With a number of Red veined Darters being seen on a pool at Swanscombe Marshes, I thought I would give it a go yesterday and after getting some excellent directions from Barry Wright, I made the 50 minute trip arriving about 09:30. I thought I would wouldn't be there too long but the weather as ever had other ideas. I soon found the pool and had a wander around in breezy and cloudy conditions which was not at all ideal. The next hour, the weather continued to be against me and I thought I was going to draw a blank with this superb little red darter but the weather very slowly showed some improvement. Eventually a couple of hours after arriving, I found the first of at lest 15 Red veined Darters. All of a sudden, the pool come to life with males flying out over the water chasing each other and then returning to the shore where they perched on the warming floor. This gave me the chance at last to try for a few photos and in the next hour, I was able to get some lovely views and appreciate their finer detail and get a few pleasing images. Three pairs were seen in tandem ovipositing but there could well be more at this site than I counted easily. Also seen were 1 Lesser Emperor, c10 Black tailed Skimmer, 1 Emperor Dragonfly and a few Blue tailed and Common Blue Damselfly. What started off as a tough morning was soon forgotten with plenty of dragonfly action over the pool. On my way back home I called in at a very breezy Oare Marshes for an hour where I found c25 Scarce Emerald Damselfly, 1 Emerald Damselfly, 10 Dainty Damselfly which included 6 tenerals. It seems they are still emerging so hopefully their numbers will be a bit more encouraging in a week or two. With the weather not too good this week, it was good to get out and have a bit of sunshine for once this week. Back to work next week so back to weekend visits again weather permitting.
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