Although we are well into October, some of my beloved dragonflies are still hanging on at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Here are some dragonfly shots from the past 10 days of (1) a male Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum); (2) a female Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) with a hoverfly in her mouth; and (3) a female Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum).
I hadn’t really noticed before I aggregated this shots that all three of the dragonflies were perching on leaves. During the summer months, a significant number of the dragonflies that I photograph are perched higher on stalks of vegetation or on branches. In addition to these smaller dragonflies,
I have also recently spotted Common Green Darners, Wandering Gliders, and Black Saddlebags patrolling over the fields. Unfortunately, none of them paused long enough for me to get shots of them. All three of those species are migratory species and they may have been fueling up for a long journey ahead.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Good camouflage for the Eastern Pondhawk
It’s been a bit of a weird seasonal shift here on the eastern seaboard, hasn’t it? I wonder if the minibeasts are as confused as we are by the fluctuations in temperature. I saw a fuzzy caterpillar on my front steps just two days ago when I had to scrape a thin film of ice off my windscreen.
Nice Mike! I also have noticed a few Dragonflies handing around still in New Jersey.
I haven’t seen any here for a while now, but we’ve had temps in the 20s.
Yikes. We may have gotten down to the upper 30’s, but so far have avoided a hard freeze. When that happens, it usually signifies the end for most dragonflies with the exception of an occasional Autumn Meadowhawk. Somehow they manage to last into December here.