A few years ago, we were a little concerned to find that the quarry opposite our house was earmarked for landfill. Planning permission was granted subject to the relocation of great crested newts that were resident in the quarry pools. It took years to relocate the newts to around 25 new ponds created around the edge of the quarry and then, for reasons which remain unclear, the landfill was put on indefinite hold. The result is that nature is reclaiming the area and we have counted in excess of 50 species of birds and animals in the quarry this summer. Today, I sat by one of the ponds within 2 minutes walk of my house and took these images.
Here are emperor dragonfly, wasp, brown hawker laying eggs, common darter, daddy longlegs, brown hawker accompanied by an azure damselfly, blue-tailed damselfly, a beetle of unknown variety, southern hawker, and banded demoiselle.
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