Common Darters

Yesterday was a cool but bright day. Goldfinches were making the most of the countless thistle seeds on the meadows, with 20 - 30 of them moving from one thistle area to another. Nuthatches were feeding in the central hedge as were many other small birds.
During a brief spell of bright sunshine I had a look at the pond, which is now full of water. A Brown Hawker dragonfly was egg laying as were at least 4 pairs of Common Darters. There were also at least 6 other single Common Darters making this by far the biggest count of dragonflies this year.
Butterflies were only conspicuous by their absence, probably due to a lack of suitable nectar plants on the meadows at this time of year.