One of the last hawkers to be seen in the New Forest, with the greatest prevalence in early September. Males usually patrol a stretch of water or bog at a low height (often 1 foot above the waters surface). Males will perch periodically, and are often quite approachable by the photographer, where they often provide excellent 'isolated' photo opportunities.

Females will regularly settle to lay eggs (ovipositing). Curiously, the females seem to lay eggs in dirt and rotten wood on the periphery of a pond and not directly into pond foliage. Egg laying occurs usually under the shelter of bank vegetation away from predators. Sometimes the sound of rustling vegetation can give a clue to the location of an ovipositing female.

Southern Hawkers can be found late in the season, often ‘hawking’ in the late afternoon sun in close proximity to woodland ponds.