Red but White Faced

Sitting pretty for a few seconds resting on a twig over the Schwingmoor or floating peat bog he really blended in and had I not seen him land I would never have seen him.

Thinking I had had a wasted trip with the surrounding peat bog entirely devoid  of insects possibly because it was overcast, I was more than fortunate to see this. A first for me; the White-faced Darter on the Red List as endangered and with the amount of  chasing round nearly breaking my ankles negotiating the humps and bumps over the dangerous wet sphagnum moss, believe me - it was endangered! 

Chartley Moss in Staffordshire is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a Ramsar Convention, a National Nature Reserve and there is no access without permit. A floating peat bog, the largest in Britain, with a raft of peat up to 10 foot thick floating on a 40 foot deep lake,  makes it extremely dangerous especially as it is a continual state of change. There is pink Bog Rosemary in flower there now, Sundew fascinatingly growing amidst the Sphagnum moss on the floor along with the heather and Purple Moor Grass. There is a slightly spooky atmosphere with the dead tree stems which have died as it's too wet for them and the total silence.