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Archive for the ‘spring’ Category

Brown Spiketail in April

Posted in Photography, Insects, Nature, wildlife, Dragonflies, spring, dragonfly, tagged , , , , , , , on April 24, 2026| 5 Comments »

Yesterday, 23 April, I spotted my first spiketail dragonfly of the season while I was exploring a regional park in my county. Dragonflies are divided up into a number of different families and some of the less common ones are named for their “tails,” including spiketails, petaltails, and clubtails. Most of the familiar dragonflies that we see during the summer are from the skimmer family.

Spiketail dragonflies are relatively uncommon where I live and I was delighted to spot capture this shot of what I believe is a Brown Spiketail (Cordulegaster bilineata). As described on the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, “These uncommon, elusive dragonflies have, in my opinion a magical, almost elven quality and are usually found in isolated corners of mature woodlands.”

I never know for sure what creatures I will encounter when I go out in the wild with my camera, but this was not exactly a random encounter. In the past I have sometimes found spiketails at this time of the year in this location. In wildlife photography there are no guarantees, but a bit of knowledge and skill and a lot of persistence can increase the odds in my favor of encountering some of these beautiful creatures—it is more than just pure luck.

Brown Spiketail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Irises in a neighbor’s garden

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, iris, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , on April 18, 2026| 5 Comments »

Bearded irises are now starting to bloom in the garden of my dear friend Cindy Dyer, so I walked over yesterday morning and grabbed a few shots of them. Spring is a beautiful time of the year.

bearded iris

bearded iris

bearded iris

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Juvenal’s Duskywing butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Not all of the spring butterflies are colorful. During a recent hike in a forested area of Prince William County in Northern Virginia, I spotted numerous duskywing butterflies. These small butterflies are part of the skipper family (Hesperiidae) and are considered to be “spread-wing” skippers, because they typically perch with their wings held flat open rather than closed over their backs.

There are several different duskywing species that are differentiated by the patterns on their wings. I am not certain of this identification, but I believe that this may be a Juvenal’s Duskywing butterfly (Erynnis juvenalis). I encourage you to click on the image to get a closer look at this small butterfly’s beautiful colors and patterns,

Juvenal's Duskywing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly

Posted in Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 13, 2026| 1 Comment »

Last week I spotted multiple Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus) as I was hiking along forested trails in Prince William County, Virginia, searching primarily for dragonflies. For some reason, I tend to associate these butterflies, which happen to be the state insect for Virginia, with gardens more than forests.

However, according to the Prince William Conservation Alliance website, “Tiger Swallowtails are commonly found in deciduous woodlands and along their borders, including parks and neighborhoods, where they feed on the nectar of wild and garden flowers from Spring through Fall.”

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are quite common in my area, but I am always delighted to see their bright colors as they flutter through the air. April is a kind of transitional month here weatherwise, with wildly variable temperatures. Later this week, for example, the forecast predicts high temperatures of up to 93 degrees (34 degrees C). Yikes!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Chipping Sparrow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , on April 12, 2026| 2 Comments »

While I was out searching for dragonflies last week, I was delighted to spot this colorful Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) and was even more thrilled to get a shot of it. Compared with many other birds, sparrows tend to be somewhat drab in coloration. I think it was the bright red on the top of this bird’s head that caught my eye.

This is the season when colorful warblers pass through my area on their way northward, so my first thought was that this bird might be some kind of warbler. When I got home and looked through my bird identification guide, I realized that it was a sparrow species that I had not previously encountered.

This shot is not quite as sharp as I would have preferred, because I was shooting with a shorter telephoto lens (a Tamron 18-400mm) that I tend to use during the winter months (a Tamron 150-600mm). I can shoot at a lot closer range with the shorter lens, which has a minimum focusing distance of about 18 inches (45 cm) versus almost 9 feet (2.7 m) for the 150-600mm lens. For that reason, I prefer using the shorter telephoto lens or my 180mm macro lens when attempting to photograph insects like dragonflies.

Chipping Sparrow

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Zebra Swallowtail in spring

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2026| 3 Comments »

This early in the season, not many flowers are in bloom, so this Zebra Swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus) was content on Monday to feed on the tiny Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) wildflowers on the forest floor.

I had to get really low to capture this image and was delighted by the way that it shows the colors of this beautiful butterfly that was in pristine condition. Later in the season, many of the Zebra Swallowtails that I see have portions of their really long “tails” missing.

Zebra Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Uhler’s Sundragon dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on April 8, 2026| 6 Comments »

Each spring I head out in search of Uhler’s Sundragons (Helocordulia uhleri), one of the earliest dragonflies in my area to emerge. Unlike many of the dragonflies that I commonly see during the summer days, this species is  a “scarce and seldom seen member of the emerald family” and is a “habitat specialist with a brief and early flight period,” according to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website. The species requires a clean, sandy or gravelly forest stream with mix of riffles and pools.

