Today’s adventure started late as we headed off towards Highfield Moss in search of Black Darters and Common Hawkers.

We stopped off for a quick circuit of Lunt Meadows in the hope of seeing hobbies; nothing doing but a kestrel put on a lovely show and a cormorant looked out of place on the Kingfisher pond.

On arriving at Highfield Moss, it was already past lunchtime, so we scoffed that and visited the pub for a drink to wash it down. A short walk across wheat, barley and rape fields brought us to the big that makes up this reserve. On arrival we were immediately greeted by a patrolling Brown Hawker, which was quickly seen off by an unidentified blue hawker species. A seemingly auspicious start - little did we know!

Passing through shoulder-high bracken, we received another welcome from a bold yellowhammer, and indeed yellowhammer song was the soundtrack to the whole afternoon. Odonata, on the other hand, were conspicuous by their absence. It was very windy, with clouds covering the sun maybe 75% of the time, so not surprising, but we sought out such sheltered sun-traps as we could with little joy on the dragonfly front.

Other insect life was present in abundance, and we saw shieldbugs, beetles, hoverflies, scorpionflies, butterflies, moths and more as we headed around the edge of the reserve.

The pond that seemed the most likely dragonfly spot, however, was barren, even though we stared at it during some of the longest sunny spells of the day. As we turned in despair to leave, however, I spotted a movement and there was a small dragonfly skimming the path and settling in the grass. She was too well hidden for photography (or for my companion to pick up in binoculars, for that matter) so with the boldness of the damned I went over and picked her up.

What a beautiful specimen! A mature female black darter, she was happier to cling to my finger at first than cast off into the wind, but when she did so, she settled on a gorse bush where it was possible to get a couple of in-focus photographs despite the whole lot swaying in the wind. During the process, a stunning male Emerald Damselfly landed mere inches away!

Encouraged, we explored the rest of the site including a small corner of woods, then returned to the area where we had seen the dragonfly. The sun was a bit more prevalent and the wind less fierce at this point, but there was still no hawker action. We spotted another female Black darter, however (younger, I think, by the yellower colour) and the previously barred vegetation seemed alive with Emerald and Blue-tailed damselflies, with I think Azure and maybe Common Blue present too.

With success snatched from the jaws of defeat, we headed home. It’s quite a long trip, really, but I will have to return in better weather to see if I can’t find some male Black Darters and maybe some Hawkers.