Sometimes you have to take a stick to wildlife...

Having put in my new pond at the tail end of last year, it was always going to be interesting to see what wildlife turned up to use it.

I've had my Grey Wagtails and bathing Sparrowhawks and tadpoling Little Egret; the Frogs and Smooth Newts have bred like wildfire; the Whirligig Beetles are now in a spinning flock 30 strong.

But what of dragonflies and damselflies? The three small ponds I inherited are all too shady and I've seen no dragon or damsel approach them over the last two years, so the only records in the garden thus far had been of wandering and feeding individuals.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I had a brief view of a Broad-bodied Chaser at the top end of the garden.

This is one species I am very fond of. They do indeed have a broad body, the broadest of any of our species, making them look quite robust, chunky dragonflies. Mature males have a blue body, young males are yellowy, and females have something of the look of amber about them, with bright yellow 'sidelights' along each side, as if illuminated. All four wings have a chestnutty patch at the base.

They are found across much of England and Wales, and first reached Scotland in 2003. And what they like are two things: new ponds to colonise, and a prominent vantage point from which to survey their new territory, usually a bare stick or branch.

So you know what this called for? A stick! They are something I'm not short of, so I stuck one in a pot and wedged it with pebbles, and then reached for the chest-high waders!

I duly inserted my Broad-bodied Chaser perch into my brick island in my pond. And within 10 minutes...

Hey presto!

She has since gone on to lay eggs in the waterweed, bobbing down like a marionette to lay them one after the other in flight.

Don't you love it when wildlife is easy to please?