I returned to the Red-veined Darter pond, after a week of high activity there that saw up to 6 males and oviposting recorded at least twice. While the temperature was still hovering around 24 degrees it was quite windy. I only saw 2 males R-v Darters and neither hung around to be photographed. Instead I watched a male Emperor at territory occassionally hovering into the wind and managed the above photos. He saw and grabbed a female and I also caught them in-cop. Also seen was an oviposting Broad-bodied Chaser and many Common Darter. I walked through the grasslands in the hope of finding some roosting R-v Darters and promptly disturbed a male Scarce Chaser. On returning home, I picked up an e-mail from Mark Piper saying that he and Nick Roberts had also seen one on the Nene in this area. Could it have been the same one??? This is the furthest west on the Nene that they have been seen, Last year, Darryl Sutcliffe recorded on at Billing Mill, and Upton is quite a way further west from there.
