Highest number of Willow Emeralds so far

I saw seven Willow Emeralds at Finedon today, including this lone female egg-laying into a young Willow stem. That's the highest number I have seen at Finedon, and I hope a good sign that this will be a great season for them.

Willow Emeralds starting to show in good numbers

There seems quite a gap between the first Willow Emerald sighting at Deene Park and the records that are now coming in. This is a more typical date, certainly compared with the last 2 years which has been 27 August and 20 August. 

I found my first at Finedon on 23 August when I saw an awkward tandem pair of Emeralds that turned out to be a make Common Emerald and female Willow Emerald. The pairing didn't last long as the male couldn't maintain his grip.

On 27 August, I found what I at first thought were four different males but looking at the photos, each one showed the same eye damage so it was actually only one.

Elsewhere, Willows have been recorded at Barnwell Country Park on Mill Lake, more at Deene Park Lake with egg-laying scars an at Priors Hall near Weldon.

No sign of the Southern Migrant Hawker.

Female Willow Emerald

Mixed pairing with a male Common Emerald

Female Common Emerald after being abandoned by the male Common Emerald

Male Willow Emerald

Male Willow Emerald

Female Willow Emerald

Southern Migrant Hawker

Perhaps it was blown in with the high winds over the weekend, or perhaps it got here on it's own, we'll never know, but this male Southern Migrant Hawker showed really well today and boy if you think "Common" Migrant Hawkers hover, this one stayed put for what seemed like minutes. I filled my camera's buffer many times watching him hover in front of me.

And those eyes - stunning.

I'm keeping the location under wraps for now as it is a delicate site.