21 SEPTEMEBER 2026 - ROYDON to HARLOW TOWN

Andy Saunders and I had been talking about doing a walk ‘somewhere’ for some time, and this was the day we carried it out. After some deliberation we decided of taking a train to Roydon, then walking back to Harlow Town, partly along the Stort Navigation towpath, then veering off to follow the towpath along the actual River Stort through Hunsdon Mead, Parndon Mead, and on to Harlow Town station.

We caught the train at Bishop’s Stortford that got us into Roydon shortly after 10.00 a.m. then crossed over the level crossing to follow the towpath east along the Stort Navigation, until we reached a gate that took us into Hunsdon Mead. The only things of note along this this part of the towpath were the hordes of Ivy Bees.

Shortly before reaching that point, we’d heard, then saw two Rose-ringed Parakeets; a distant Buzzard, and a single Clouded Yellow Butterfly - but once we reached the gate into Hunsdon Mead, things began to take off in terms of the number of Clouded Yellows seen, it started with a couple of Small Heath butterflies, then one or two Clouded Yellows, then several more moving swiftly over the meadow, until we encountered a pair mating in the lush grass (the first time I’d ever seen a pair in copulation). I (thought I) took several interesting photos until we reached the course of the ‘old’ or actual River Stort when I noticed a warning that ‘flashed’ up in the camera viewfinder (not seen at all whilst taking all my other shots) to the effect that I had no SD Card in the camera, which meant of course that all the shots I thought I’d taken (including those of the mating Clouded Yellows) didn’t in fact exist!! This was especially galling since in normal circumstances my camera wouldn’t allow me to take any photos if a card hadn’t been inserted first. So, where was the 124 GB SD Card I thought I’d inserted before we started out then……………………. well, back on my front room table I guessed!! Fortunately, I did have a few 64GB cards in a wallet in my camera bag, so I loaded one up.

Between that point and Mead Lock we enjoyed a plethora of Clouded Yellows, possibly more than 40 individuals, seemingly the vast majority were females: more than I’d ever seen before at one location. There were a few more Small Heaths, with a sprinkling of Small Whites; a couple of Holly Blues; a possible Common Blue, and a Peacock butterfly. Migrant Hawker Dragonflies were everywhere, in large numbers, with the occasional Common Darter, and a single Emperor Dragonfly. Of the birds, there were good numbers of (Western) Jackdaws and some Carrion Crows; At least two Red Kites at close quarters; two Eurasian Buzzards, and another Little Egret.

We ate our lunches at the lock, then followed the course of the River Stort along the towpath, where Migrant Hawkers abounded - more than I’d ever seen before - with Common Darters (some in tandem) and Common Blue Damselflies well represented too. Every now and then, Cetti’s Warblers sounded out their presence in the reeds, with at least two showing themselves briefly. There were a few Moorhens and Mallards on the river too, and three Cygnet Swans in the lock area. As we approached the end of our walk and Harlow Town station, we began to see Western Emerald Damselflies - some in tandem - in keeping with the recent rise in records along the Stort at Thorley Wash in recent years.

The weather forecast was for clear, sunny skies, and an afternoon temperature of around 22 Degrees C, but it seemed considerably warmer than that at times; and with little shade along the towpath, it became almost unbearably hot, which didn’t suit my demeanour one little bit, and I was ‘flagging’ considerably as we arrived at the station. But we’d enjoyed the walk, nonetheless.

CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (probable female)

CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (possible male)

COMMON BLUE DAMSELFLY ON LILY SEED POD

CRANE FLY

CYGNETS

MOORHEN

WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLY (F)

 

19 SEPTEMEBER 2026 - RAINHAM MARSH

The day begun with an abortive trip to try and see a large pod of between 17 and 25 Long-finned Pilot Whales (depending on which report you read) that had been observed in the Thames estuary at Gravesend the previous day (and indeed most of this week too as it transpired). John and I arrived around 9.15 a.m. but with no reported sightings this morning; but we had to give it a go of course.