Fortunately, I know of a creek where I have regularly seen them over the last few years, and I visited that location on Monday and spotted multiple Uhler’s Sundragons. As you can see in the photos below, this species likes to hang vertically or at an angle. The amber markings at the base of the wings help to distinguish Uhler’s Sundragons from the similar Selys’s Sundragons that have no such markings.

Uhler's Sundragon

Uhler's Sundragon

Uhler's Sundragon

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Springtime Darner dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 7, 2026| 6 Comments »

I was delighted to photograph this beautiful Springtime Darner dragonfly (Basiaeschna janata) yesterday (6 April) while I was exploring a creek in the forests of Prince William County, Virginia. I had seen some recent postings on Facebook showing dragonflies that others had seen in other parts of Virginia, so I decided to search for them.

I found several other dragonfly species too and plan to post some photos of them in the next few days, but I really wanted to post this one immediately. It’s been several years since I have seen a Springtime Darner and I was really excited when I looked through my telephoto zoom lens and realized what it was. The dragonfly was flying back and forth low over a patch of vegetation and I tracked it for a little while until if perched, hanging vertically low to the ground. It was so low that the tip of its abdomen was almost touching the dried leaves on the forest floor.

I was pretty far away and had to manually focus the lens–the cluttered background kept wanting to grab the focus when I tried to use auto focus and the dragonfly’s body was pretty thin. I was really happy to be able to capture the wonderful pattern on the body of this dragonfly, whose coloration helped it to blend in so well with its surroundings.

Springtime Darner

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Springtime sparrow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on March 29, 2026| 2 Comments »

The trees are definitely starting to blossom, providing a nice backdrop for this White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) that I photographed a little over a week ago at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. These sparrows overwinter in our area and will be departing soon for more northern regions for breeding.
White-throated Sparrow
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Fish for breakfast

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on March 28, 2026| 7 Comments »

The ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) are definitely back at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge after spending the winter in warmer locations. I captured these images last week of an osprey as it was enjoying a freshly caught fish. I tried to vary the angles a bit for the individual shots, but moved slowly and carefully so that I did not disturb the osprey during its breakfast.

Osprey

Osprey

Osprey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spring Azure butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 25, 2026| 3 Comments »

Butterflies are already starting appear at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, including this tiny Spring Azure butterfly (Celestrina ladon) that I photographed there on 20 March. These little butterflies look pretty nondescript when their wings are close, but when they are flying, you can see the beautiful blue coloration of their inner wings.

Spring Azure butterflies are almost always the first butterflies that I see in the spring. A few other species, like Mourning Cloaks, overwinter as adults, but Spring Azure butterflies spend the winter in the pupal stage in a chrysalis and emerge as adults in the early spring.

Spring Azure butterfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Staring contest

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on March 24, 2026| 12 Comments »

I got involved in a little staring contest with a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I moved slowly and deliberately to get some photos and then departed silently, leaving the eagle in peace on its perch.

Most of the time my first indication that there is an eagle in the area is when it takes off in response to my presence. In this case, however, the eagle looked right at me and seemed to decide that I did not represent a threat, so it stayed in place.

I like that kind of peaceful coexistence.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Springtime chickadee

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 17, 2026| 2 Comments »

I couldn’t help but notice the sight and sounds of little birds last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge—they were really active. Of course, being aware of their presence did not magically result in photographs of them. As many of you know, one of the “secrets” of my wildlife photography is that I am unusually patient and persistent.

So I watched and waited and eventually managed to capture images of Carolina Chickadees (Poecile carolinensis), some of the smallest birds in our area. Here are a few of my favorites. In the first one, I managed to isolate the little bird from its cluttered background, which was a bit tricky, considering that the chickadee was perched on a small branch in the midst of a tangled group of branches.

The second photo was a little easier to take, because the bird was perched at the end of a branch in a more open area. The final photo was an unplanned one. As I was focusing on the chickadee, it took off and I instinctively pressed the shutter release. The photo is far from perfect, but I really like it.

I’m sure I’ll be taking more (and hopefully better) bird photos as we move deeper into spring and I’m looking forward to seeing a few dragonflies appearing in the next month or so.

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Brown Thrasher in March

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 14, 2026| 5 Comments »

I could easily hear this Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) singing high in the trees this past Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but I had a hard time getting an obstructed view of it because it was hidden in the branches. I waited and waited and eventually the Thrasher moved to a more open spot. I was delighted when I managed to capture a shot when it started singing again.

