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Enjoy a nature walk spotting dragonflies and damselflies along the Stort Navigation




Nature Notes columnist Jono Forgham covers your fortnightly look at nature around Bishop’s Stortford

At last, sunshine, good temperature and my first Nature Notes wander of the year in T-shirt and shorts. I had planned on visiting a local garden, but this was not convenient so I left the car in the car park in Pig Lane and took a wonderful wander south along the Stort Navigation towpath as far as the marina at Gaston Green. Plans were to see what dragonflies and damselflies were on the wing.

Seeing as I was going to cover the same ground twice, I opted for my long lens for the walk out and then the macro lens for insects on the return leg. Always taking a chance as it invariably happens that a good bird pops up but the wrong lens to capture a shot.

Newly hatched mallard brood
Newly hatched mallard brood

A magpie flew off as I wandered from the car park and picked up the towpath. Mallards aplenty on the first stretch of river and plenty of bird song. Chiffchaffs zip-zapped their monotonous call, goldfinches burbled from an ash tree, a greenfinch wheezed from hawthorn and a Cetti’s warbler exploded into its raucous call.

At the first meander just after the footbridge, several male banded demoiselle dragonflies flitted over reeds, regularly landing and offering a photo opportunity. Gloriously metallic blue and with their black patch on translucent wings. Unmistakable. The females are metallic green.

A solitary mute swan was busy feeding by the bank as the first of several joggers went by. I stopped to chat to an angler who was struggling to get his bait down to the riverbed. A large shoal of fry was munching his maggots as soon as they entered the water. This may not have been the ideal place to fish as, just upstream, a cormorant was busy diving for fish. As I approached it took off, requiring a good 10 metres to become airborne, before it gave me a good fly-by as it headed upstream. I fired off some quick flight shots.

Agapanthia villosoviridescens
Agapanthia villosoviridescens

I was a little disappointed with the number of Odonata species (dragons and damsels), but it was still early so maybe they had just not taken to the wing yet. Moorhens busied themselves in bankside vegetation whilst a common buzzard was mobbed by several carrion crows.

A reed bunting called from the willows in Thorley Wash Nature Reserve as I stopped to take photos of the emerging water lilies. One fortuitous shot included a male banded demoiselle roosting on the flower.

By now I had reached the red brick bridge near Spellbrook Locks where another chiffchaff flicked around a tree. Further away, a sedge warbler called and this was soon joined by three reed warblers calling their scratchy tune from deep in reed beds. Only view I got was of them commuting across the river into more deep vegetation.

I crossed Spellbrook Lane, which was closed to traffic at the level crossing, and continued. A female mallard appeared, followed by five adolescent youngsters. She has done well to keep this number as the ducklings are easy prey for rats, weasels, birds of prey and, from under the water, pike. These large predatory fish can take a whole duckling in one mouthful. If they reach full size, some 1.5 metres long and weighing 40Ib, they are capable of taking an adult mallard. I suspect there are few of that size in the river here.

Drake Mallard
Drake Mallard

I was once watching an uncommon black-necked grebe at Dungeness when a huge pike came out from the water, opened its jaws and took the whole grebe down with it. A few feathers floated to the surface.

A second reed bunting called from a nearby tree. The sun was not in the right place for a good photo, but I fired away nevertheless.

A second family party of mallards appeared, this time with three recently-hatched youngsters. A second brood. A fourth was lost, calling from the reeds and mum was calling back. After a few minutes they were reunited and all five paddled away quietly.

Moorhen
Moorhen

A quick check on the often-flooded field near the marina where I changed lenses for the walk back. I stopped to check the flowerheads of the numerous hogweed plants where several species of hoverflies departed as soon as I got close enough, but other insects remained. Most prevalent was Apis melifera, the western honeybee. These are usually too busy feeding and gathering pollen to be put off by my approach.

Oedermera nobilis, male
Oedermera nobilis, male

On a dandelion, a splendid Oedermera nobilis, the swollen-thighed beetle. Only the male shows the enlarged thighs. A bright metallic green insect, very common at this time of the year and found on many flower species. I also encountered mallow flowers, the first time I have seen them in flower this year.

Mute swan
Mute swan

By now the temperature had risen considerably so I used my binoculars to check the floating weeds on the water. This is where several damselfly species can be found and today was perfect. Red-eyed, common blue and azure damselflies were all present.

Cormorant flyby
Cormorant flyby

I then noticed a larger species, an emperor dragonfly. The female is green and yellow whereas the male has more blue tones with a green head. The females were constantly landing on floating vegetation and dipping their abdomens into the water. This is egg laying, known as ovipositing. To give the eggs a better chance of hatching, the female lays a few eggs at one site and then moves off to another to repeat the process. This means that if a fish or dragonfly larvae come across the eggs, they will only devour a small proportion of all that have been laid.

Water lily with a male Banded demoiselle
Water lily with a male Banded demoiselle

Yellow irises were just coming into flower, showing the intricately-marked petals. More Oedemera nobilis upon these. It was at this point I noticed a larger beetle on the leaf of a comfrey plant. Agapanthia villosoviridescens or the golden-bloomed grey longhorn beetle. A good find and only the second one I have seen.

Reed bunting, male
Reed bunting, male

This is a beetle that has expanded its range over the last couple of decades and is now more often found. First Hertfordshire record was made in 1924 in Hitchin, at the time the only site in the county that held this species. It wasn’t until 1989 that another was recorded away from Hitchin. Since then it is to be found in the right habitat at many sites. A large and impressive insect.

Magpie
Magpie

Just as I was approaching Twyford Lockgates, I looked up to see a hobby whizz by. Wrong lens, as I had anticipated. This falcon preys on dragonflies, swallows and house martins, so it was in the perfect spot to feed well as there was a group of swallows swooping low over the buttercup-filled fields holding several horses.

Yellow iris
Yellow iris

A great way to conclude a most enjoyable walk, with much seen and heard.

Mallow
Mallow

On Friday July 5 I am giving a presentation on the magnificent birds I observed and photographed on my trip to The Gambia in April. This is at the St Barnabas Centre by Thorley church. Doors open at 7.15pm for an 8pm start. Refreshments will be available beforehand and during the interval. Admission is £10, with under-14s free.

Apis melifera, Western Honeybee
Apis melifera, Western Honeybee

An informal and relaxed evening showing the amazingly colourful birds that can be found in this wonderful country. All proceeds, after expenses, will be split between Isabel Hospice and MindGarden, the learning centre I helped establish for disadvantaged youngsters in Galle, Sri Lanka. There will be a raffle so do bring along some cash.

Female Emperor dragonfly ovipositing
Female Emperor dragonfly ovipositing
Banded demoiselle, male
Banded demoiselle, male
Banded demoiselle, male
Banded demoiselle, male
Chiffchaff
Chiffchaff

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