There were a few people around who had seen the whales in recent days, but without any knowledge of their whereabouts today and with no further information being given out on BirdGuides, where most of our information had been gleaned from. The proprietor of a café on the riverfront told us that he’d seen the Whales on and off for most of the week - indeed, seen mid-river right in front of his café - so we knew we were in the right place, just no whales to be seen. After a while John had an urge for a bacon butty, so I joined him in the café for a butty and a cappuccino too, whilst we waited in case of an appearance by the whales, but with no further news, we decided to call it a day here, and made our way back to his car, with news of the sighting of an Osprey at Rainham Marsh, so we headed in that direction, slightly deflated.

By the time we reached the RSPB Reserve at Rainham Marsh, there was no further news of the Osprey other than that it (or rather they, as two had been seen) had flown westwards. The volunteer lady on the desk said that whilst the Osprey(s) were no longer around, that there were plenty of raptors to be seen i.e. Western Marsh Harriers; Buzzards; Hobbies and a Peregrine; as well as a Whinchat; so, although we hadn’t intended to walk around the reserve - restricting ourselves to the River (the Thames) side, we’d hoped for a relatively interesting walk bird-wise. But it didn’t turn out that way. Although we did (eventually) see a male and female Western Marsh Harrier, and a Buzzard, they were distant views, and we never had a sniff of any Hobbies, or indeed a Peregrine - just a single distant Kestrel. Neither of us wanted to walk as far as the site where the Whinchat had been found (it was a  long way away), so we missed that too. There was little activity we could see as we overlooked the reserve - mostly ducks, and a few scattered Black-tailed Godwits, but little else of much interest. On the river, just a sprinkling of gulls and Shelducks, with Grey Seals and more Godwits on the Kent side of the Thames.

We did see a few Clouded Yellow Butterflies, which occasionally settled, but the strong westerly wind, assured that they didn’t settle for long; other than those, mostly Small Whites and one or two Large Whites too, and one fleeting view of a passing Wall Brown. Dragonflies comprised three or four Migrant Hawkers and a lone Common Darter seen at the entrance.

On the river, and making it’s way upstream, was a Thames Sailing Barge - a flat-bottomed boat with maroon-coloured sails and a sight not regularly seen these days. Although it wasn’t in full sail, it was still an interesting vessel to see, a reminder of times gone by on the Thames.

When we arrived, we saw a young couple seemingly taking photographs of something in the hedges, and on enquiring discovered they were recording Southern Green Shield Bugs - in varying degrees of development (known as ‘Instars’) - a species we’d never encountered previously; and they were fascinating creatures. We had another brief look at these on the way back to the car, before heading home.

Later in the day, we learned that the reason we didn’t see the Whales, was that they were escorted out of the estuary early that morning by a trawler (or similar vessel) in an effort to ensure their safety, as such a large pod so far up the Thames, was certainly unusual and it probably meant that the Whales had lost their way so to speak. Apparently at least one washed up dead at Canvey further down the estuary. But at least (as far as we know) the main pod was likely to have been saved, and back in the open sea. I guess it’s open to question as to whether the pod is seen again in the Thames estuary.

NOTE

There are no pictures of mine as once processed the photos were corrupted when saved (showing up 'pink'). This is a known issue that I'm looking into. Unfortunately, in the process of trying to solve it, when I thought the final photos were okay, I deleted the images on the SD Card - as is my normal practice after saving my images. Regrettably, when I looked at the 'saved' images again to import them into this document, they'd turned 'pink' again, but too late for me to rectify the situation. To compensate I have downloaded a few free images from the internet, just to illustrate the Southern Green Shield Bug and Thames Barge.

SOUTHERN GREEN SHIELD BUG (including Instars)

THAMES SAILING BARGE (similar to the one seen).

  

5 SEPTEMBER 2026 - SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK (SCP)

I didn’t want to exert myself too much after this Tuesday’s marathon 6-hour walk; so, I opted for Southern Country Park. Needing to ensure I arrived in the park in time to catch emerging butterflies and dragonflies, I left home at 9.35 hrs, arriving at the Park at 10.15 hrs - not too strenuous.

