My 5 Chickens

2025 was a moderate year in Denmark. No new species detected and numbers and distribution of most species seems to be unchanged from previous years.

April is the month where dragonflies start to fly in Denmark and this year it was generally chilly but dry and sunny. This combination of conditions might be the reason why relatively many species could be seen during this month, 14. I expect that lower water conditions, due to the prolonged dry period, and relatively much sun heating up the water, created early favorable conditions for many species with lavae living in waters with fluctuating levels.

The first species was Large Red Damsel on the 17th in Nordsjælland and soon after Downy Emerald and Four-spotted Chaser followed. On the 24th I went to look for the Large Red Damsel myself and found a few. Interestingly I also found a young Ruby Whiteface, which is early, but also a confirmation of the larger trend taking place nowadays: Extended flight periods of many sorts of animals, especially early in the season.

Running through the list of Danish species and comparing it to the information in the latest field guide by Magnus Billqvist (2023), which is still the most relevant resource about Danish dragonflies, it is obvious that his flight periods aren't representative of the Danish animals.

A combination of his data being biased toward Swedish conditions, I suspect, and the generally earlier flight start, has forced me to change the flight periods here on my website to match the Danish conditions better. I think it is most useful to list the extreme flight dates for people to get an idea of when to expect to find them. In fact most species, especially the more common ones, have had a marked extention of primarily the starting flight date. That the last flight date hasn't changed much, is probably a logical consequence of the earlier flight start with all activities being moved forward. Whether this will lead to an earlier terminations of the reproduction season or perhaps to an expansion with a second generation of animals in the same year, I have no idea about.

Where April saw easterly winds, May continued with northern winds and changeable weather as a result. Chilly with rain showers and overcast conditions. Not very favorable for dragonflies. Later, June gave us what we could call a typical Danish summer, with temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees changing through rain, sun, clouds and light wind. In July and August the weather became more fluctuating, with heavier rain showers, mainly in the south and western part of the country and we also had a few periods of extreme southern warm flowing up over the country, but never longer than a few days, and each time without bringing interesting news to the country. I speculate that it might have been too late in the season for the larger movements among the Central European populations.

September was a month without much character and October resulted cold and overcast with very few moments of sun, particularly in the eastern part of the country. November continued the same way and on the 15th the last species, Common Darter, was seen. This being a rare November day with sun coming through allowing for the remaining animals to warm up sufficiently to be active.

THE SPECIES

Spreadwings
The 4 well-established species, Western Willow (viridens), Robust (dryas), Common (sponsa) and Small (virens), all had good expected years, though dryas started out later than usual. Both viridens and virens are still confined to their known breeding localities, meaning west of Storebælt for viridens and Sønderjylland and Bornholm for virens.

Contrary to this, the new-comer, Migrant (barbarus), disappointed this year. It was mainly found at Knudshoved Odde at southern Sjælland, while the small population I found on Amager in 2024, produced absolutely nothing in 2025. I later found a single animal in September, at Engsø, but surely without any relations to the 2024 animals. In general there were few observations throughout the country, and mainly in the east, which might have been the result of poor coverage. I still suspect that there is a large group of people who only contribute with findings as long as it's new to them. Tick-focused post-birders with a preference for now looking downward instead of up.

The Migrant Spreadwing is a species that fluctuate depending on the conditions, favoring ephemeral water bodies and prone to dispersal over larger distances, but being a one-year species, animals should emerge every year, why it is still strange why no animals were present on Amager this year.

Winter Damsel
One of the highlights this year, with records from many new localities on Bornholm this year. However, there are still only summer observations of the species, why I must conclude that none of the locals try to look for wintering individuals.

The species is still only found on Bornholm, in Denmark, but I suspect that it will cross Øresund in a few years, knowing that you can find it in several places along the western coast of Skåne in Sweden.

Demoiselles
Nothing much to say. Both are stable and widely spread. However, Beautiful (virgo) is still not present on Sjælland, though claims are often made. But they most often turn out to be Banded (splendens). Virgo being present both east and west of Sjælland, it is probably a question of time before real populations show up near some of the forested waterways.

Featherleg
Blue Featherleg (pennipes), a very localized species holding on to the few known localities - southern Sjælland and central and southern Jylland, three localites in all. Low numbers were reported this year, but again, it might be based on poor coverage rathter than factual numbers.

Pond-damsels
Common Bluetail (elegans), being widespread, had a good year. However, Small Bluetail (pumilio) had a poor year, but being a pioneer species, it is probably more sensistive to changes in the breeding environment than the other species (almost gone from Amager again). A very early observation of this species from April at Karlstrup Grusgrav was unusual, however.

The redeyes continue with a strong bias of Large (najas) toward Jylland and Small (viridulum) biased toward the eastern part of the country. It is still a question whether Small is overtaking the breeding sites in the eastern part of Denmark, where Large used to be more common.

The bluets are present as usual with the rarer Dark (armatum) and Spearhead (hastulatum) being restricted to Jylland and Bornholm, though the latter is still found on Sjælland on a rare occasion; Crescent (lunulatum) follows the same pattern as Spearhead.

