Dragonflies in the garden

We have had several kinds of dragonflies visiting our garden daily, for several months now.

It's downright puzzling to see so many of them because we don't have a pond or stream, and I have never seen them around our little birdbaths. Yet their preferred habitat is near water sources such as marshes and ponds. I can only think that our neighbors must have a small pond.

They circle the garden constantly, sometimes landing to rest, and often blend right into the background.

In the top photo is a Variegated Meadowhawk, resting on a dried buckwheat stem.

I'd never seen a Green Darner dragonfly before now. The name comes from its resemblance to a darning needle.

See how it blends in so well with the Godetia leaves.

This is a very large dragonfly, about 3 inches long.

This is a Vivid Dancer male, a species of small, narrow-winged damselfly.

They will eat almost any soft-bodied flying insect including mosquitoes, flies, small moths, mayflies, and flying ants or termites.

This is a California Darner, resting on a dried Pacific Aster stalk.

See how well it blends into the background.

It is another dragonfly that I had never seen prior to this year.