The morning was warmish at around 20 degrees C, and it was sunny and clear, with a moderate northerly breeze, although as I arrived at the Park the skies were beginning to cloud over momentarily. Nothing of any note on the way, but a few Jackdaws (an attractive member of the Corvids family).

There was nobody around - no anglers at the lake, which was unusual (though maybe that had something to do the state of the water, which until recently was covered in duckweed, but now was completely clear, possibly courtesy of recent rains). But there were only a ‘handful’ of Mallards and a couple of Moorhens at the northern end, and as far as I could tell very few dragonflies - half a dozen Migrant Hawkers, a female Southern Hawker, and just two Common Darters. Butterflies around the lake comprised a few Small Whites and a female Brown Argus. At the ‘old Pond’ a couple of Common Darters and a Ruddy Darter, with a lone female Western Willow Emerald Damselfly (I saw none around the main lake at all).

From a distance I could see that part of the Chalk Bank had been mowed, but the southern end remained uncut, so I thought I should at least try for some butterflies, even though the breeze had increased in strength. As soon as I got round to the bank, I saw a single Small White, and with it a Clouded Yellow, which fortunately came towards me and alighted on a dandelion a few feet away, and was relatively easily photographed. And then I saw another, and followed round to the southern end, where it alighted on another dandelion, flitting from one to another for a while until I could get a few shots fired off. But it certainly wasn’t straight forward as the butterfly was moving almost continually at an amazingly fast rate, until it settled, but only briefly. I felt that I’d seen at least three and possibly four individuals - all females - although it’s difficult to quantify as the insects were fast moving and spread out over the Chalk Bank. There were quite a lot of Common Blues too (most were rather worn) with one or two faded Brown Argus, and a single Silver ‘Y’ Moth, which certainly gave me the run-around!

At the Wildflower Meadow (previously known as ‘The Maze’) there was only a small part that had been left unmown - the rest of the field was completely cut, so, the chances of finding any Wasp Spiders was remote indeed, and although I did look hard along the fence line, I failed to connect with any. There were no butterflies here at all either - the field, as far as I could tell, being occupied by a few tiny (unidentified) bee species, a Jackdaw and a couple of Wood Pigeons.

Passing through to one of the exits I could see that most of the open fields had been mown too, so I wasn’t likely to see any more butterflies and dragonflies, so I moved on to the small pond adjacent to St. James’ Church, but the pond was overgrown with tall Phragmites, with hardly any open water, with the only occupiers being a couple of inquisitive Migrant Hawkers.

I took a seat in the grounds of the Church to consume a biscuit and a banana, washed down with water from my flask, then moved off noticing and photographing a huge Chicken of the Woods fungi on a conifer, and then I was homeward bound.

IVY BEE

BROWN ARGUS BUTTERFLY (F)

CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (F)

CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (F)

WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLY (F)

CHICKEN OF THE WOODS FUNGI

SYCAMORE LEAF (CONTRE-JOURE) 

EURASIAN JACKDAW

 

 

1 SEPTEMBER 2026 – TEDNAMBURY and THORLEY WASH

I hadn’t been down to the River Stort (Tednambury and Thorley Wash) for a good part of this long hot summer - the intolerable heat did me no favours whatsoever, playing havoc with my diabetes related issues; so, I spent a lot of the time concentrating on the garden and my wildlife pond. But the heat had subsided considerably, so I thought I’d pay Thorley Wash a long overdue visit.

I started out around 0850 hrs, with plenty of water and some light food, and after a 20-minute wait, took a bus down to Spellbrook, arriving shortly after 0940 hrs.

I thought I’d try Tednambury first, being near to the date I had a family of Ravens last year; but no joy there - the digital mast was occupied by a Lesser Black-backed Gull. But walking along the towpath, it was obvious that there was little if any bird activity, with no signs of any warblers such as Sedge or Reed, and Chiffchaffs, and no Reed Buntings. A Buzzard and two sightings of a Sparrowhawk lifted my spirits slightly, but otherwise it was empty of birds. Migrant Hawker dragonflies were seemingly everywhere, and I was getting some success in photographing them in flight, but I couldn’t turn any of them into Blue Eyed Hawkers (previously known as Southern Migrant Hawkers) despite some having very blue eyes! I had intended to walk up to Tednambury Lock, but the absence of birds generally - although there was a good movement of Swallows - convinced me to turn back to concentrate my efforts on Thorley Wash.

