Still 'Scarce' in Kent!

Scarce Emerald Damselfly

Lestes dryas

The days of endless pouring rain and relentless strong winds have given me the chance to go back through some of the dragonfly and damselfly shots from last year. One species that was new last year was the Scarce Emerald Damselfly, a very scarce national damselfly that has recently started to colonise north Kent, in particular Cliffe Marshes RSPB reserve. I made a visit to this reserve in July where good number of this species had been seen in a few dykes and with a bit of luck and the sun shining, I was able to see c30 Scarce Emerald Damselflies and obtain a few shots. Quite a few males were seen and one reliable feature to look out for is the pruinescence which covers the first one and a half segments which can be seen in some of the shots, the brighter blue eyes are also noticeable compared to Emerald Damselfly. A number of females were also observed and again a reliable feature I looked out for was the square shaped spots on segment 2, present in the female shot below. I remember it being a very hot day and hopefully a return visit can be penciled in for this year where I can get a few more images and maybe see my first ever Southern Migrant Hawker, still a major rarity in this county.

Male Scarce Emerald Damselfly

Female Scarce Emerald Damselfly

Marc Heath

A Cracker at Cliffe!

Lestes barbarus

Southern Emerald Damselfly

Mid July saw me making a visit to Cliffe Marshes RSPB reserve in the north of Kent to see hopefully 2 new species, the Scarce Emerald and South Emerald Damselfly. The weather was quite warm with only a light wind. I was told that I would easily see the Scarce Emerald Damselfly but might struggle with the Southern Emerald Damselfly as only one had been seen a few days earlier. Along with Mike Hook we soon found good numbers of Scarce Emerald Damselfly and a few shots were obtained and as luck would have it, as I was photgraphing the Scarce Emeralds I noticed some movement next to me and looked down near my feet. How lucky was I for I was looking at my first ever Southern Emerald Damselfly. It blended in well with the grasses but the bicoloured pterostigma could be easily seen confirming this species. Thankfully it stayed in the area and we were able to get a number of pleasing images of this very rare British Damselfly. With yet more images in the bag we left very happy indeed, mission accomplished! 

Southern Emerald Damselfly

Marc Heath