The Blue Jay Barrens Water Garden will be celebrating its 15
year anniversary this summer. On August
4, 2000 I installed a liner into the completed excavation and diverted runoff
from downspouts in the front of the house to the leak proof pool area. Two days later, a light rain put an inch of
water in the bottom of the pool, and that night, treefrogs deposited several
egg clusters. Since then life in the
pool has been in a state of constant change.
Each year is a new experience with new players, both plant and animal,
finding a place in this tiny pool. Most
conspicuous in the pool these last few years has been a growing number of
predators that feed on the masses of small animals attracted to a permanent
body of water.
All plants in the Water Garden are native to this area, with
the exception of the Water Lilies. I’ve
had a desire for a pool of Water Lilies for most of my conscious life, so I
bought some tubers, planted them in weighted tubs and put them into the Water
Garden. After a couple of years, the
Water Lily root mass grew so large that it floated the pots to the
surface. My thought was to transplant
the tubers into larger pots with heavier weights, but when I hauled the plants
out of the water I found that the lily roots had completely enveloped the
pots. I settled for adding more weight
by strapping bricks around the outside of the root mass. This worked for a couple more years, then up
came the root masses with all of my bricks neatly hidden inside. At that point I decided to just leave the
lilies alone. Now the root masses rise
to the surface each summer with the growth of new roots and then sink again in
the fall as the roots die back. Islands
created by the root masses are becoming populated with a variety of aquatic
plants that don’t mind a winter long emersion.
In last few days there has been a mass emergence of
damselflies from the pool. The shed skin
of the aquatic nympth is left behind by the newly emerged adult form.
Both the aquatic and adult forms of damselfly are predators.
Adults capture and consume small flying
insects, while the aquatic nymphs feed on insects, tadpoles, fish, worms and
anything else small enough to be captured and held.
Adults seem to emerge most often under the cover of
darkness. In the morning, newly emerged
individuals can be found resting on stable structures near the water. It takes a while for the wings and
exoskeleton to harden, and for the full coloration of the adult to develop.
Unlike most other damselflies, Spreadwing Damselflies hold
their wings slightly apart. These
damselflies are slightly larger than the average.
This is one of the Bluet Damselflies. This is a small, delicate Damselfly that is
quite common here at Blue Jay Barrens.
Male and female bluets join in tandem for mating and egg
laying. This pair is insuring a supply
of Damselflies will be around next year.
Aquatic plants growing in pots set on a shallow shelf at the
edge of the Water Garden have long since escaped confinement and found their
own anchorage. A tangle of rush stalks
and other dead vegetation give a foundation for an assortment of water loving
vegetation. Some were planted when the
Water Garden was first filled, but most have arrived by more natural means.
The thick vegetation may be a place of safety for some, but
it also harbors a healthy population of predators. These young spiders have just recently
emerged from heir silken egg sack.
Most of these will fall to larger predators or relocate far
distant from here, but several will stay and grow to adulthood in the lush
vegetation of the Water Garden.
Red-spotted Newts are the top of the line submerged
predator. They can detect the slightest
movement and will investigate any creature their own size or smaller. If they can fit it in their mouths, they will
eat it. I don’t believe you can stuff a
newt so full that it would stop trying to eat more. Males like this one are continually cruising
the pool looking for food and for breeding opportunities.
Female newts typically remain more hidden, but they are still
alert for anything that may be food.
When newly hatched, salamander larvae are heavily preyed
upon by the newts. As the salamanders grow, they become a predator as efficient as
the newt. The difference between the two
is that the salamander only spends a portion of its life in the pool. It will soon mature into a land dwelling form
and take off for a more terrestrial lifestyle.
Bullfrogs are probably the most aggressive above water
predators in the Water Garden. As long
as he can avoid the notice of Minks, Raccoons and Herons, this guy should have
no problems. Anything smaller than this
guy’s mouth is in danger of being eaten.
Bullfrogs are typically just temporary visitors and after a few weeks
will move on to new hunting grounds. If
it ever rains here again, this frog will probably move on.
Adult Green Frogs have a chance of competing against a large
Bullfrog, but those that have just recently transformed from the tadpole stage
are just Bullfrog food. This young frog
has just lost the last of its tail stub and is watching for a flying insect to
come within grabbing distance.
Gray Treefrogs have a tough time competing in a permanent
pool. Predators make quick work of the
newly hatched tadpoles and the adult frogs are in danger of becoming a Bullfrog
meal.
Northern Water Snakes will also make a meal of tadpoles and
frogs. There are at least two mature
water snakes now living in the Water Garden.
They arrived here as youngsters several years ago and have been growing
steadily since.
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that the Water Garden has
become a home for top level predators.
That is why I’ve initiated other projects to provide temporary pools to
those aquatic creatures that cannot deal with a high predator load. I’ll just keep enjoying the Water Garden and
see what comes next.
