Monday 1 August 2016

Black Darter.




A week after my first encounter with Black Darters on Thursley Common I returned to stake out a likely location next to the boardwalk.

It didn't take long before I was rewarded with a fairly close encounter as a male (see below) joined me for a brief rest on the boardwalk.







Several other males were also using the boards to rest and soak up the sunshine.

As the temperature rose a little there was plenty of activity over the oily acidic water but I found it impossible to capture either a singleton or a conjoined pair in flight. Locating a female (see below) took a little time as they tend to hide out of sight amongst the vegetation until disturbed by a territorial male.



As the males age the abdomen darkens and the yellow markings all but disappear.




2 comments:

I hope you enjoyed your visit and I appreciate your comments.