The season's first Willow Emerald was photographed at Deene Park, but none have been seen since. This is a new site, and I hope more will be seen as they reach their peak. At Finedon, despite the pond drying out, plenty of "Common" Emeralds have emerged which is a promising sign that the Willow larvae have also survived. The ususal first sighting of Willows at Finedon is mid August.
I spotted a set of interesting photos of mating Scarce Chasers from the Big Pit Pond at Fermyn Woods Country Park. This is very unusual, as they normally only breed in static waters close to rivers. No egg-laying was seen, so there isn't definitive proof of breeding but its worth keeping an eye out. Mature male Scarce Chasers have also been photographed at Summer Leys, although I failed to find any and no females have been seen. Immatures were recorded in late May, so again this is suggestive but not proof of breeding.
Most interesting are two sightings of Lesser Emperor at the Walgrave Hide, Pitsford Nature Reserve, separated by a few weeks.
Both Scarce Chaser and Beautiful Demoiselles have been on the move the year, and in addition to the sightings at Summer Leys and Fermyn Woods, a female Chaser was seen close to the River Ise, along with a pair of Beautiful Demoiselles (see photo). Adult males were subsequently seen on the Ise at Finedon and at Burton Latimer. These areas both have fast flowing sections that are ideal for this species. Earlier, I received an email about someone who had seen Beautifuls on the Ise in Kettering, but I received no further communication or confirmation, however added to my sightings it looks feasible.
Here are some of my recent photos, and I promise to keep the updates more frequent now.
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| Tandem Common Blues at Summer Leys |
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| Mating Scarce Chasers, River Nene Lilford |
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| White-legged Damselfly, River Ise, Finedon |
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| Egg-laying Emperor, Segro Park Burton Latimer |
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| Female Beautiful Demoiselle at Finedon Pocket Park |
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| Egg-laying Small Red-eyes, Segro Park Burton Latimer |
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| Common Darter |
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| Egg-laying Brown Hawker |
