Dragons and Damsels.
Jan 21st, 2008 by Duncan
The floods of July and November left the billabongs next to Bellbird Corner full to the brim, and even after two hot months they’re still holding a lot of water. I took Jock the whippet for a walk there two days ago, the first things we saw when we got out of the car were two Chestnut Teal with four babies, a Pacific Black Duck with eight babies, and two Royal Spoonbills working the shallows with sideways sweeps of their bills.
From a distance I noticed movement in the air that demanded a closer look, and when we got to the water’s edge I could see dragon and damselflies in numbers. The damsels were fairly co-operative and I got pictures of a male Blue Ringtail, and a female that may be the same species.
Male Blue Skimmer dragons were flying low over the water, and then I saw a couple of small sandy coloured individuals occasionally landing on the grass. These were quite wary, but eventually I managed to get within range and took shots from a couple of angles. After a tentative mis-identification and more pictures taken on the 22nd I’m happy that it’s a Wandering Percher. Click for a larger picture.
We’re getting some very welcome rain at the moment, we’ve had 60 mm so far and it’s still drifting in from the east. I have a feeling though that when the weather clears in the next day or so, Jock and I will be back looking around the billabongs, beaut places, love those dragons and damsels.
The spoonbills and the blue ringtail are such lovely pictures and I am glad you are getting some rain..we have too much rain here!!!!..nice pictures again. cheers.
The rain has been marvellous IR, the paddock has greened up already. Glad you like the pix.