Guard duty

Male Four-spotted Chasers don't hover much - they tend to spend their time alternately chasing about after females and rivals, and perching on favoured stems or leaves from which they can keep watch for females or rivals entering their territory. The exception is when they're guarding a female from other males while she lays the eggs they've just fertilised, and that's what was happening here. 

When I spotted the scene I was standing on the opposite side of the pond, so the image is heavily cropped, but I was pleased to have captured it at all, because the action was done and dusted within moments. In this species mating takes place on the wing and usually lasts less than ten seconds, and oviposition is generally completed within about another twenty seconds, after which the female leaves at speed before the male can grab her again, while he goes back to zooming around, and bouncing on and off his favourite perch.

My second image was also taken at a distance, but makes me happy because it shows a very fresh male Scarce Chaser - the first of his kind I've recorded this season, and the only specimen I saw at Cleeve Prior today. Being immature he was only interested in basking and feeding, but despite being no threat to them he was being given a pretty torrid time by the sexually mature and aggressive Four-spotted Chasers. Eventually he got tired of being bounced off the pond vegetation and retreated to the surrounding hedgerow, where he finally achieved some peace and quiet.

R: C1 D18.