Tiny Creatures For Nature Notes

We've had several sudden showers this past week and the temperature has come down.

Amid my portulacas and bachelor buttons, I often see the tiniest of skippers feeding on the blooms.

Here's one of the blues on a Polyscias some time after the rain stopped.

Another skipper feeds on a yellow portulaca.

But yesterday's sunshiny day was much welcome. More chores get done when the clouds are gone. The best was the sight of the crescent moon shining through the leaves of my berry tree.

Visit the home of Nature Notes to see what's happening in the world of nature.

Nature Notes/ Common Picture Wing Dragonfly

 After weeks of high heat we've been blessed by rain. Not torrents of it but enough to wet the parched garden soil and leave those precious pretty droplets on the edge of leaves. And here's what I found this morning. A Common Picture Wing dragonfly/ Rhyothemis variegata resting on a leaf of the Orange Jasmine.

I had seen this dragonfly before but it was always at a great height so a close shot was impossible. Today it was at eye level and I went down on bended knees to take this shot.:)

Here's the last shot before it flew away. This dragonfly is also known as the Variable Glider and from a distance it looks like a butterfly. More of black on the wings indicate that it is a female. The male has fewer black markings on its wings. I found a site with a picture of a male here.

To see what's happening in the world of nature, visit Michelle at Nature Notes.

A Nocturnal Visitor

I was happy to see this little frog find a resting/stalking place on my monstera. This was taken in the first week of April just before the rains came. The next evening the little one found a cosy spot amid the jungle of potted fern.

But now that the rains are here, evenings are never quiet. The incessant croaking of frogs can be heard  outside. Rain and frog-song. The blooming of fragrant flowers. The cycle of seasons all over again. All's right with the world! 

Birds (caught) In The Rain

Bee-eater

 I nearly tripped on the stairs as I ran for the camera at the sight of this bee-eater, the first one this year. It was raining and the wind had just died down. Certainly not a bird watching day. Suddenly a flash of blue and green descended on the wires and sat there for several minutes. On days that do not rain we usually see these pretty birds dive down for the bees, wasps, and dragonflies. Before eating their prey, bee-eaters remove the stinger by repeatedly rubbing and hitting the insect on a hard surface. These birds only catch prey on the wing and ignore flying insects once they land. Throughout the summer months it's a joy to watch these delightful birds.

Another rainy day...I'd assumed that sparrows seek shelter from the rain by sitting under the eaves of our house. But no. A few sparrows preferred to stay put on my berry tree with the rain pouring steadily. Can you spot the two on the extreme left (top)?

To see more of our feathered friends, please visit World Bird Wednesday.


                                         

Nature Notes/ The Season's Bloomers

It's the dustiest period of the year. There's always a light wind blowing leaving that fine patina of dust on anything that can be called a surface. This is when we long for the rains, at least we'll get a respite from the dust. But outside there's a lot of colour. My small planting area near the front door has a mix of flowers. I put in a few calendulas, verbena, pansies, salvia, and zinnia. The idea was that a mixed area would attract different kinds of butterflies. But so far I've only had the cabbage whites and a few skippers on the blooms.

I had planted two kinds of bougainvillea near the gate. They grew really bushy so I pruned them severely last year. They don't look too bad now. The red flowers beyond these white and pink ones belong to the neighbouring house. It's the Corky Coral tree. Throughout the day, the tree is visited by myriad birds.

The red penta is the favourite haunt of lizards and sunbirds. The butterflies seem to love coming here only during the height of summer.

I'm so happy with the buds on my small azalea plant. Although I've had the plant for over four years now, this is only the second time that it's blooming. Maybe it has to do with the colder (than usual)  winter we've had. When I started blogging I longed to grow cold climate plants that I drooled over at all the wonderful gardening blogs. It took me some time (read failure and expenses) to realize that such experiences were futile. As for azaleas, only these dark pink ones seem to do well in our area.


To see what's happening in the world of nature, visit Michelle at Rambling Woods.

Damselflies

                             
                             

Throughout the cooler months, only the black damselflies (like the one in the first picture) were seen resting on my plants. But now that the rains are here they are here in all colours and on most plants!


Damselflies are insects in the order Odanata. They are similar to dragonflies but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, or parallel to the body, at rest. The hindwing of the damselfly is essentially similar to the forewing, while the hindwing of the dragonfly broadens near the base. Damselflies are also usually smaller than dragonflies, and weaker fliers in comparison, and their eyes are separated. (Wiki).

I found this mating pair on my potted fern. They are not the easiest creatures to photograph...too tiny for really good captures. They could well be the Pigmy dartlets although I'm not too sure. But I'm posting the pictures anyway. At least you can see the kind of colours they come in. Sometimes I see them gorging on mosquitoes and small spiders. I even have them landing on my hand as I go about my pruning and my weeding. It's a joy to see them ...may their numbers increase!

Lizards, again!!

Readers of both my blogs will be familiar with the many lizard pictures that I take. Most of them look pretty similar (see the one on my sidebar) but last month I was amused to see the clever way in which this baby lizard was sheltering from the rain. The photo was taken right after a sudden shower.