I was thrilled yesterday to spot almost a dozen Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) dragonflies at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. These hardy little red dragonflies are always the last ones of the season and they often hang on until December. In some years they have even been spotted in early January.
When I explored the exact same area on Wednesday, I did not see a single one of these dragonflies. Why? Wednesday was heavily overcase, but yesterday the sun was shining brightly. Every single Autumn Meadowhawk that I saw was basking in the sun, perched on fallen leaves or logs. The sun seems to warm them up enough so that they can fly a bit, though I wonder if they manage to find anything to eat, given that there are almost no other insects flying.
So this year’s dragonfly season continues for at least a little while longer. As I search in the trees for birds, I will continue to look down as well, hopeful of spotting one of these beautiful aerial acrobats.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
You are home! I have yet to catch up reading blogs. Been consumed with recovery from foot surgery. Looking forward to renewing Paris memories through your eyes. Giving thanks for you and your safe travels 🙂
Thanks, Molly. I hope your recovery is going well. I had a wonderful time in Paris and did a lot of postings from there. I made it safely hope in time for Thanksgiving, which I spent with some good friends. I hope you enjoy reading about my Paris adventures. The photography is certainly different from what I normally post, but I trust that you will find the writing to be equally engaging. 🙂
Nice captures, Mike, and a fun find! I really like your second image with the reddish (?leaves) in the background and all those textures.
We were unexpectedly beset by mosquitoes on Thursday after the day warmed up—a dragonfly or two could have found plenty to eat!
Mosquitoes? Yikes! I too like the second image, but think the first one may be a little sharper. I took them both at close to 600mm with my 150-600mm zoom lens and getting sharp focus on such a tiny subject was a real challenge, even when I stopped down to f/11 and f/13.