This morning I visited Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Peter, one of my former students, kindly offered to show me round. He works at the Hamlet and is involved in the restoration of the dam that feeds the water-powered machinery.
One of the aims of the restoration is to improve the dam as a wildlife habitat, whilst meeting the needs of the industrial museum and the local anglers. To help achieve this, a lot of marginal vegetation has been introduced: mostly Glyceria maxima and Iris pseudacorus.
From an ecological point of view, the restoration certainly seems to be working. The eastern bank of the dam was teeming with insects. Peter pointed out various species of hoverflies (Syrphidae) that were feeding on flowers of umbellifers. I'm still very much a novice when it comes to entomology, but I'm gradually learning to recognise some of the more distinctive species.
I managed to get a few decent shots of blue-tailed damselflies (Ishnura elegans) resting on the leaves of Glyceria. Common blue damselflies (Enallagma cyathigerum) were also abundant, but far too fidgety and flighty to photograph.
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