A Record Count

With some lovely warn sunshine forecast for Friday and a good few hours free, I decided on a visit to Nethergong where encouraged by seeing a few more Willow Emerald Damselfly on my last visit, I was hopeful of seeing a few more in better conditions. I arrived around 10:30am and spent a wonderful four and a half hours leisurely walking around the site and for quite a bit of time, just sitting back at the stream and watching the action come to me. After initially having a walk around a few areas and seeing a few Willow Emerald Damselflies resting up, I then decided to visit the stream around midday where I hoped I would see pairs arriving and egg laying. I was not to be disappointed for the next few hours saw an excellent total of 131 Willow Emerald Damselfly seen. I must have seen around 40 pairs in tandem and as I walked up the stretch of stream, they were continually appearing from the trees and flying out low from the reeds. It was certainly a spectacle to see. I observed them ovipositing into Reed, Alder and many into Stinging Nettle Stems which seems quite unique to this colony as I know of only one other colony in the country where this has been documented.

 

Willow Emerald Damselfly (Chalcolestes viridis) - male

 

After a search I decided to sit at the stream and just watch them going about their lives. There were also c25 Migrant Hawker and a couple of Brown Hawker and Southern Hawker also on the stream and this gave me the opportunity to try for a few flight shots. I find the latter two species quite challenging in flight. They don't often pause for that long, the Brown Hawker hardly ever pausing at all and its a hard enough species to photograph at rest so to get one in flight is definitely a challenge. I spent a while clicking away with not many results to show but finally managed a few useable shots of the Southern Hawker but I was not going to be beaten today by that Brown Hawker.

 

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) - male

 

I clicked and clicked away and despite most shots being blurred, empty frames, parts of a body missing, I somehow managed to take a couple of shots which despite not being brilliant, I was quite pleased with.

 

Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis) - male

 

I spent the last part of the session back at the stream watching the many pairs in tandem ovipositing and tried for a few shots. They are quite rightly very wary when egg laying, no doubt being easy targets for spiders and passing birds to eat so getting near to them was always a challenge. I did manage a coupe of efforts but I hope to return and adopt last years tactics of already sitting at some stinging nettles stems set up and await them to fly to me.

 

Willow Emerald Damselfly (Chalcolestes viridis) - pair in tandem

 

This worked well last year with little movement required to achieve the shots but getting both damselflies perpendicular to the camera is the real challenge. After my initial worries about this species this year appearing in low numbers, its brilliant news to see them doing well again and today's count is my single most highest figure I've had of this species to date. There were other areas I had not even looked at which I'm sure would have revealed more so a check of these will have to be made in the next few sessions. Despite being a camping site with plenty of campers present, I barely see a person at all and the ones I do see are often very interested and grateful to see this species which they have no idea is present. Hopefully the weather will be good this week and I can return and spend a few more hours getting lost in the lives of this lovely species.

 

 

 Willow Emerald Damselfly (Chalcolestes viridis) - female

 

Willow Emerald Damselfly (Chalcolestes viridis) - male