I was delighted to finally spot my first Uhler’s Sundragon (Helocordulia uhleri) of the year on 18 April near a small pond in Prince William County, Virginia. I went searching for these dragonflies, which are usually the first ones I see in the spring, on several occasions in late March and early April, but came up empty-handed. Uhler’s Sundragons are usually around for only about a month, soI was fearful that I might miss them this season.
I have a pretty good idea of the type of habitat that this early season dragonfly prefers and tend to begin my searches by returning to spots where I have photographed them in the past and then begin to widen my search. Quite often this means that I spend a lot of time walking and watching, trying to remain alert to any movement in the air or on the ground.
As you can see in the first photo, Uhler’s Sundragons often hang from a perch, rather than perch horizontally, which makes it a little easier to get a detailed shot. When the dragonfly perches low to the ground, as in the second photo when it hung from the stem of a fallen leaf, I end up doing some improvised acrobatics to capture an image.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful portraits of a wonderful animal!
Thanks so much. I really love to photograph dragonflies and it’s particularly special for me when I am able to spot a fairly uncommon one like this one.
Wonderful photos, Mike. I appreciated the improvised acrobatics and impeccable attentiveness.
Thanks, Jet. I may have been a little overly dramatic in the description of my actions, but I must admit that I prone to putting my body into strange positions to get some shots (as one of my friends with occasionally document in a photo). 🙂