A walk round the pond - Week 32

I managed one fairly short visit to the pond this week on a sunny but windy afternoon.  There were lots of darters about including many mating pairs like these ruddy darters.

I was there around tea time and a female ruddy darter was tucking in to what looks like a solitary wasp of some kind.

A male common blue damselfly was munching on a small moth.

Other damsels were azure,

blue-tailed,

and emerald.

There were several male emperors but they were busy flying and fighting.  I guess their season will be over soon - it probably already is for the chasers as there were none to see, or perhaps they didn't like the wind.  This has been a very different season from last year.  Apart from the brief sighting of a female southern hawker last week I haven't seen hawkers.  Last year common hawkers were here by week 26 and migrant hawkers by week 32.  And no black darters yet - they appeared in week 29 last year.

The knapweed is now in full flower and there were lots of butterflies, including peacock,

meadow brown,

speckled wood,

and green-veined white.

Moorhen chicks are generally very shy but these two felt safe enough across the far side.

I could see and hear several young willow warblers, still going around in a gang.

I am hoping for some dragonfly-friendly weather next week to see a black darter and a hawker (any hawker would be nice).