Welcome Winged Ones

8/25/2023

A female green darner dragonfly takes a rest in our summer garden.

A green darner dragonfly blending in with garden foliage.

I noticed them last evening. Once the extreme heatwave had passed, brought on in part by a quick moving storm, the temperature dropped and the sky cleared. I went out to survey the backyard garden habitat, looked up, and there they were. Swarms of green darner dragonflies, swirling overhead. Back and forth over the backyard. Skimming the treetops, then swooping down lower over the garden patches, and birdbaths. No doubt feasting on the bugs brought out by the summer rain.

Earlier this summer one of these beauties surprised me as I was watering one of the raised bed flower gardens. I nearly watered the dragonfly itself, it was blending in so well. But the glistening of its wings caught my eye, and I stopped short. I greeted it, and asked it to "just wait there". Quick grabbed my phone and camera to take a few photos. It was resting, and seemed in no hurry to move on. Once I had taken a few photos I went back to watering the thirsty blooms, checking back periodically to see if it was still there. It hung around awhile. But, eventually, it moved on. Yesterday, I think it returned. With friends. Today, under cloudy, but cooler skies, they are back again. Swirling in and out of view. Rather calming to watch.

A couple years back, after our first summer in this house, we were outside working in the yard, and looked up to see thousands of green darners flying overhead. They were deep into fall migration, and we were lucky enough to witness it. I've been hoping for another opportunity ever since. Maybe their recent visits are a good sign.

I haven't been out in the parks and on the trails as much as I'd like this summer. I've had other responsibilities, and have dedicated a good portion of my time to cultivating our yard into a lively wildlife habitat. I'm going to take the dragonfly sightings as a sign that we are having some success.

There's a bit of magic in the winged creatures that visit our backyard. Although spring migration visitors were scarce this year, we have had regular visitors over the summer. Along with an occasional warbler or two.

There is a female ruby-throated hummingbird who has been a regular for the past several summers, and she has been back this year. Once in a while another hummingbird stops by, but she doesn't much like to share. She is a beauty, and I plant a lot of flowers in an attempt to make her happy.

Once in a while, I will be out watering the garden, or photographing some of the blooms, and I will hear a buzz nearby. More than a few times I have turned to see her within inches of my face, just hovering in front of me. "Hi!" I exclaim. I'm not sure what I expect her to say in return.

In any case, every time, every single time, she visits, it's like the first time. A complete, breathless thrill. They were my mom's favorite bird. She always put out hummingbird feeders at her apartment, and little hummingbird trinkets and ornaments. Ever since she passed away, anytime I see a hummingbird, I feel as if she is sending a greeting. Fleeting though it might be. It's a bit of magic in the everyday.

A female ruby-throated hummingbird is a regular summer visitor in our garden.

The good news is our little ecosystem is expanding. This year we have had lots of butterflies, bumbles and other bees, fireflies, and crickets. Even grasshoppers, a first for us.

And the sounds...Cicadas buzzing on a hot day, crickets singing at night, robins calling at sunrise, chickadees, too. Splendid examples of nature's tune. Proof that if you plant it, they will come.

No matter how difficult my day, if I am able to sit outside on the patio in the evening, and absorb the sounds and sights of the garden, I can find a sense of calm. And a sense of accomplishment, too.

What I'm hoping for now, is that my late-planted flowers bloom. That our faded flowers provide plenty of food for the birds as they migrate this fall, and that they stop by to visit this time. We really missed them in the spring.

In the meantime, I wonder who else might show up for a visit? Only time will tell.