On Red Alert!

Having photographed a male Red veined Darter a few days earlier, I wanted to see if I could improve on the images so late yesterday afternoon, I made a visit to a private site south of Reculver where in the sunshine I managed to find 5 male Red veined Darter patrolling over the water at speed. I sat and watched them for a while and occasionally they would fly out over the water and land on the floor or small sticks bordering the water. This continued for a while with some individuals so when one moved in, I decided to stalk it in the hope of a photo opportunity. Like most darters, they are very wary and it wasn't long until if flew off when it knew of my presence. More watching of this species occurred and I noticed an individual that kept on flying into the same small stick so while it was out over the water, I got down on my belly and set up the camera. It wasn't long until he was back. A bit wary at first but eventually, he built up enough courage to land and what a great view I had. These are one of the most stunning dragonflies we have in this country and although they occur annually as migrants in this country, they breed at this site so we are very lucky to have them here. I was treated to the best views ever of this species as I took a number of shots as it was only c30cm away. I also was able to use the macro which was good and hopefully this has captured the finer detail in this species. Whilst I am generally very happy with most of the photos I take, even I am really pleased with this set and could have not asked for more. I spent the next half hour taking various shots from different angles and even pushed my luck when I stood above it and took a few more shots. With some of my best shots in the bag, I left them in peace but will hopefully be back again for more, although I don't think I will touch the shots I have taken today. A superb rewarding session.

Red veined Darter (male)