Lisa G Saw • June 7, 2023

Banded Demoiselles

We sit down on the riverbank in the late afternoon sunshine to relax and enjoy a few quiet moments in the warmth. Summer has arrived! I’m so happy and content, having had a wonderful day out. Bob and I have been in our element, photographing dragonflies and damselflies on the water, relishing all the other unexpected surprises that nature had in stall for us today.

 

The timing of our mindfulness moment isn’t great. The peacefulness and serenity is disturbed. Within seconds, I can hear youthful squeals of excitement as a family approaches. There’s also the unmistakeable sound of a dog splashing in water. Suddenly it appears, from behind a tree, swimming with a long stick in its mouth – a German Shepherd. It promptly scrambles up the bank right beside us, soaked, dripping with water. It’s rather too close for comfort - dangerously close to our cameras. I’m well aware of the inevitable body shake that’s coming. Thank goodness it moves further away from us first. After a few brief polite exchanges, the family pass by and soon their voices fade into the distance. Ah! The peace! It's blissful!

 

The welcome breeze cools my face as my eyes peruse the river. It's creating gentle ripples in the water. But, nearer the side it's still, shielded by the vegetation. Serene and calm. From the murky depths of the chocolate coloured river, some reeds are growing. Near the surface, where the water is clearer, I can see them gently moving with the current, like floating thick strands of hair. A few blades poke up into the air, swaying gently, bending in the breeze. I feel the calm wash over me as I watch how they move.


Delicately perched on one reed is a gorgeous male Banded Demoiselle with its wings closed together. The metallic green colour of its body shines gloriously in the sun. The band of dark green near the end of its clear wings stands out beautifully too. These damselflies are unmistakable. Stunning.

It's not the only one in view. I can see about a dozen all spread out, resting on different reeds. Some are slightly more metallic blue than green. They're less mature. It’s good to see a healthy population of the Banded Demoiselles here, though a week ago I recall how the river was teeming with them. There had to be well over a hundred flying around. I'd never seen so many before in one short stretch of river. At one time, I even saw five males all resting on a single reed.

The moments of calm, when all the Banded Demoiselles are resting, are interrupted by sudden bursts of movement. It only takes one male to take to the wing and then suddenly, all the others nearby, launch up and join the fray. They're defending their tiny patch of the river. These territorial displays happen frequently. The mass of fluttering banded wings is mesmerising to watch as they all quickly dart around, barely a foot above the water. Then, just as abruptly, they all fly off in different directions to their own favoured reed and settle once more. All seems peaceful again, for a few brief glorious moments.

The males are alert and scoping the scene for females they can mate with. It’s not surprising, since they only live in this adult form for up to two weeks. There isn’t time to waste. Reproduction is the number one priority – for the females too. I see one fly by, fleetingly. The golden green coloured abdomen is distinct. There’s also a trail of males following her in hot pursuit. They quickly disappear out of sight beyond the tall reeds growing at the edge of the river. I don’t see which is the successful male. It looks like it isn’t one of my dozen as they’re all back on their perches once more.

 

Earlier in the day, I’d seen a few pairs flying in tandem. It sometimes looks like the female is unwillingly being dragged along by the male. His abdomen is attached to her just behind the eyes. It doesn’t look comfortable. It's only when they settle, on a reed or leaf, that she curls under and attaches herself to his abdomen and the mating wheel is created. I recall seeing it several times last weekend. It was my first time for this species, so it was pretty special.

My attention has been so focused on watching the Banded Demoiselles, I scarcely noticed the birds singing around us or any of their activity. Suddenly, a Swallow appears flying low and fast along the river. It takes my breath away as I watch it skim the surface with its beak wide open, right in front of us. In a flash, it’s up and away again. I smile. It’s incredible how they drink water on the move like that. Wonderful! What a treat!


Water is such an amazing thing. Not only is it vital to support life, but the sound and movement of it soothes the soul. So too does the sight of life on and around the river. I feel so at peace when I have the opportunity to connect with nature and feel a part of something much bigger than myself.

