During this past weekend here in Brussels, I managed to find some really cool dragonflies, like this Green-eyed Hawker (Anaciaeschna isoceles or Aeshna isoceles) that I spotted at a pond in the Rouge-Cloître (Red Cloister) Park. This rather large dragonfly, also known as a Norfolk Hawker, is really striking as it flies, with a combination of colors that I have never seen before on a dragonfly.
With a bit of persistence and a lot of luck, I managed to capture an in-flight shot of a Green-eyed Hawker, but mostly I waited and waited for one to land. It was a little frustrating when one of them would land in a location that was too far away or in a location that did not afford me a clear shot, but eventually I was able to capture some images of a perching Green-eyed Hawker.
I was happy to capture the last photo that shows the yellow triangle on the upper part of the abdomen that is responsible for the “isoceles” portion of the Latin name of the species.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Theses are beautiful photos. Love the in flight shot!
Thanks, Allen. I took that shot with my Canon SX50. Generally the camera won’t focus quickly enough to let me capture a fast moving target like this one, but I got lucky and somehow got the shot.
I love the top shot especially and am fascinated at the mathematical connection in the Latin name. Enjoyed this post so much!
Neat!
Benjamin is thrilled with “my favorite, Dragonflies!” He is amazed by motion of the wings in the first photo : “Wow, the wings are moving so fast!” He examined the other enlarged photos and could easily find the yellow triangle. “Green-eyed Hawker is the bestest name for this dragonfly, I love him!” Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
I am thrilled to see that Benjamin likes dragonflies–they are my favorite subject in the summertime. It’s interesting to see that Benjamin noticed the motion of the wings. In many ways the sense of motion was conveyed better with the blurring of the wings than it would have been if I had been able to completely stop the action.
Nice Mike! Really Cool Dragonfly!
Thanks, Reed. I am really happy that I was able to discover and photograph some dragonflies here in Brussels. It’s not exactly what most people would seek to do when they visit a European location like this, but like most photographers, I tend to focus on different things than the average person. 🙂