When fellow photographer and local dragonfly expert Walter Sanford posted a photo of a Russet-tailed Clubtail dragonfly (Stylurus plagiatus) that he had spotted on Thursday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge, I was filled with an overwhelming urge to see if I could find the dragonfly. At this time of the year, as the dragonfly season winds down, I really don’t think much about finding new species, so this was an exciting challenge.
I knew the general location, but I forgot to ask Walter for more specific information about his find. Was it near the water or in the woods or along the stream or among the wildflowers? It was a kind of crazy quixotic quest, but I am pretty persistent, so I scoured the area, making loop after loop around a small pond.
My hope and my energy were beginning to fade when I suddenly caught sight of a dragonfly’s wings shining in the sunlight. The dragonfly was perched on some vegetation at the edge of the treeline. Moving as stealthily as I could, I approached the dragonfly and realized that I had found the Russet-tipped Clubtail. I often complain about the inappropriateness of the names of insects, but in this case it fit perfectly.
I managed to take a number of shots of the perching dragonfly before it flew off, heading deeper into the woods. After it had flown a short distance, it seemed to stop abruptly in mid-air. What was going on? I switched to manual focus and took a few shots and then began to worry that the dragonfly had gotten caught in a bit of spider web. (All morning long I kept running into spider webs at face level as I walked through the woods.) As I moved my hand closer to the dragonfly in an attempt to free it, the dragonfly flew off and disappeared. I didn’t see any evidence of a spider web, so it was probably only my overly active imagination.
This was one of my most memorable encounters with a dragonfly. I may stop by again this weekend to see if it is still hanging around, but the chances are not good that I will see it again. Still, lightning can strike twice and that kind of optimism helps to fuel my enthusiasm for photography.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
I too have taken care to try to release dragonflies from the sticky snares set by various spiders through the years, and have also misread inactivity for inability to escape. Congratulations on finding what you were after and capturing it so well.
Thanks, Gary. Encounters like this are so brief and so intense that they feel almost like a dream.
Wow, Wow, and Wow!!!! What an amazing find for you, Mike! I thought I knew something about Dragonflies, but I had never even heard of a Russet-tipped Clubtail. What a beautiful creature. Your shots are total perfection with the flight photo my favorite. What a great day you had – congratulations!I know what you mean about dream like encounters. I’ve had times where I have questioned myself as to whether I really saw something or not. As you say, when it’s brief like that it’s too hard to believe. Luckily, you have your fantastic photos to prove it.
Thanks, Ginny. Your enthusiasm is contagious. I searched the same area again this past weekend and came up empty-handed, reinforcing the sense that I was very, very lucky.
Thank you, Mike! There’s nothing that could make me more enthusiastic then a beautiful nature photo :).
I’ll be down your way on Oct. 17 and 18, leaving on the 19th. My cousin has a home on Mt Vernon Cir, in Alexandria and we will be staying with him. His mother is my Mom’s only surviving sibling. She’s 95 years old and I’m so anxious to see her. Plus, I have many nieces and nephews in the area. It will be a great place to gather. They have river and marina access, so I look forward to walking a bit along the Potomac. I just wish I had more time. Jim is retiring in a few weeks, so next year we would like to stay there for a week or so. It’s my hope we could spend a few hours or more with you and visit beautiful Huntley Meadows Park. After looking at the map, I see that it’s only a few miles from my cousin’s home! How I wish we could fit that in on this trip.
Take care, Mike and enjoy your day :).
Quite a handsome beast. You have such wonderful dragonfly diversity there.
[…] with the female. If you would like to see some cool shots of a male for comparison, check out my blog posting from September 2016 entitled “Russet-tipped Clubtail […]