Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Rare dragonfly returns to Cambridgeshire after 120 years

Rare Norfolk Hawker moves to Cambridgeshire!

June 2013. The British Dragonfly Society has confirmed that a new breeding population of rare Norfolk Hawker dragonflies has been found at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire, a reserve managed by Huntingdonshire District Council Countryside Services. This is the first breeding site to be discovered outside of the species' Norfolk and Suffolk stronghold since Norfolk Hawkers were lost from the Cambridgeshire fens 120 years ago!

Endangered
Dr Pam Taylor, President of the British Dragonfly Society, said: "The Norfolk Hawker is an endangered dragonfly protected by law, so the discovery of a totally new population is very exciting indeed. The main threats to the species in its Norfolk Broads and coastal Suffolk habitats are sea level rise and saline intrusion into freshwater dykes and ditches. The discovery of a new inland site, well protected from these threats, could help to preserve the future of Norfolk Hawkers in the UK."

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