Some of the dragonflies that I feature in my postings are uncommon species in my area. They are found in very small numbers, have a short flight period, and require very specific habitats. My good friend and fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford did an extensive amount of research two years ago and re-discovered the Sable Clubtail dragonfly (Stenogomphurus rogersi), a species that is considered to be rare in Northern Virginia. Several of us were able to capture numerous images of this beautiful species during the 2018 dragonfly season.
Since that time, however, the habitat at that location has deteriorated significantly. As a result of some imprudent dumping of dirt and the resulting runoff, the stream habitat has been compromised by increased silt and higher levels of vegetation. Last year, as far as we know, there was only a single sighting of Sable Clubtails at this spot.
Had the population of Sable Clubtails been wiped out? During May and June this year, I made repeated trips to this location and on 12 June I captured the second shot below. When I took the shot, I was not sure if it was a Sable Clubtail, so my excitement was somewhat muted while I was in the field. However, when Walter confirmed that it was in fact a male Sable Clubtail, I was really happy. In many ways, though, my excitement was no match for Walter’s the next day, when we returned to that location and, after much searching, had several encounters with Sable Clubtails, including the one shown in the first image.
For more background on the saga of the Sable Clubtails, be sure to check out Walter’s posting from last Friday entitled “Sable Clubtail dragonfly (Male No. 1).” The posting includes Walter’s photos, range maps for the species, and fascinating details on the backstory. Walter has a background in science and his systematic and analytical approach allows him to view things from a different perspective than I do with my background in languages, literature, and political science. Our approaches are quite different, but are definitely complementary.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Love reading your site! Learning a lot about dragonflies!
Thanks. I am learning as I go and then sharing information with those who read the blog. I am much more of a photographer than an entomologist, but I really like to be able to identify what I have shot. Usually that happens after I have gotten home and poke about in various reference materials. I am by nature curious, so I love to learn all kind of tidbits of info about my subjects.
That’s awesome! Really enjoying your blog!
Very nice Mike! Great blog and photos.
Thanks, Mike. Walter Sanford and I often do complementary blog postings when we go out together hunting dragonflies. Even though we are often shooting the exact same subjects our individual styles in shooting and writing often makes the blog postings quite different.