Black Stork!

No Joe, I didn't see it, but I'm enjoying the look on your face.... ;)

Ahem.

With newly re-limited time, and thus no guarantee of another day of hot sunny weather when I can use it, an attempt to add Black Darter to my Dragonfly Yearlist was in order. I've been saving the china clay workings on the south west edge of t' Moor for a good day trip and that was the way I went [again following the footsteps - literally at times - of Those Who Know Where To Go]. Of the various old china clay workings-come ponds, the most renowned are those at Smallhanger Waste - they're even in my dragonfly book's site list. They're also the most threatened - partly by idiots on trail bikes [there were a fair few roaring about] and 4x4s, but mostly from being re-quarried by the next door Headon Works [new techniques mean they can get kaolin out of old waste].

It was a very good day, odonata wise; even when it clouded over and I went for a wander up Crownhill Tor to admire the view, I still managed to meet a White-legged Damselfly. Before that, with the sun shining and sheltered from the wind [not that there was much of it] I had a right old time! The site has a real mix of pools; some high and open, some sheltered, some deep, some shallow, with and without vegetation, and with a watercourse running down to the south - giving a huge potential range of species. It's a real maze, too - a shallow valley full of hollows large and small - there are tracks made by both vehicles and sheep, but to get to some pools you have to go around circuitously [unless you want to jump down cliffs or wade through bogs or push through undergrowth... or sometimes all three!]. My map wasn't much use - I just had to follow the tracks and keep a sense of the landscape to make sure I didn't miss any bits out.

It took several pools before I found one the Black Darters liked, but then I couldn't stop finding them :D I took probably too many shots of some very obliging males before finding a spot that looked good for Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly [a patrolling male was a bit of a giveaway, I think.. ;) ] and settling down to have my lunch while waiting for one to sit still close enough to photograph... [Oh dear, I fear I'm getting too into this photo malarky - still, I suppose I shouldn't worry; it's only for the summer..?]. I spent a bit more than an hour there and got precisely one shot. It might not be that good either. Pesky little buggers. Still, I did get good bin [and scope!] views of 2 males and a female, so not at all bad!

I'm trying not to be all "I saw this and this and this and..." with my blog, so here are some more highlights;

Watching a male Common Hawker, after tirelessly patrolling his little pool for several minutes, grabbing a female, tousling her to the ground, then flying off in tandem with her [possibly the same female seen later ovipositing].

Southern Hawker vs Emperor - repeatedly and noisily clashing when meeting on overlapping ends of their respective patrols.

The way male Black Darters tend to repeatedly twist their heads 45 degrees like they've got a nervous tick.

A surprise flypast by a female Broad-bodied Chaser while I was having my lunch - not a species I expected to see..

One last lone 4-spotted Chaser, still defending his bay against all-comers - up to and including passing Emperors!

A butterfly chasing off an Emperor [seen more then once - very funny! :D ]

After jammily getting 14 species in one day at Stover, I reckoned I'd be hard-pushed to match it, but to my amazement and delight at Smallhanger I saw 16! Woo!

There were also many many butterflies, possibly rare and interesting ones, other insects, and young frogs, toads and lizard!s too. There were several hundred hirundines [at least 90% Swallows] in view from the higher part of the ridge, but no remarkable birds about [I was, unsurprisingly, keeping an eye out for low- and indeed very high-flying storks. Just in case...]. It was a very good day [though the increase in clouds was a bit of a pain, they did eventually break up] - hopefully not my last dragon day of the year.

[[[Don't worry, by the way; there won't be any more photos. Well, not unless I find another Mystery Moff. Trust me, you're not missing anything - most of mine are awful....]]]

Very post-script Edit:

17 species. I didn't mention [due to not having 100% ID, as I shall explain] that there was also a very blue fairly small hawker spp. - I got good side-views of it and then couldn't find a side view or even a mention of what the thorax sides should be like in the literature [that I had, anyway]. Let me give a quick description; it was patrolling the rushy edge of a pool [which for obvious reasons won't be specified]at a consistent low level, front to back it had a pale blue frons, very blue eyes [gorgeously blue] a dark thorax with turquoise markings on the side and many blue marks on the abdomen, but no yellow markings at all. It had to be what it sounds like, but I didn't have enough confirmation to go public.

Finally, now in 2011 [yes, a very big time gap] I've finally found what I needed [namely a good side-on flight shot of one - which shows the broad turquoise thorax markings] to be certain that it was indeed a male SMH. I'm more than a little chuffed. Which is why I'm doing this - if you want to look back, you'll find this and go "Ah, you bastard.." And if you don't care, you're not here.

32 for the year, then. Not bad at all.... :D

Even more post-script EDIT:
16 species. That photo I found 5 years ago was duff. SMH has an entirely blue thorax side [with very thin black lines, like an Emperor], whereas some [odd] male MHs can have big blue thorax side markings, such as this one. I was not the only one fooled - which makes me feel slightly better - but still. 16 species, 31 for the year!