Azure (Puella), Variable (pulchellum) and Common (cyathigerum) are all common and widespread and trends are difficult to conclude without digging deeper into the data than I'm doing with this paper.

Sedgling (speciosa), also a protected species, is still present in Nordsjælland, but unfortunately probably still in decline, with 12 individuals being the highest count this year.

Large Red Damsel (nymphula) is also stable throughout the country, and probably still spreading, thought it still hasn't reached Amager yet.


Hawkers
The common species, Blue (cyanea), Brown (grandis), Migrant (mixta), Hairy (pratense) and Green-eyed (isoceles) in general seem stable.
The newly arrived species Blue-eyed Hawker (affinis) started to fly a few weeks later that last year, but turned out to have a good year with breeding activities in various places. Amager was a hotspot this year. The larger picture of the species's presence is somewhat blurred by the fact that only few people seem to report the animals. I would have expected more to have been found throughout the eastern part of the country. It is still not found in Jylland.

Green (viridis) is one of the few protected species in Denmark, and a special effort to track it is made, why there are relatively many observations made of the species. It is present in all parts of Denmark and it appears to be spreading, and is probably thriving as does it's primary host plant, Water-soldier. I found a few plants in Vagthussøen on Amager Fælled this year, which might be the first on Amager, and which fuels the hope of this species becoming a resident Amager species one day.

The two exclusive Aeshna species, Moorland (juncea) and Bog (subarctica) are mainly found in Jylland and probably are stable there, while the populations in Nordsjælland seem to have reached the bottom with zero observations this year. There were also very few observations from Jylland this year, and both species not being annually reproducers, we have to hope that it was simply a poor year for both of them.

The highlight this year among the hawkers was, when Baltic (serrata) was reported from Vejlerne mid-July. With no reports last year and only one observation in 2023, the species is expected to move toward extinction.

I and others went there to get a new species, and I managed to find 3 animals, but unfortunately without good documentation as they were mostly flying over the reed bed at great distance. But both females and males were present, why we can hope that it is not over yet. It is still a puzzle why the species hasn't been able to spread further from Vejlerne, as many suited localities should be available throughout the country.

All three Anax species on the Danish list were reported this year. The largests and most common, Blue (imperator) is exactly that, common, and thrives, it seems. And Lesser (parthenope) also seems to have found a new home here in Denmark with breeding-like activities in many parts. I even had a single flyby when I visited Vejlerne mid July. Otherwise the species is still mostly ocurring in the southern and eastern part of the country.

The last and rarest anax species, Vagrant (ephippiger) was reported twice. July 26 from Gedser and August 13 from Silkeborg. Both were undocumented, but there have been quite a few observations in Europe, also England, this year, why it doesn't sound unrealistic that it should turn up in Denmark too.

Gomphids
We only have two species from this globally vast group of dragonflies. Rightly said, we have three on the list, but the third, Small Pincertail (forcipatus) is no longer flying in Denmark.
The other two, Common Clubtail (vulgatissimus) and Green Snaketail (cecilia) both seem to be thriving, even though both were reported in lower numbers than other years. Cecilia only flies in Jylland but seems to occupy new waterways away from the hotspots in central Jylland. Vulgatissimus fly in much the same open-flowing rivers, but is also present on Sjælland occupying the Suså-complex.

Goldenrings
Another exclusive species, Common Goldenring (boltonii) is flying over clean running forest streams, rather localized and restricted to Jylland, but apparently it is stable. With the political decisions to expand the forested area in Denmark during the following decades, combined with more rain, it wouldn't be a surprise if this species could expand it's range under these new conditions.

Skimmers
The largest family in Denmark with 18 species seen.

Starting with one of the new species in the country, Broad Scarlet (erythraea), there is no doubt that it has established itself in the southern part, particular on Falster and probably also Møn. 2024 was a better year for the species, with more observations on Sjælland and southern Jylland, but less search effort might be the reason for the lower numbers this year. Unfortunately Amager doesn't seem to be a favorite with a few years now without any sightings reported. And this compared to findings at Hvidovre Enge, just over the bridge from Amager, where animals were found in both 2024 and 2025. And exceptionally late animal from Kolding in October increased the official flight period considerably.

The Whitefaces, of which all 5 European species are on the Danish list, are not doing well these years. Dark Whiteface (albifrons) is only a rare visitor nowadays, and hasn't been seen since 2023, on Bornholm.

The other 'white' Whiteface, Lily-pad (caudalis) is also a rarity, but with the discovery of a population on Falster in 2023, it was hoped that it would be a continuing experience. However, no animals were seen in 2024 and only two males were reported from June 2025, which doesn't sound promising for a thriving population. This said, the species is not necessarily a quick reproducer, as the literature indicates that the species in our part of the world might be more flexible than known is, meaning that it is likely that it reproduces in 1-3 years, depending on the local water conditions. So, if 2023 was a good year with relatively many individuals, and both sexes, it is possible that 2026 is going to be the next good year. We hope!

