Willow Emerald Damselfly.

I love Damselflies: beautiful, delicate and like all Damselflies, so transient. They grace us with their presence for just a short period of time, allowing us a fleeting glimpse of their ethereal - like beauty. There is a species - Willow Emerald Damselfly – what a lovely name! It began to colonise south eastern England about ten years ago and has spread rapidly and can now be seen, if you are lucky, mainly in Norfolk and Suffolk but also in small numbers in nearby counties. We visited a reserve in North Norfolk called Sculthorpe Moor, a very nicely laid out reserve run by the Hawk and Owl Trust. There were hardly any people there and we were able to wander around at our leisure enjoying the scenery and wildlife. While we were standing beside a damp area near one of the hides we could see a Damselfly moving around. We didn’t know immediately what it was, but it was an Emerald of some sorts. I managed to take a few shots with my little Sigma 150 – 600 that I now carry around with me everywhere and later on after consulting a field guide we could see it was a Willow Emerald!. A new species for us and one which cannot be seen back home yet, and perhaps not at all in our lifetimes. It’s always exiting to see a new species of anything, so it was a nice addition to a pleasant morning out.