Marsh Harrier
By Lisa G Saw July 6, 2025
Bob and I had just experienced a wonderful four days in Norfolk in search of the Swallowtail butterfly , which I'd never seen before, and we decided to head home via RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk. Both of us had only ever been to this reserve once before, many years ago, before we knew each other. That first visit for me was a memorable occasion because it was the first time I saw Eurasian Otters in the wild and my first ever sighting of an Eurasian Bittern. Aside from it being a lovely nature reserve to visit anyway, it was the lure of the bittern that was calling me back. We'd already had two lovely sightings of this shy and elusive waterbird in Norfolk, but I had higher hopes for a better, closer sighting at Minsmere having seen some fabulous photos on social media from a few weeks prior. So, whilst we were sad to be leaving Norfolk, I was eager for the day ahead and what we might see. Things were off to a great start as we followed the woodland trail to one of the hides and saw a small cluster of people on the path ahead looking up. Someone had spotted a Tawny Owl high up in the trees. There was even a scope set up pointing towards it. The gentleman who owned it kindly invited us to have a look. It was fabulous to see the owl nestled close to the tree trunk and with its eyes shut, having a few winks. They sleep a lot in the daytime since they're mostly nocturnal. After looking through the scope, it was a case of trying to locate it it with my bins and see if I could take a photo. I was pleased with the image I was able to capture. More people came along the path and some people were struggling to spot it. Bob and I both ended up helping others try to locate it. It can be very difficult describing to others which line of trees and branches to follow with their eyes!
Swallowtail
By Lisa G Saw June 30, 2025
In the first part of this blog post - Swallowtails in Norfolk - I wrote about our first two days spent mostly at Strumpshaw Fen, where I successfully saw my first ever Swallowtail butterfly. Following this, we had two more days exploring the area. I still hoped I'd see more of this beautiful native species at some of the other reserves. DAY 3 The forecast for this day wasn't great, but at least dry. There wouldn't be much chance of any sunshine until the afternoon, when it would warm up a bit. So, we decided to head to Buxton Heath, on the other side of Norwich. Bob knew it was a good site for the Silver-studded Blue butterfly. It's a species we have in just two locations within Sussex - both of which we've been to. It's a species that thrives on heathland and can be found in good numbers in the right habitat if it's managed well - with grazing or periodic burning in patches. It turned out the forecast wasn't very accurate. When we arrived, it was already brightening up and our chance of finding roosting butterflies disappeared very quickly. However, it was lovely exploring somewhere new and aside from one other couple and a man working there, we didn't see anyone else for the three hours we were there. We left the car park and headed towards the northern corner of the heath first and in next to no time, Bob spotted one flying. I stopped and looked down and saw there was another right beside me. I used my bins to take a closer look and suddenly noticed there were ants crawling around it. Instantly, I knew this was something special. The butterfly had only just emerged. I quickly took some photos but was having real issues with my camera. I was so disappointed not to get any good photos. The butterfly is out of focus but the ant is sharp!!! Hmmm! Not what I was going for! This close relationship with ants occurs with a few of the blue species of butterfly, such as the Large Blue, Adonis Blue and Chalkhill Blue. It's the first time I've ever seen the ants in attendance of a new emerged butterfly, so I was thrilled at least to have seen it.
Swallowtail
By Lisa G Saw June 29, 2025
When Bob and I returned from Kent, having just seen the Heath Fritillary , we looked at the weather for the following week and we saw that it was looking very changeable every day, with cool windy and/or wet weather forecast. The Swallowtail butterfly ( Papilio machaon ) is our largest native species found in the UK and Bob informed me they won't be flying if the conditions aren't good. They like the warmth! Now was not a good time for our hot spell to be over! With only one more week of my break from teaching left, we had little choice but to arrange our visit for then, regardless of the weather. I booked some accommodation for us and we figured that if we went for more than a couple of days, we were bound to have at least one fairly decent opportunity to see the final species on my UK list that I'd not seen before. DAY 1 As usual for us, we set off fairly early in the morning since we had over a three-hour drive ahead of us. The plan was to stop at Weeting Heath Nature Reserve, just inside the Norfolk border, so we could break up the drive and enjoy some time out in nature. The main purpose was to see the Stone Curlew that breed at this site ( Burhinus oedicnemus ). They're a rare summer visitor to the UK and I'd not heard of this species before. They're not in any way related to the Curlew ( Numenius arquata ), which I have seen before - though they are also quite rare and endangered. Their name relates to their similar call. We sat in two different hides during the course of the late morning and early afternoon and for quite some time we didn't think we were going to get lucky and see the Stone Curlew - though we did see a couple of Curlews. At one point I nipped back to the car, and of course that was when Bob saw one! It was on the far side of the field we were overlooking, but where the ground dipped lower out of sight. He saw it just as I was returning to the hide. So, I quickly sat down and looked for it, but I didn't get a chance to properly see it. We decided to stay a bit longer, and so this time Bob left the hide to fetch our lunch, and that was when the Stone Curlew reappeared. It even flew a short distance, quite low, as it apparently had a nest nearby and it wasn't happy about the Rooks that were too close for comfort.  Don't hold your breath - the photo is pants! The bird was so far away and it was more of a record shot. However, I did enjoy watching it through my binoculars.
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