Jan Shields has sent in some great photos of darters…not all from the UK, but all these species are now present in the UK so it’s definitely worth being aware of some rarities you just may see. The aptly named Common Darter is shown left, freshly emerged from Jan’s Shropshire pond, but below (left) are a pair of Red-veined Darters and a male Scarlet Darter. These last 2 species were photographed in Mallorca, but Red-veined Darter could well show up in Shropshire as it has in the past, and Scarlet Darter is now believed to be breeding in Dorset! Both these species have distinctive areas of blue on the lower part of the eyes. The Red-veined Darter also has a prominent single stripe on the side of the thorax visible in flight. The wonderful Scarlet Darter is absolutely scarlet with a broader flattened body than other darters and has red/pinkish legs.
Elsewhere the first photo has come in of Migrant Hawker seen on 24th July in Buildwas, Telford. Unfortunately this was via iNat so I do not have permission to use the photo or the contact details of the recorder….but they are on the wing!
