We first went to the RSPB reserve at Cliffe. Our last visit was some time in the late 90's when it was still a mix of private and public rights of way, so it was interesting to see what has changed and what has not. The lagoons seem to have been tidied up a bit and were full of water-not much mud for returning migrant waders, but like all RSPB reserves they were full of Avocets. Little Egrets everywhere of course-last time we actually had to make a special diversion to see one here!
Not much else around apart from a loafing first summer Yellow Legged Gull and on the return a purring Turtle Dove.
The trek from the car park to the ditches was a bit long and warm-shame really as we could have driven up. We joined a couple and another guy who had already found a male Southern Emerald, but it had been lost a while before we arrived. Lots of Scarce Emeralds and Blue Tails, as well as vocal Marsh Frogs. Took a while but eventually we got a call and were directed to a female Southern Emerald low down in the reeds. Not easy to photograph. Luckily not long after some others arrived, a male flew out and posed quite well for us, though the breeze was annoying.
The Dainty Damselflies found at a private site last year on Sheppy were the first seen in the Uk since they became extinct after the 1953 floods. Over the last few weeks a number have been reported from a public site, but many have had a frustrating time with long fruitless searches.
We arrived in the early afternoon and met up with a couple I know from Amwell. They and others had found a number of males in the grass some way from the water, but it was not easy. It took us, and two others nearly an hour before we found a female, and over the subsequent hour or so, another two females were found-one male was glimpsed but flew before we got the cameras lined up.
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