With all of this cooler weather that we have had recently, including several frosty mornings, you might think that dragonfly season has ended, but it’s not over yet. Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum vicinum) are still with us in pretty significant numbers at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia. In previous years I have continued to see these dragonflies into mid-December and one of my fellow photographers has seen them in early January.
Autumn Meadowhawks are small dragonflies, a little over one inch (25 mm) in length, so you have to look hard to spot them. At any other time of the year, their red bodies would make them really stand out, but they seem to like to perch on fallen leaves, including red ones, so they are often pretty well camouflaged until they move.
Here are a few favorite shots of these red beauties from this past weekend. Enjoy the dragonflies while you may and put off thoughts of the impending winter.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Gorgeous photos. I love the colours of the dragonflies against the autumn leaves and the way their sleek, shiny bodies and streamline wings contrast with the matt, crisp textures of the leaves.
Thanks, Laura. I had focused a lot on the colors, but had not thought much about the contrasting textures. You have such keen eyes and I always enjoy seeing your reactions to my images.
fantastic – one could learn a lot from your detailed photos
Thanks, Diane. I have learned a whole lot about dragonflies since I started to photograph them. I especially like doing so with a macro lens, as I did here, to get lots of wonderful details in the shots.
Nice! I have noticed these in large quanties here in New Jersey. Usually not this late in the season. I enjoy your blog! Similar interests!
Thanks, Reed. It is always fun to see how others are photographing similar subjects and I too have noticed that we often observed the same birds and other creatures.