POND LIFE AT BLACKHEATH – TAKING A CLOSE LOOK

With the renovation of the Blackheath Duck Pond last year came the planting of native reeds and grasses around the perimeter. My sincere thanks to the volunteers who did so much to help.  What a success it has been, and  in such a short space of time. I have to say that the remarkable growth was one positive of the  rainy spring  we often complained about.

I live close by, and love going down there now that it’s more natural. During the week it is  very quiet and I have become interested in the insect life. I only have a phone camera, but that’s  good enough for my purposes.

Of course some creatures are hidden away in their homes. attached to the rushes.

This one is surely an example of the ‘tiny house’ movement.

Elegant damselflies and dragonflies  are everywhere at the pond when the sun comes out. Two sets of wings means it’s a dragonfly.

This is the blue tailed dragonfly. So pretty.

My apologies for the poor quality of this one, but you can see how minute it is.  The common name for it is Wandering Ringtail.

Look how this creature’s body mimics the slender green stem of the  seed head. Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me.

Onto the spiders… all very small and  so easily missed.  Most of them seem to be orb weavers. I love the ‘oak leaf’ on the back of this species.

The webs are wonderful too.

Here is a well protected spider’s egg sac.

This tiny orb weaver is known as the yellow  enamel spider, for obvious reasons. A yellow damselfly has become its lunch. Here he is wrapping some  up for later.

All wrapped up.

I have no idea what this little spider is.

It was quite a surprise to see bees feeding in the reed heads. There must be some pollen for them there.

On rare occasions there may be no creatures stirring, but there is still beauty at the duck pond, even in a drop of moisture after a misty start to the day.

For more information on the renovation of the pond, CLICK HERE.