THE first ever sighting of a dragonfly species in Dorset has been celebrated by conservationists.

Southern migrant hawker dragonflies have been recorded on Dorset Wildlife Trust’s (DWT’s) nature reserve, Lytchett Heath.

Three males have been seen in the area, where they were first discovered by local birdwatcher, Ian Ballam.

“Lytchett Bay is my ‘patch’ for birding, but in summer I also record dragonflies," he said.

"I was making a quick visit to the DWT reserve at Lytchett Bay on Saturday July 21 and as soon as I arrived at the main 'dried-up' pool I noticed a bright blue small hawker type dragonfly.

"Then I noticed another exactly the same on an adjacent pool."

Mr Ballam said the dragonflies were "extremely aggressive" to each other, which pointed him towards the behaviour of the southern migrant hawker.

The species is also called the blue-eye hawker, on account of its blue eyes. The overall appearance of the male Southern migrant hawker is much bluer than the more common migrant hawker.

"I was elated to have found them and even more happy that I managed to identify this tricky species from just flight observations, and after about 90 minutes one came to rest on some reeds so I could confirm my ID was correct," Mr Ballam added.

Hamish Murray, DWT Conservation Officer, said: “This is a great sighting for Dorset. This largely Mediterranean species was formerly a very rare visitor to the UK but since 2006, sightings have increased, especially in the south-east of England, and is now considered to be a potential colonist.

"The warmer weather we’ve been having may have attracted them to the south coast, as they are used to living in warm conditions found in Europe and Asia.”