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