Days of the Damsels
The forecast for bank holiday monday (30 May) wasn't great, but a quick look outside after breakfast suggested the morning could turn out sunny. So it was that I ventured into Wanstead Park hoping to find a butterfly or two to photograph. I waited by Shoulder of Mutton pond, where there was a nicely sheltered, sunny corner, and waited. After 20 minutes I hadn't seen—let alone photographed—a single butterfly. However, a Broad-bodied Chaser did put in an appearance.
Over the pond itself, an Emperor dragonfly harried smaller flying insects, including a growing number of damselflies. And I watched as a pair of House Sparrows attempted rather clumsily to catch flying damselflies ... without any discernible success. At the west end of Heronry pond it was a similar story, but as I watched, more and more damselflies started to appear over the water.
Clearly, many of them had very recently emerged from their larval state. Patience was the order of the day. Eventually I had close views of Azure and Common Blue, Large Red, Small Red-eyed (thanks, Paul!) and Blue-tailed damselflies. They were variously cruising over the water, basking in the sunshine, mating or half-heartedly ovipositing. Azures and Common Blues can be very difficult to separate unless seen very well; I didn't see them very well but it's amazing the surprises that digital photography can produce, and when I look at my pictures on the laptop it was clear that both species had been sunning themselves.
After meeting fellow Wren members Kathy, Pam and Amina at the Teashop of Happiness, a quick traverse of The Plain produced a paltry butterfly total of, errm, one unidentified white and one unidentified brown to add to my previous tally of one Speckled Wood. Better stick to the dragonflies then. To round off a fine day for the Odonata, a Banded Demoiselle was resting on a weedy island in the Riving Roding, and there were more damselflies. But only one more butterfly, a superbly coloured Common Blue. So, that gives the final result for the day (species seen) as: dragonflies and damselflies 7, butterflies 2.
Tim Harris, 31st May