Black Darter.

Flying relatively late in the season I always look forward to finding our smallest resident Sympetrum, the Black Darter (Sympetrum danae) also known as the Black Meadowhawk to my North American friends.

During a very recent stroll along the boardwalk at Thursley Common I initially saw several males erratically flying and then disappearing into the vegetation. Eventually I spotted this immature female hiding amoungst the grasses but she was being buffeted by the stiff breeze so capturing a well focused image was a challenge.

The territorial males briefly use the same perch in-between their forays so with a bit of patience I eventually grabbed a few images.

The blackest species of this genus and the only one in which mature males do not become reddish but display an extreme colour change from their distinctive contrasting yellow-with-black to wholly black. 

These last three shots were taken last August and serve to illustrate this colour change.