I took a break from recording in Northants and visited Chartley Moss in Staffordshire today (26 May) to see the White-faced Darter. This site is an amazing floating bog, where the sphagnum moss sits atop 10m deep water - quite scary when you feel the ground wobble under foot. The visit was well timed to see them emerging, and we counted over 40 immatures and emerging adults. A few mature adults were seen too, but not too many. Of the three photos above, the top and bottom show immature males - the yellow changes to red when they reach maturity, and the middle shows a female. A great day out and a new species for me. This trip was organised by Natural England and is well worth booking on for next year (its ony 1hr 45mins drive away).
