It is great to see that at least a few colorful Calico Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis elisa) are still around. I photographed this handsome male last Friday as he perched at water’s edge at the small pond at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Summer is slowly slipping away. Some species of dragonflies are already gone for the year and others will soon follow suit. A few species have yet to appear, so all of the news is not bad. Still, as kids return to school and the daylight hours become noticeably shorter, it’s hard not to have the feeling that the lazy days of summer are coming to a close.
Autumn is my favorite season for a number of different reasons, but I am not quite ready to give up on summer. So I’ll keep sweating and searching, seeking to capture the summer beauty that still surrounds us. Like this dragonfly, I’m still holding on.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Amazingly bright colours and what an incredible blue background to set them off!
We had a few day recently when it was a little cooler than normal (about 80 degrees (27 C)). with low humidity and bright blue skies. It was absolutely glorious to walk about and to have blue skies in the background. We’ve had an unusually large amount of rain this summer, which has meant that there have been lots of cloudy days, so blues skies are really special.
Great picture, Mike. I love the way they hang onto the end.
“You just keep me hanging on…” Pennant dragonflies, like this Calico Pennant, just love to choose the highest vegetation, which is often pretty flimsy, and perch at the very tip. I am not sure if it is a “King of the world” kind of thing, but it sure means that they blow about in even the slightest breeze–like a pennant.
Amazing colors, especially up against the blue sky, great photo!
Thanks, Laura. So many dragonflies have subdued colors and perch amid the vegetation, but Calico Pennants are brightly colored and, like other pennant dragonfly, perch at the very tip of the vegetation and hold on tight as they are buffeted by the wind.
Great photo, Mike! 😍
Thanks, Patty Anne.
Nice Mike! Really stands out!
Thanks, Reed. There was quite a bit of vegetation between me and the dragonfly, but I managed to find a little opening and a high shooting angle that let me isolate the subject.