It’s that time of year again in the northern hemisphere – the time when the air begins to come alive with sudden unexpected bursts of dry, rasping, rapid wingbeats. The dragonflies are once again among us. Borne upon the air as if gravity was a purely fictional concept to them, these master hunters of the insect world are some of the most beloved – as well as, to those unfamiliar with them, some of the most misunderstood – of all the commonly known species.
On my recent travels in England, just before making the pilgrimage to the BirdFair, I had the great good fortune of exploring the area around Radley Lakes with Jo Cartmell in search of Water Voles – or at least signs thereof. As the day warmed, the butterflies and dragonflies became more active, culminating in the opportunity to snap a photo (with merely my mobile phone camera, no less) of this exquisite Common Darter, Sympetrum striolatum, male as it basked on a barbed wire fence along the path.