The largest of the three 'red' Whitefaces, Yellow-spotted (pectoralis) is protected, and fortunately it appears to be stable in it's restricted range here in Denmark. Most observations are made in Nordsjælland, but it is also found on Falster, Fyn and near Århus in Jylland.

The other two, Small (dubio) and Ruby (rubicunda) also had a reasonable year, especially in Jylland, which is the stronghold for both species. In eastern Denmark, Nordsjælland is the main area where to find it and here there were relatively few observations this year, perhaps hitting a low, both species reproducing every 2-3 years only.

The Libellula-Chasers are represented by 3 species in Denmark: Broad-bodied (depressa), Blue (fulva) and Four-spotted (quadrimaculata) were all having a good year. These species adapt well, why they are expected to handle changing breeding localities better than many other species. Fulva is the more specialized of the three preferring cleaner and less nutrition-rich waters than the other two, why it is mainly found in central Jylland and southwest Sjælland. The others are found in the entire country.

The two Orthetrum-Skimmers present in Denmark, Black-tailed (cancellatum) and Keeled (coerulescens) are different in terms of distribution, the former being very common and widespread, and the latter only being found near forested waters in central a southern Jylland. Both had a good year. A late October observation in naturbasen.dk of cancellatum from the botanical garden i Århus has to be wrong one way or the other. Probably the date or perhaps the animals was produced in one of the nearby greenhouses. Unfortunately the finder only responded with a thumbs-up rather than a useful explanation. I'll ignore it.

Interestingly, there is a small population of coerulescens just south of Malmö in Sweden, only 20 kilometers from Amager. This is one of the species with the frustratingly abrupt distribution, being present in Jylland and Sweden, but not on Sjælland. The habitat near Malmö is very different from the forested habitats where the species is found in Jylland and other places in southern Sweden: shallow sedge-fringed waterhole in open urban-agricultural surroundings. My hope is that this diversity in habitat choice eventually will lead to a populatin reaching my island one day.

The darters in general, Sympetrum, had a rather good year.

Black (danae) is one species that is regarded as endangered on a European level, but in Denmark it seems to hold the fort, even though there were relatively lower numbers this year compared to others. And away from mid-Jylland and Nordsjælland, the species is still somewhat exclusive, requirering clean water. I managed to find a few singletons on Amager this year, but the influx at Travbaneparken two years ago is completely gone.

It was a good year for Yellow-winged (flaveolum). Not a large invasion, but still enough animals found to have the year stand out and be catecorized as a such year. They started to show up around the 20th of July and continued into the beginning of September. The influx had an eastern orientation with only two observations from Jylland. Most were done by me on Amager, but the largest count, 12, was made in Nordsjælland. On Amager the best days show around 10 or less, but confirmed egg-laying was a promissing sign, giving hope that the species will emerge in June 2026. In Sweden the species had a very good year with 200 estimated at one locality once as the largest count.

The other f-darter, Red-veined (fonscolombii) had a fairly good year. It is not annual in Denmark, but has been present the last two years. The species has an easterly orientation and the best places to find it are Amager, Gedser Odde, and Holtug kridtbrud. There were only a few observations from Jylland, and a single from Bornholm. The adults started to show up mid-June and largest numbers of males were around 15 both on Amager and at Gedser. The species reproduces fast, and in September I found several young animals at Engsø on Kalvebod Fælled, the last being seen on September 20.

The three common darters in Denmark, Ruddy (sanguineum), Common (striolatum) and Moustached (vulgatum) all had a good and stable year. Already being widespread the finer fluctuations from year to year require more details scrutiny of data than this paper is aiming at. Moustached continues to be the rarer one, compared to Common, but for a short while I thought, I had discovered that my own counts probably were affected by a degree of assumption, because while using my net this year, I felt that I was capturing more Moustached than I would have counted as Common by pure sight. But at the end, comparing data from earlier years, it turned out that I had made far more observations of Moustached the last year than this year, why that excercise proved fruitless.

Emeralds
Our four species of emeralds, Downy (aenea), Northern (arctica), Yellow-spotted (flavomaculata) and Brilliant (metallica) didn't raise much attention about them in general. Of course, Downy, being different than the other three, is a well-adapted species that flies early and abundantly and it was noted in large numbers at suited localities, as expected.

But the other three are more discrete and less numerous. Still, it was less than expected when Northern hardly was reported this year (all observations from the known areas in Jylland). But being reproducing itself in 2-3 years, we might have experienced a simple low this year. The same perhaps with Yellow-spotted that was under-reported to some degree compared to other years. Main areas are Sjælland and Falster with no observations from Jylland at all. If not looking specifically for the species it might be easy to overlook, as you often only register it by the patrolling males along suited protected forest corridors.

Brilliant seemed to have a better year than the other two, mainly being found on Sjælland and central Jylland. This species, however, more often flies in the open over canals and smaller rivers, why it probably is easier to detect, like Downy.

Lastly, we actually have a fifth emerald on the Danish list, European Baskettail (bimaculata), but it's been many years now, since it was last seen in our country. And this despite the fact that you can find it just across Øresund in Skåne, 50 kilometers away. To keep an eye out in Nordsjælland and on Bornholm!