Like many other nature photographers who take pictures of birds and dragonflies, I am always looking for subjects that have chosen photogenic perches or are engaged in some interesting activity. Some photographers even look derisively at commonplace photos of “a bird on a stick.” Yes, it is always nice when I can capture images like yesterday’s shots of a Prince Baskettail dragonfly in flight, but the reality is that most birds and dragonflies spend a lot of time perched in a single spot and I do my best to capture their beauty as well as I can.
I was thrilled on Tuesday to see quite a few Bar-winged Skimmers (Libellula axilena) as I explored a small pond in Prince William County. I do not see Bar-winged Skimmers very often and the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website notes that they are “uncommon” in our area. Superficially they look a bit like the Great Blue Skimmers and Slaty Skimmers that I see quite often. Great Blue Skimmers, however, have bright white faces and male Slaty Skimmers tend to have more uniformly dark bodies.
I was particularly excited when one of the Bar-winged Skimmers that I was tracking perched on a bent-over stalk of vegetation, giving me a great view of both its abdomen and its face. The second shot is a bit more of an ordinary view, but it shows the wing markings really well that are responsible for the common name of this species. In both images, I was thrilled as well with the beautiful green background.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Awesome.
Amazing photos. The second one shows the wings and then their shadow on the dragon fly’s perch, wow!
Thanks, Suzette. I love shadows and reflections and try to include them in as many of my photos as I can.
You did! Thank you.
Mike, I have to say that your posts and photos, have increased my acute awareness of the beauty of the smaller creatures around me in nature. Thank you for this unexpected joy.
Cheers.
Very nice captures, Mike! That lovely green background certainly keep these from being “ordinary” 😁. That triangular bent vegetation and web are a nice touch, too. Of course I do know what you mean looking for those extra special situations–part of what keeps us going out there!
Thanks, Ellen. Even when the creatures are common ones, each encounter is unique–the weather, lighting conditions, and environmental elements are factors over which we have no control. I never know when they will all combine in a way that allows me to capture a distinctive image.
That first shot could have had a different outcome if that spider curled within the its web in the stalk decided to make a meal of the skimmer!
Indeed. The dragonfly did not linger long on that perch. In the past I have seen dragonflies caught in spider webs and once even encountered a jumping spider that had captured a dragonfly (https://michaelqpowell.com/2014/05/27/spider-captures-dragonfly-the-story/).
Lovely second shot 🙂
seen a dragonfly in the alley the other day. a four winged insect thats amusing yet so are many things with mother nature.
Very Nice Series of Images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
Thanks, Reed. It was especially nice to see a species like this that I don’t spot very often.