands at fourteen, of which at least twelve breed, which is hugely impressive considering the site location and its three small ponds; Lancashire as a whole has around twenty breeding species.

Three ponds have been created and managed for wildlife and the story of the 18th pond mirrors the success of the dragonfly population. Originally constructed from scratch in 2014 to prevent winter flooding in front of the green it has developed into a perfect home for many aquatic creatures; reedmace has rapidly spread (until it now needs thinning) leading to Moorhens raising four young this year and a Kingfisher has also been seen sat on the bank.

But the dragonflies have found their perfect home here with Four-spotted and Broad-bodiedChaser, Emperor, Black-tailed Skimmer, Brown Hawker, Common Darter all breeding and ovipositing (egg-laying) in the pond. Rarest of allhas been the discovery of a pair of Ruddy Darter;seen to mate and egg-lay in the pond this is one of the few sites in Lancashire for this species.

The pond on the 1st hole is the largest and more mature of our three, extensively excavated and enlarged in 1995, now with an established area of reedmace and reedsholding breedingCoot and Moorhen, plusReed Buntings for the first time this year; Grey Heron is a regular early morning visitor before those pesky golfers scare it away! A male Kingfisher was seen on a number of occasions this spring, but once again during the summer months the dragonflies take centre stage. On the lily pads large numbers of Blue-tailed, Common Blue and Azure Damselflies can be seen, with the much scarcer Red-eyed Damselfly being discovered amongst them this year.Emperor Dragonfly is a permanent feature with males hawking the pool and females laying eggs, while Four-SpottedChasers are regular.

The pond on the 12th hole, again developed from scratch in 2004, is smaller than the other two with less water and two separate habitat areas split by a sandstone bridge. The lower water levels controlled by the outflow, were deliberately developed this way to prevent the local youngsters from fishing and putting themselves in danger from tee shots. But it still holds Four-Spotted Chaser and Emperor on occasions, while Large Red Damselfly has been seen here alongside the other commoner blue damselflies.

The pond developments at Lee Park have been an outstanding success for the drainage of the course, with the added benefit of being of huge importance for all the wildlife, great crested newts, but especially the dragonfly population; the full list of dragonfly species recorded on the course is as follows:

Brown Hawker Banded Demoiselle

Migrant Hawker Red-eyed Damselfly

Emperor Dragonfly Large Red Damselfly

Black-tailed Skimmer Blue-tailed Damselfly

Broad-bodied Chaser Common Blue Damselfly

Four-spotted Chaser Azure Damselfly

Ruddy Darter Common Darter

Steve Young