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[Ken C]

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[Cederic]

Broken wing:

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Pollen:

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[Ken C]

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[moonraker]

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[Panolyman]

Each day I am spending some time at the small field pond now.
Not only for the dragonflies but also the peace of mind I find there.
Its just 5 mins from my house but the mood is a world of difference.
No concrete jungle, just water and open fields filled with flowers.
It feels like you can breath better and the mind is clearer.
It must be because that's the kind of place we were meant to be in ...

This dragonfly, which I call "The Boss" since he is the biggest and always is on patrol,
he decided to honor me with 2 minutes of his time.
Sat down 1 meter away from me and let me take photos.
It just added another level of joy for that day

View attachment 824208​

Monika, that sounds idyllic.
Can we all come and join you please?

 

[Panolyman]

Monika, can I kindly ask what your set-up was for these last two photos, as I cannot see the Exif (if there).'
Thanks, Brian.

 

[Moofred]

Hoverflies, perfect because easy target

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for insects in flight

 

[Macroramphosis]

A Sphaerophoria scripta on NIgella yesterday.

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[Ken C]

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[Ken C]

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[Ken C]

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[piggsy]

Each day I am spending some time at the small field pond now.
Not only for the dragonflies but also the peace of mind I find there.
Its just 5 mins from my house but the mood is a world of difference.
No concrete jungle, just water and open fields filled with flowers.
It feels like you can breath better and the mind is clearer.
It must be because that's the kind of place we were meant to be in ...

This dragonfly, which I call "The Boss" since he is the biggest and always is on patrol,
he decided to honor me with 2 minutes of his time.
Sat down 1 meter away from me and let me take photos.
It just added another level of joy for that day

View attachment 824208​

If you feel like a project, I would hugely recommend installing a pond - you will get all kinda of animals turning up, and you'll be able to capture things like dragonflies hatching, water spiders, frogs, etc.

More here. My pond is only about 100x80x30 cm and right next to a whole system of creeks and I still get a whole bunch of stuff using it.

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hatching dragonfly by PIG, on Flickr

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dragonfly hatching by PIG, on Flickr

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dragonfly hatching by PIG, on Flickr

ed - actually thinking on it people would probably be sick if they knew how many photos are taken inside of about 3 metres of this puddle

 

[Macroramphosis]

I concur, ponds are wonderful. Just don't add a duck to a small pond, they will kill everything, albeit unintentionally.... most of the time, sigh.

 

[MonikaO]

If you feel like a project, I would hugely recommend installing a pond - you will get all kinda of animals turning up, and you'll be able to capture things like dragonflies hatching, water spiders, frogs, etc.

More here. My pond is only about 100x800x30 cm and right next to a whole system of creeks and I still get a whole bunch of stuff using it.




View attachment 824417 hatching dragonfly by PIG, on Flickr

View attachment 824418 dragonfly hatching by PIG, on Flickr

View attachment 824419 dragonfly hatching by PIG, on Flickr

ed - actually thinking on it people would probably be sick if they knew how many photos are taken inside of about 3 metres of this puddle

Thanks for the stunning photos @piggsy !
I would love a small pond ( I had one in the past)
The only things is I remember it taking a lot of work.
Not that I am lazy (well sometimes), it would be too much for my back I fear.
I am lucky to have that pond 5 minutes away from me,
so I think I will settle for that one
It also has froggys
But thanks for mentioning it !

 

[relic]

If you feel like a project, I would hugely recommend installing a pond - you will get all kinda of animals turning up, and you'll be able to capture things like dragonflies hatching, water spiders, frogs, etc.

More here. My pond is only about 100x80x30 cm and right next to a whole system of creeks and I still get a whole bunch of stuff using it.




View attachment 824417 hatching dragonfly by PIG, on Flickr

View attachment 824418 dragonfly hatching by PIG, on Flickr

View attachment 824419 dragonfly hatching by PIG, on Flickr

ed - actually thinking on it people would probably be sick if they knew how many photos are taken inside of about 3 metres of this puddle

Great idea, but how do you avoid breeding mosquitoes? Thanks.

 

[piggsy]

Great idea, but how do you avoid breeding mosquitoes? Thanks.

It will vary where you are, but here, pacific blue eyes are the recommended fish for the QLD Frog Society - they're small, can slow down to match seasonal variation in food/temperature, will breed in a small pond, don't tend to eat frog eggs or tadpoles, but do eat mosquito larvae. I also keep a bunch of freshwater traps around (small yoghurt containers) that only mosquitoes will use to lay in, and toss them out when I see larvae in them - you get about 3-4 days at least to check them. I also installed a drain with a valve in the base of the pond that empties out into a ditch beside it so that if I ever did need to nuke it for an infestation of something like cane toads or mosquitoes, or to dry it out if frogs came down with BD, I could do it fairly easily.

Also as a larger point - there are many species of mosquitoes that have learned to take advantage of human-controlled environments very well - several species that bite humans and act as vectors need very little water (they'll lay in less than 2cm depth!), for very little time (days in warm weather). Almost everything that eats mosquitoes at any point in their engagement with an aquatic environment needs deeper water than that, for at least weeks to months. If you're providing a permanent water feature that a) supports mosquito larvae predators like damsel/dragonflies, fish, water spiders, etc, and b) provides a larger ecosystem service for predators of adult mosquitoes, this may actually contribute to a larger reduction in mosquito numbers than if it wasn't there.

 

[relic]

It will vary where you are, but here, pacific blue eyes are the recommended fish for the QLD Frog Society - they're small, can slow down to match seasonal variation in food/temperature, will breed in a small pond, don't tend to eat frog eggs or tadpoles, but do eat mosquito larvae. I also keep a bunch of freshwater traps around (small yoghurt containers) that only mosquitoes will use to lay in, and toss them out when I see larvae in them - you get about 3-4 days at least do check them. I also installed a drain with a valve in the base of the pond that empties out into a ditch beside it so that if I ever did need to nuke it for an infestation of something like cane toads or mosquitoes, or to dry it out if frogs came down with BD, I could do it fairly easily.

Also as a larger point - there are many species of mosquitoes that will breed in very little water, that have learned to take advantage of human-controlled environments very well - several species that bite humans and act as vectors need very little water (they'll lay in less than 2cm depth!), for very little time (days in warm weather). Almost everything that eats mosquitoes at any point in their engagement with an aquatic environment needs deeper water than that, for at least weeks. If you're providing a permanent water feature that a) supports mosquito larvae predators like damsel/dragonflies, fish, water spiders, etc, and b) provides a larger ecosystem service for predators of adult mosquitoes, this may actually contribute to a reduction in mosquito numbers than if it wasn't there.

Thank you so much for your very thorough, thoughtful, detailed, and helpful answer!

 

[Ken C]

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[Ken C]

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[AllanG]

EM1.2 with PL100-400mm

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