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| Migrant Hawker |
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| Female Common Darter |
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| Male Ruddy Darter |
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| Male Banded Demoiselle |
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| Immature male Common Blue Damselfly |
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| Female Common Darter |
Sunday, 7 September 2014
Titchmarsh Nature Reserve
It's been a long time since I visited Titchmarsh, so I decided to call in this afternoon. Our first sighting was a female Common Darter on the footpath just passed the carpark. We turned left through the gate to head towards the River. Several Migrant Hawkers were buzzing around the bur-reeds on the river margins, and I caught sight of a couple of mating pairs. While watching and photographing the hovering males, about 10 male and 1 female Banded Demoiselle appeared. The female was part of a mating pair, but I thought something was unusual, as the male wasn't a Banded. It turned out that a male Common Blue Damselfly had grasped the female Banded. The pairing didn't last long enough to record though. Many more Hawkers and Common Darters were around, although I didn't see any Male Darters. On the return, I found a male Ruddy Darter and a male Common Blue that was only a few days old, as he hadn't gained the full blue colouration yet. September seems a rather late date to emerge for a Common Blue.
