Emerald Isle

Phil, Alan and I headed south today for a visit to Canvey Island where we hoped to catch up with some interesting dragons and damsels. While we didn't manage to connect with everything that we wanted to see it was still a good trip.

Scarce Emeralds.

One of the species that we had targeted, Scarce Emerald, completely failed to live up to its name as many were seen including several pairs in cop. We didn't see any Southern Migrant Hawkers but this may have been due to how early it is in their season. Dragons that we did manage to see were Four-spotted and Broad-bodied Chasers, Black-tailed Skimmer, Emperor and Ruddy Darter. The latter species appears to be enjoying a good year with many being noted. Few damsels other than the emeralds were noted though we did observe a few Common Blues and I saw what was likely to have been an immature Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Emperor and Ruddy Darter.

It was a good day for butterflies with the highlight being a Clouded Yellow that was initially seen by Phil but eventually showed to Alan and I too. Phil also saw a couple of Painted Ladies and a Red Admiral while several Large Whites could have been migrants too. Perhaps not surprisingly Essex Skippers were quite common though a few Small were seen as well but many skippers had to go unidentified. A couple of late Common Blues were hanging on while Phil saw two Holly Blues. One of the most obvious butterflies present today and also one of the most attractive was Marbled White, there seemed to be lots around. Also common were Meadow Brown and Small Heath and other species seen in much smaller numbers were Small White, Ringlet and Comma.

Clouded Yellow and Essex Skipper.

Nothing too interesting was seen birdwise though Alan saw a brace of Green Sandpipers and we all saw a flypast by a Great White Egret.

With a bit of time left before we had to go home we went along to Bower's Marsh for a short visit. Best thing here were a couple of White-lettered Hairstrteaks which sadly were a tad too distant for any good photos. Not too much else to report apart from a Broad-bodied Chaser and a quantity of Avocets on the marsh itself.

Broad-bodied Chaser and White-lettererd Hairstreak.