Beautiful tropical summer weather; mostly dry mornings with periods of sun, followed by showers in the afternoon/evening so our ponds are gradually filling. Its perfect weather for dragonflies and hanging around in the swamp with a camera.
Water Prince (Hydrobasileus brevistylus) Female – she was hovering and occasionally dipping her abdomen towards the leaf.
Lesser Green Emperor (Anax guttatus) Flying up and down the ponds, very occasionally hovering before taking off again in a different direction. Possibly a male?
Front view – Lesser Green Emperor
Making the most of some lighter weather this turtle was resting on some pond ‘infrastructure’ that is exposed at low water levels. When the wetlands were new the fish needed places to hide so we arranged a few old tyres – its probably rather a good turtle resting place with a gentle slope and a decent grip on its surface.
Saw-shelled fresh water turtle
There are many of these delicate little Darkmouth dragonflies on the vegetation in the shallows. Once located they make relatively easy photographic subjects as they, like many in the Libellulidae family, will usually perch in between short flights, often returning to the same twig. Digital photography is a wonderful assistance in identifying dragonflies as some of the differences are quite subtle and certainly not obvious to an untrained eye.
Darkmouth (Brachydiplax duivenbodei)
Allen
Barbara
Wild Wings & Swampy Things 