The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
August 2015
Pacific Northwest
In a recent Bucket I showed dragonflies as food for a family of swallows (Purple Martins). Here are some closeup looks at local dragonflies they might have been feeding their nestlings. Ponds are drying up where I live in western Washington, especially as we had so little rain this spring, so the dragonflies are becoming concentrated in small areas.
I don't know the Odonata, so perhaps you readers will be able to better ID these, knowing their features and their location in western Washington. I have books, and I can narrow them down, but some features are obscure to me, and frankly may not be visible in a photograph. All photos by me. In Lightbox...click for better resolution.
This dragonfly is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Such bright colors and patterns! Embiggen for full glory. I think it is a female darner ovipositing. She moved from stem to stem by the side of this nearly dry pond.
Red (possibly a Cardinal) Meadowhawk:
Western Pondhawks:
8-spotted Skimmer:
Not dragonflies. Bluet Damselflies:
~
(Update on the Purple Martin family I mentioned above...sorry to say, it doesn't look good. After 2 weeks absence, the derelict boat reappeared in the bay a few days ago. When I went out to check, the boom was empty and quiet, and I have not seen any Martins around the bay. I don't have a view of this bay unless I go over there, so I did not see who brought the boat back as mysteriously as it was taken away. Granted, it's their boat, but now a family of rare birds is gone. These people have a lot to answer for in my book. I know there are winners and losers in life, "nature red in tooth and claw", and beautiful dragonflies must die to feed a growing baby swallow. But those deaths are not gratuitous.
So it goes.)
~
What's happening today in your natural neighborhood?
"Spotlight on Green News & Views" is posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time and Wednesday at 3:30 on the Daily Kos front page. It's a great way to catch up on diaries you might have missed. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.