Chris Lansdell's Birding & Nature Diary: Southern Migrant Hawkers at Thompson Common, 1 Aug 2020

The chance to see my 35th species of odonata in Norfolk was one not to be missed this morning. It was only a matter of time before Southern Migrant Hawkers reached the county but I thought I might have to wait a bit longer than this.
With good directions Belinda and I arrived at the mostly dried up pingo they are favouring and immediately saw a single male in flight. In the next little while we had many sightings (including 6 in the air together at one point) and were lucky enough to get some nice perched views too. One even sat still to enable a phone shot from 6 inches away! We also had 2 others on nearby pingoes but they may have been some of the same individuals. All were males.

On a walk around the common afterwards we saw Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly, loads of Ruddy Darters, Emerald Damselflies, Common Blue, Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Brimstone and Speckled Wood as well as one new plant for me - Fine-leaved Water-dropwort, a local speciality with a liking for pingoes that seasonally dry up. A single lingering spotted orchid could have been either Common Spotted or Heath Spotted Orchid or even a hybrid of the two!

A pair of Chinese Water Deer flushed from a wet pingo was somewhat of a surprise!