Dragon Hunt

Went hunting for dragons the other day. Specifically, I was after Black Darters and they tend to live in peat bogs. Fortunately, there's one of those behind a retail park on the outskirts of town. Sure enough, I quickly found a female sunning herself.

Even then, you can't miss other opportunities when they present themselves, like this Scorpion Fly

So far, the numbers of dragons seems to be way down, presumably due to the extended period of bad weather since June ... or the recent droughts. However, in one place I had a dozen Black Darters sitting in the grass all around me.

It's quite amazing to see that many hovering just in front of you when you take a step. And then they all just settle down again.

There were a few damsels about, too, including the first lovely Emeralds I've seen this year

I just love that metallic green!

There were a couple of Four-spot Chasers around and another inhabitant of acidic waters, the Common Hawker. This is just a long distance, cropped record shot

However, the numbers of Black Darters were impressive - dozens and dozens of them everywhere. I even got one to smile for the camera. At least, I think that's a smile!

"But," I hear you cry "Not one of those is black!" It's true, the vast majority I saw were yellow, ie female or immature male. Adult males were few and far between ... or perhaps being black, they are more like Stealth Darters and impossible to find and invisible to radar. Despite the difficulties, I managed to track one down for you.

Black is meant to be a colour that goes with anything, so the coolest and trendiest of the Darters, the Black Darter

There are quite a few dragons we don't get locally, but I'm glad we have these just round the corner