On Tuesday 13th June, Saturday 17th June, and Wednesday 21st June, the Warden of Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust (SBBOT) will be leading walks to see the Dainty Damselfly colony at Sandwich Bay.

Dainty Damselfly (Dainty Bluet) Coenagrion scitulum is a species rather local throughout its range, occurring in France, northern Iberia, and eastwards to Iran. It is slowly expanding northwards and has colonised Belgium and the Netherlands. In the UK it was present only in Essex during 1946-1952 but then lost due to coastal flooding and thought nationally extinct until rediscovered in 2010 in northern Kent. It was thought to be restricted to four small pools on the Isle of Sheppey with no general access. However, to everyone’s surprise, it was discovered at Sandwich Bay in small numbers in 2019. These were the first sightings from mainland Britain in almost 70 years. Subsequent surveys have revealed a good population with hundreds of individuals seen.

Interest in the discovery has been high since the news was released in 2019. However, as the status of this species in the UK is still precarious there will only be access to the site on these three dates. The Warden will lead a series of guided walks to the site and walk-through the identification process of the Dainty Damselfly (and other species present on the day). Each session will last approximately two hours.

We will be operating a booking system for the walks. Please visit HERE to book a place. Tickets are £5 per head. All the guided walks in recent years have been extremely successful with a 100% success rate and lots of photographic opportunities. It is expected that tickets will book fast.

Booking essential via our Ticket Tailor:

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