Aeshna cyanea
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The southern hawker or blue hawker (Aeshna cyanea) is a species of hawker dragonfly. The species is one of the most common and most widespread dragonflies in Europe. The range in the Western Palearctic covers a large part of Europe, to Scotland and southern Scandinavia in the north and to Italy (without the southwest) and the northern Balkans in the south); the eastern boundary is formed by the Urals and the western by Ireland. It is also found in northwest Africa (Algeria). In Central Europe the species is very common.
These dragonflies mainly inhabit well-vegetated, small ponds and garden ponds, but they wander widely, and they are often seen in gardens and open woodland. Aeshna cyanea can reach a body length of about 70 millimetres (2.8 in), with a wingspan up to 110 millimetres (4.3 in). It is a large, brightly coloured dragonfly, with a long body. The thorax is brown, with two ante-humeral wide green longitudinal stripes. On the forehead there is a black spot in the form of the letter T. The wings are hyaline with a dark pterostigma. The leading edge of the wings is dark.
Males have a dark abdomen with bright apple green markings... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Munich | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Brussels | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Essen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 9 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Hawker sighting in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 101st most-seen of the 818 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Hawker in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to June, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Hawker sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Southern Hawker sightings, Wadden Sea National Park ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Tatra National Park (Slovakia, about 20%), Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 20%) and Snowdonia National Park (United Kingdom, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Hawker is recorded against all the insects logged in Wadden Sea National Park (49 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