There was a bit of human activity at Spellbrook Lock, with a group of women taking canoeing lessons, which in my eyes meant that there was unlikely to be much seen along the towpath up to Thorley Wash Reserve, and that proved to be the case. Over the bridge onto the reserve, I was surprised just how overgrown everything looked - especially hops that have invaded the bridge itself, and along the towpath up to it - but there was very little insect activity, although I did find a lone Western Willow Emerald Damselfly, which would have been my first for the year were it not for the three I’d had on my wildlife pond at home! There was no sign of any Water Vole activity in the stream, so I ventured into the open, and in the southern sector of the reserve immediately noticed a couple of birds flying up and catching insects from a dead tree and put the binoculars to my eyes; but I certainly didn’t expect what transpired.

One of the birds alighted on a bare branch, so I trained the binoculars on that, and immediately saw a familiar bird, one that I hadn’t seen at Thorley Wash since September 2011 - on the Essex side of the Stort on the Walbury Estate side; it was a Spotted Flycatcher! But there were two. Both birds were heavily streaked on the crown and breast, so I expected they were juveniles, but neither had streaking on the mantle, so were more likely to be adult birds. There was quite a distance between me and the birds and using the 100-400mm telephoto on the camera, wasn’t going to produce a decent image, so I added the 2x Converter to help in this regard. Luckily, the light was excellent, with variable cloud, so I was able to use a reasonable exposure and speed with the lens; although both birds were extremely active, which made it difficult to focus. But I persisted and eventually managed some decent shots. I also noticed a small warbler, with bright yellow breast and underparts, and which I’ve taken to be a juvenile Willow Warbler, as opposed to a Chiffchaff, which would normally be much duller; the first Willow Warbler I’d seen here for a couple of years.

I hadn’t initially intended to walk around the entire reserve, but I wanted to try for more Willow Emerald Damselflies, so I went ahead. There were quite a few grasshoppers along the path, but they were always too quick for me to photograph, so that was a tad disappointing. Within a short space of time, along a very overgrown pathway, I found my second Willow Emerald, which again took off before I could train the camera on it, but it did at least indicate that they were probably quite abundant on the reserve. I took some refreshment on a seat at the northern end of the reserve, noticing one of several Water Buffalo that had been placed on the reserve for the summer. I also saw two more Buzzards here; but nothing more of any interest.

As soon as I got back at the bridge, and took the towpath north, I began to find more Willow Emeralds, some in tandem, although their numbers seemed a little down on previous years. And then increasingly more appeared along the Essex side of the towpath, which meant that they were always going to be difficult to photograph well, due to the riverine environment……………… I didn’t want to fall into the river!

There were several Azure Damselflies, and a couple of Common Blue Damselflies, but other than the Willow Emeralds, a sizeable number of Migrant Hawkers, and one male Emperor Dragonfly, no other species were seen. I did see a few Small White butterflies; a lone Peacock butterfly; a singleton Speckled Wood; a lovely male Common Blue butterfly; and a Latticed Heath Moth, which was only the second I’d ever seen (and the first for Thorley Wash) so that was pleasing. I also saw a few more of the Water Buffalo, emerging from the overgrown Willow trees - sad to see the reserve in that condition, but it has been an exceptionally dry summer, so maybe that was to be expected.

MIGRANT HAWKER CAUGHT IN FLIGHT

MIGRANT HAWKER AT REST

ADULT MOORHEN

JUVENILE MOORHEN

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

COMMON LIZARD

WATER BUFFALO

LATTICED HEATH MOTH

WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLY

WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLIES IN TANDEM

 

 

31 AUGUST 2026 – WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLY

I’d been photographing a male Western Willow Emerald Damselfly for the second time this month (although of course I have no way of telling if it was in fact the same individual) but when processing the images on my computer, there were two things I hadn’t initially noticed when I was taking the photographs: (a) it had a damaged left lower wing, and (b) a close-up of the head showed that it had two protuberances between the eyes which initially suggested that the insect possessed two pairs of eyes.

