2 JULY 2026 – HATFIELD FOREST, ESSEX

John, Mike and I left mine at 0845 hrs with the intention of trying for Purple Emperor, Silver-washed Fritillary butterflies; and White-legged Damselfly as our main target species. We had an exceptional day on 3 July last year, but we had no idea that we were going to absolutely eclipse that this time round.

Starting out from the car park near the Shell House, we took the main ride through Collins Coppice, taking in the plethora of butterfly species along the way, which included surprisingly good numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries; Red Admirals; Peacocks; Large, Small and Essex Skippers; many Ringlets; Meadow Browns; exceptional numbers of Marbled Whites; a couple of Purple Hairstreaks…….and a Purple Emperor (which I actually missed!!). A Garden Warbler and a Blackcap sang vociferously but didn’t show themselves; several family parties of Common Whitethroats were seen, as well as a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Then we made our way to Boxwood Drive which is the main ride as part of Lodge Coppice to the west of the forest.

Boxwood Drive is an exceptionally long drive, and our target was a tall oak, the master tree for the Purple Emperor butterfly, which was more than halfway along. I should say at this point that it was a very warm morning, with a strong SW breeze, which played havoc in terms of attempting to photograph the butterflies, which at times were rather profuse, with the brambles on each side of the ride, literally heaving with Ringlets; Marbled Whites; Skipper species; Silver-washed Fritillaries and even good numbers of Painted Ladies (although the vast majority were extremely worn and pale individuals). We also saw several Emperor Dragonflies (both sexes) and at least one Brown Hawker.

But before we even reached the ‘master’ oak, Mike suddenly cried out……… ‘Purple Emperor!!’ as one literally stormed past at ground level, even passing by John’s feet, and away before any of us could get a proper view. A little later another (or maybe even the same individual) was seen over the brambles and seemed to settle there, although we couldn’t connect with it, which was tad frustrating. At the ‘master’ oak with the breeze seemingly even stronger, it was no surprise that Purple Emperors were not flying, although one or two Purple Hairstreaks were seen lower down.

Beneath the oak, Mike found a White-legged Damselfly (in virtually the same location as last year) and in fact in the next few minutes we saw several adults and tenerals, which indicated that the species was having a good year, but more especially that it was possibly even increasing in numbers (we only saw just one individual here in previous years).

Later, away from Boxwood Drive, we searched in vain along the Elms for White-letter Hairstreaks. But once again Marbled Whites, and Skippers proliferated, including several Painted Ladies, and one pristine individual (which John and Mike missed). We also saw at least two Small Copper butterflies, a lone Brown Argus (which Mike found); and later, I found a singleton Small Heath, which John and Mike missed.

At this point it was just after noon, and with the sun beating down and the temperature rising, I was really feeling the heat which was manifesting itself in a complete lack of energy and possible signs of a diabetic ‘hypo’ which even my water rations and some areas of shade couldn’t shake off completely; so I was glad that the decision was made to return to the Shell House for some refreshment, though it was certainly true to say that I was struggling, and was at times, lagging behind the others by some considerable way. But with a welcome cappuccino, a bottle of Spring Water, and a rest in the shade at the Shell House, I soon recuperated, after which it was down to the Decoy Pond for some dragonflies.

We had no idea what we were going to find at the Decoy Pond, but if we had something approaching the different species of dragonfly we had here last year, we were in for a good day. But we didn’t anticipate actually exceeding it…………………. and not just because of the dragonflies!

It was obvious from the beginning that Ruddy Darters were having a good year, and we even saw several pairs in tandem, which we hadn’t always observed previously. But the number of species was simply astounding, as the Decoy pond (well actually it was more akin to a small lake than a pond) was buzzing with activity. There were good numbers of Red-eyed Damselflies skimming over the surface, with Common and Azure Damselflies; Four-Spot Chasers; Broad-bodied Chasers; several Emperors and Brown Hawkers; one or two Common Darters (which Mike and John missed)………… and at one point I thought I had a fleeting glimpse of a Willow Emerald Damselfly……… but I couldn’t be certain, so I didn’t count it! But one species we saw here last year was the Small Red-eyed Damselfly, but regrettably we didn’t connect.

But we had an even more unusual find here, because Mike picked up a Grass Snake swimming on the far side of the pond, and luckily, we all saw it well. Amazing!

And then John picked up a glimpse of a large dragonfly storming through, which he claimed was definitely not a Brown Hawker or an Emperor, and could have had ‘green eyes’, which meant it could only be a Norfolk Hawker (which we know had been seen the day before by others at Southern Country Park not far away over the county border in Hertfordshire) so it wasn’t out of the question. But it was quite a while - with us breezing up and down the edges of the pond (which was difficult to see at times due to the ‘heavy’ vegetation around its shores) - before John saw it again, but this time flying against the reeds on the opposite side. And then it settled, and we were able to view it through our binoculars. Absolutely no doubt, a definite Norfolk Hawkers. We were ecstatic with excitement. What a find!

I tried to photograph it, but even with a 100-400mm telephoto it was almost impossible to pick up. But when I enlarged the image, it was clear enough to identify it as a Norfolk Hawker. Brilliant!

Other birds seen included Little Egret; Common Tern; Egyptian Goose (bit of a joke bird really); Common Buzzard; Sparrowhawk, and Red Kite.