Just Floating.

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.

The Emperor.

The Emperor (Anax imperator) our largest dragonfly. I located this male just hanging around during a recent wander at Thursley Common.

Just Resting.

Linking to:
Wild Bird Wednesday

White-legged Damsels.

I have previously posted images here of immature White-legged Damselflies (Platycnemis pennipes) and on my main blog that I discovered last month close to Flag Pond on my local woodland butterfly transect. 

Today I finally managed to find both the adult forms resting in the grassy area close to the muddy pond.

 An adult female (above) and the adult male (below).