Willow Emerald Rye Meads

No sign of the Bee-eaters since they were last seen Thursday afternoon unfortunately. They were not the first for Herts, as there were four previous records-all a long time ago and I wouldn't have thought any were twitchable.

This morning I spent a few hours at Rye Meads. Initially bright and warm, it gradually clouded over and the wind picked up, which was a bit unfortunate as I was hoping to get images of some of the dragonflies.
The Draper Hide was entertaining. The Gadwall Tufted Ducks and Mallards are going out of eclipse and there were several Teal and Shoveller present. Two Lesser Blacked Gulls were busy dive bombing the ducks, without success, so turned their eyes on the Little Grebes and their chicks which consequently spent a great deal of time underwater.
One Little Egret, one Common Sandpiper and maybe four Green Sandpipers were also present, and Stock Doves seemed to be coming and going on a regular basis.
I encountered one Southern Hawker and a Brown Hawker outside, and a bit further on I noticed a movement in one of the Hawthorns, which turned out to be a Willow Emerald, my first for the reserve.
Two Commas some Whites and a couple of Speckled Woods were the only butterflies on the wing.
The four Garganey were seen on the north lagoon from the Gadwall Hide, but remained distant. Several small flocks of hirundines were feeding over the far side, mainly House Martins, but a few Sand Martins and Swallows were with them, and also two rather late Swifts.
I bumped into Colin Wills and Maureen, and had chat when I got back to Draper. The Sandpipers were a bit more obliging, and the hirundines and Swifts remained on view for us.