I consulted a local expert, Rory Dimond, who advised that these were ocelli – simple light sensitive organs, which detect light and dark, and not eyes in the accepted sense; they are common to many invertebrates, including bees, flies and dragonflies etc. Absolutely fascinating. Here are some of the images taken.

The Western Willow Emerald Damselfly was first recorded in the UK in 2007 and has since flourished in East Anglia in particular. I was the first person to record the species at Thorley Wash, Hertfordshire in August 2017, and is now seen regularly along the River Stort from late July to late October, and occasionally into November. I did have a ‘fly-by’ individual in my garden in September 2021, but this August I’ve seen three - a single male on 8 August and two males on 30 August - one which settled on the Rough Horsetail, and another which only came to the pond to ‘buzz’ the other when it flew up from its perch. I never did manage to find out where this second insect came from (or where it went to) each time it ‘buzzed’ the first one, but it must have been very nearby.

 

20^th AUGUST 2026 - ABBERTON RESERVOIR

John picked me up at 08.45 hrs (Mike had family commitments) and we arrived at the Layer Breton Causeway under an hour later, after a short diversion.

Info’ received prior to our arrival said that a Pectoral Sandpiper had relocated from Wigborough Bay     to the Layer Breton, so all we needed to do was to locate the birdwatchers, which wasn’t at all hard to do; and within a few minutes we’d enjoyed exceptionally close views of the bird, which was in company with several Ruff. My camera was busy too, and with a 2x Converter lens fitted to the 100-400mm telephoto, some wonderful photos were obtained - though in reality, the converter wasn’t needed because the bird was so close anyway. The Ruff photos (these birds are always photogenic) were good too. We also had a brief view of a Spotted Redshank, both in flight and at rest (though the latter views were distant).

I was surprised at the number of Spoonbills present - fifteen at the Layer Breton, but we eventually saw twenty-four in total, adding those seen from the hides later. Strange to think that a few years back Spoonbills were rare here, but now they’ve even bred, and general numbers are increasing. The same could be said for Great Egrets - one of which was with the Spoonbills (the size difference was amazing; the Egret towering over them). So, round to the Layer De La Haye Causeway, although there was little of note to see here, other than a few Little Egrets and Great Egrets, one of which came remarkably close to enable better photography. There was also a Black-necked Grebe which also gave excellent views, and a distant Garganey which John picked up through his telescope, although it was in ‘rest mode’ most of the time.

Following a welcome coffee at the Visitors’ Centre, we traipsed straight round to the Hide Bay bird hide, to await the arrival of an Osprey, which had apparently been present for six weeks on and off. But, through our two hours vigil, we were to be disappointed in that regard. But we did gain views of possibly three Western Marsh Harriers - two juveniles and a possible adult female (though it was hard to distinguish them) which were known to have breed in the reeds opposite the hide. We also saw a distant Red Kite; a couple of distant Common Buzzards; a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk, but no Hobby, which was seen earlier.

As mentioned previously, there were an additional nine Spoonbills at rest on the opposite bank, and at least eleven more Great Egrets scattered around the bay. A couple of Common Terns were catching fish, not always successfully, and there were several distant Black-tailed Godwits, which were seen in flight when the Lapwings got up!

On the way back through the Centre, I saw a couple of Small Heath butterflies; at least 2 Common Blues; a Wall Brown; a Meadow Brown; at least two Azure Damselflies; a few Common Darters; a singleton Ruddy Darter; and several Migrant Hawkers.

