Aeshna mixta
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The migrant hawker or autumn hawker (Aeshna mixta) is one of the smaller species of hawker dragonflies. It can be found away from water but for breeding it prefers still or slow-flowing water and can tolerate brackish sites. The flight period is from July to the middle of November. A. mixta occurs in North Africa, southern and central Europe to southern Scandinavia and the Baltic region.
A. mixta is a small Aeshna which appears dark in flight. It is similar in appearance to other Aeshna species but has a characteristic "golf-tee" shaped mark on the second segment of the abdomen (S2) which is diagnostic. In flight it looks like a small Emperor dragonfly with a blue abdomen which, when seen from the side, curves down. The main identification problem in the field is distinguishing this species from A. affinis where the two species fly together. The markings on the side of the thorax are different in A. affinis and A. mixta. In A. affinis the sides of the thorax are greeny yellow with fine black lines along the sutures. In A. mixta the sides of the thorax are similar in colour but the yellow is separated by dark brown areas so it gives the appearance of having two... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brussels | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 4 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 5 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 6 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 8 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 10 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Migrant Hawker sighting in Birmingham on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 246th most-seen of the 811 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Migrant Hawker in Birmingham on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Migrant Hawker sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 24
Of the 24 cities where we can rate Migrant Hawker sightings, Birmingham ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Brussels (Belgium, about 20%), London (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Dublin (Ireland, about 10%).
Same genus: Aeshna
The closest relatives of the Migrant Hawker that you can see in Birmingham (genus Aeshna, Hawkers and Typical Darners) are Southern Hawker (about 10%) and Brown Hawker (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Migrant Hawker is recorded against all the insects logged in Birmingham (33 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
