It’s fun to remember the carefree days earlier this year that I spent hunting for dragonflies. Fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford recently did a posting about a location where I photographed a Sable Clubtail dragonfly, one of the rarest species in our area, a place that he christened “Powell’s Place” after he too visited it and found a Sable Clubtail.
Be sure to check out his posting and I encourage you also to explore his blog for some amazing photos and information about dragonflies and other wild creatures.
A single Sable Clubtail dragonfly (Stenogomphurus rogersi) was spotted perched alongside a small stream located in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
I nicknamed a segment of the stream “Powell’s Place” in honor of Mike Powell, my good friend and photowalking buddy, who spotted the first Sable observed at this part of the stream. “Powell’s Place” is located downstream from Hotspot No. 1, where the stream re-emerges from an underground concrete pipe.
This individual is a male, as indicated by his indented hind wings and terminal appendages. Some dragonflies tend to be creatures of habit, returning to the same spot day-after-day. Perhaps this is the same individual spotted by Mike. Who knows?
I like the juxtaposition of complementary colors in the first photo.
12 JUN 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Sable Clubtail (male)
The next photo shows the dragonfly perched deep within a shaded hidey-hole.
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Mike Powell 
So difficult to get, the blighters never stay still long enough!
That is definitely the case. You have to be very patient and persistent (and a bit lucky) to be able to capture shots of most dragonflies. When I am feeling particularly enterprising, I will try to photograph them in flight.
In flight, good grief that sounds like a Sisyphean ordeal! We are quite lucky and have a small nature reserve behind our house with woodland, stagnant ponds and a small lake so we get lots of dragonflies around there.
Thanks for following Mike, I’m about to follow back. I don’t concentrate on photography on my blog but you will see I’m on a 30 day mission at the moment to tell a daily story with a photograph
I originally started my blog as a way to show my photos, but quickly learned that I enjoy expressing myself in words as much as in images. I love to hear about the experiences of others and the wonderful start of your new series both delighted and intrigued me.
Thanks Mike, the first few are relatively personal to us though they will spread out into travel, mountaineering, nature …. I think eclectic is the word I’m searching for😂
Fame at last Mike! Must be very satisfying to discover something new. I read a blog last night ‘Dear Kitty. Some blog’ by petrel41 about the discovery of a new species of Swallowtail butterfly on the island Fiji check it out, in this day and age it’s amazing what turns up! https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/30127818/posts/360900
That’s amazing. My “accomplishment” pales in comparison. There are certain types of dragonflies that require specific habitats and live for only a limited period of time. It is cool to find one of these species at a new location, as was the case here. My friend Walter Sanford had told me this species of dragonfly was present in this wildlife area, but I neglected to ask him where, so I explored on my own and found one.