PECTORAL SANDPIPER

PECTORAL SANDPIPER

PECTORAL SANDPIPER WITH RUFF

RUFF WITH PECTORAL SANDPIPER (at rear)

BLACK-NECKED GREBE 

BLACK-NECKED GREBE

BLACK-NECKED GREBE

GREAT EGRET

GREAT EGRET WITH SPOONBILLS

GREAT EGRET WITH SPOONBILLS

SPOONBILLS IN 'SLEEP MODE'

NORTHERN LAPWING

WESTERN MARSH HARRIER (ADULT FEMALE?)

 

1 AUGUST 2026 - SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK (SCP)

Due to the recent hot weather - which  almost always plays havoc with my Diabetes - I hadn’t been out of the house, with the garden my only refuge as far as seeing nature and photographing it is concerned. But Mike Harris (one of my birding friends) had reported seeing Emerald Damselflies at SCP, and I truly wanted to go over to see them as I hadn’t seen any local ones since those in 2019 at Stansted Airport Lagoons (SAL). But had to wait until the heat began to wane - and today was the day, with the temperature dropping to a more reasonable level, though still remaining hot again later in day according to the forecast.

I was careful not to go too early,  because the last time was at SCP the butterflies and dragonflies didn’t seem to appear until around 1045 hrs, so I had a longish wait before I could begin any photography.

I arrived at 11.00 hrs and made my way directly to the ‘Old Pond’ where Mike had seen the Emerald Damselflies, with just a casual look on the way for any sign of other dragonfly species, without seeing any, which I thought was a bit strange. At the pond there was a little bit of dragonfly activity, mainly down to the territorial behaviour of male Common Darters - which appeared to be aggressive to other males of the same species, as well as male Ruddy Darters - but there was no sign of any Emeralds.

I waited a good while - probably about 30 minutes - then decided to return later in the day and made my way up to the ‘Maze’ area - which is a designated area for wildflowers, and where Mike reported many Painted Ladies and a few Clouded Yellows the week before. But there was hardly a butterfly in sight, with just three Painted Ladies (two were still in good condition); four Small Heaths; one Brown Argus, and a superb Hummingbird Hawk Moth, which resolutely refused to settle and allow even one photograph! So, I made my way back to the ‘Old Pond’.

There was still no sign of any Emeralds, and I was getting a bit despondent and about to call it a day here, when I caught sight of a damselfly that wasn’t a Blue-Tailed, and which alighted on a branch of bramble about ten feet away from me; but of course, I’d forgotten to bring my binoculars, so I couldn’t get a closer view, other than through the telephoto on my camera. But the views I could get were inconclusive, before the insect was dislodged by a Common Darter, and I lost it. Then I think I picked up what I assumed to be a pair in tandem further away, but again the Common Darters pushed them off. Fortunately, the single Emerald returned to the same bramble branch, so I fired off a single shot before, the Common Darter dislodged it, and I couldn’t pick it up again. How frustrating!

I then turned to the Chalky Bank hoping to see more butterflies, but there was no repeat of the tremendous numbers I’d witnessed a couple of weeks back, with only two more Painted Ladies, and a few Brown Argus, although Common Blues were still in good numbers - mostly seemingly quite large males, but even they were not settling long enough to photograph them. Back at the lake, only Common and Ruddy Darters were seen, and although I searched hard for a Willow Emerald, I was disappointed in that regard. Round by the ‘feeding station’ all I saw were a few Mallards; a couple of Moorhens, and a juvenile rat which was very camera shy! At the northern exit to the park, as I rested on a seat to take some refreshment, a Brown Hawker flew close by, but that was the only ‘large’ species of Odonata I saw.

Back home, I processed my photographs, concentrating on the photo of the Emerald Damselfly. Through enlarging the image - and thankfully the telephoto gave a lovely sharp image - I was reasonably sure it was indeed a Common Emerald, but sent it to Mike for confirmation, which he kindly did.

 

EMERALD DAMSELFLY (a young male)

BLUE-TAILED DAMSELFLIES - MATING RITUAL

BLUE-TAILED DAMSELFLY ( a female in mating mode).

RUDDY DARTER (M)

COMMON DARTER 

PAINTED LADY

PAINTED LADY (paler underwing)

MOORHEN