A Willow Mission!

After receiving a text from Chris Tedder yesterday letting me know that some Willow Emerald Damselflies were on the wing at Marshside, I decided to pay a brief visit this afternoon to the area which is only a 5 minute drive from home. The sun had been shining for most of the day but as I arrived the clouds appeared to cover it for most of the duration of my visit which was a little annoying. Anyway, armed with some good directions I headed for the bushes near Little Greys Farm seeing the odd Common Blue and Blue tailed Damselfly as I walked along the bush line. A few minutes of searching were rewarded however when I found the first of 8 Willow Emerald Damselfly hanging up in the shade. There are a few features to check that they are Willow Emerald but one of the reliable features is the spur on the side of the thorax which can be seen well in the top 2 photos. They didn't fly much apart from the odd mission to catch prey before returning back to the same area and it was just a shame the sun was not quite shining. Not one to waste a chance, I set about getting a few shots of this scarce Kent species and ended up with a few passing the test for publication.

Willow Emerald Damselfly

After having a good look at them I left them in peace and returned back home within the hour. No doubt I shall make a few more visits in the next few weeks and hopefully capture this species in all it glory in the sunshine. If the weather is kind tomorrow I aim to make a visit to Cliffe RSPB reserve to hopefully see a couple of new species I have not seen yet, namely Scarce Emerald and Southern Emerald Damselfly. I'm quietly confident with the first species but the second could prove to be a mission. We shall have to wait and see!

Willow Emerald Damselfly