According to some naturalists cited on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, “It is the opinion of many ornithologists that the song (of the Brown Thrasher)… is richer, fuller, and definitely more melodious than that of polyglottis” (the Northern Mockingbird).” I was also happy that I was able to get some good shots of the striking yellow eyes of the Brown Thrasher. Wow!

Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Migratory birds in the spring

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 13, 2026| 4 Comments »

At this time of the year, the skies are often filled with migratory birds. I live in Northern Virginia, which seems to be a kind of midpoint in the journeys of birds that spend their winters in warmer places and then fly northward for breeding.

The most common birds that I see are Canada Geese, but this past Tuesday I was delighted to spot a couple of less common Species. In the first photo are some members of a large flock of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos). Although the photo makes it look like the birds were flying in a military-like formation, the grouping was often quite disorganized and was slow-moving. I couldn’t help but notice the “horn” on the upper bill of several of the pelicans that they will eventually shed after the birds mate and lay their eggs.

A short while later, I spotted a small group of Tundra Swans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), as shown in the second photo below. I noted that these swans fly with their necks fully extended, unlike the herons and egrets that I am more used to seeing that fly with their necks tucked in, creating an S-shape.

Tuesday was a warm, beautiful spring day and I managed to spot some additional birds in the trees and in the underbrush that I will feature in blog postings in the next few days.

White American Pelicans

Tundra Swans

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First spring flowers

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on March 7, 2026| 12 Comments »

I was delighted yesterday to spot my first spring flowers of the year during a visit to Woodlawn Plantation in Alexandria, Virginia. Woodlawn is a 126-acre estate that was originally part of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. The main Federal-style house was designed by the architect of the U.S. Capitol, Dr. William Thornton, and constructed between 1800 and 1805 as the plantation house for Washington’s nephew, Major Lawrence Lewis, and his wife, Eleanor “Nelly” Custis Lewis, according to the website savingplaces.org.

During the month of March, 63rd Annual Woodlawn Needlework Show is taking place at this location, reportedly the largest judged needle arts show in the nation, featuring hundreds of embroidered works by artists from around the world. As I was walking from the parking lot to the main building, I spotted  a patch of snowdrops (g. Galanthus) and a few purple crocuses (g. Crocus) already in bloom. I did not have my “real” camera with me, but managed to capture these images with my iPhone.

Winter may not be completely over, but the weather forecast for the upcoming weather indicates that the high temperatures may reach the upper 70’s (25 degrees C). I hope to be outdoors as much as I can, soaking up the warmth of those days. Within a month, I hope to start seeing dragonflies again, one of my favorite subjects to photograph.

snowdrops

crocuses

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Odd duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on March 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola) are small sea ducks that I sometimes observe during the winter in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The males have a large white patch on their heads that makes them relatively easy to identify. From a distance these males often look to be black and white. When the sun is shining from the right directions, as it was last week when I captured this image, you can see that their heads are actually a glossy green and purple that really helps to set off their distinctive white patches.

In addition to being able to see the colors, the straight-on angle of this shot shows the odd shape of the head of this bufflehead’s head. It may be a bit of an optical illusion, but it looks to me like the lower portion of its head is considerably bigger than the upper part.

Bufflehead

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spring is here…or almost

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on March 2, 2026| 4 Comments »

Yesterday, 1 March, marked the start of meteorological spring for those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere. Meteorologists divide the seasons into three month increments for easier data tracking, although in the United States we generally use the astronomical calendar that ties the start of spring to the vernal equinox, which is on March 20 in 2026. No matter how you calculate the start of spring, there are definite signs that the seasons are changing.

After a brutally cold period of weather in most of February, we had an unusually warm day on Saturday, the last day of the month. The sun was shining brightly throughout the day and temperatures soared to over 60 degrees (15.5 degrees C). I generally don’t go out with my camera on the weekends to avoid the inevitable crowds, but I couldn’t resist the pull of the beautiful weather and headed off to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

There were quite a few people at the refuge and most of the wildlife that I encountered was out of camera range, but that didn’t really matter. Like the turtles that had risen up from the bottom of the ponds, I enjoyed simply basking in the warmth of the sun.

I did manage to capture a shot of a distant Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Many of you know that I rarely pass up an opportunity to photograph an eagle, even when they are far away. As you can see from the blurry branches in the foreground, I had to bend and twist my body to get a clear view of the eagle through the thicket of branches that mostly blocked my view.

It will soon be nesting season for the eagles, so I’ll be checking out several locations at the wildlife refuge this month for signs of eagle activity.

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mourning Cloak butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 18, 2025| 7 Comments »

Mourning Cloak butterflies (Nymphalis antiopa) are often one of the first butterflies that I see in early spring, because they overwinter with us as adults in a kind of hibernation. According to Wikipedia, Mourning Cloaks, known in Britain as the Camberwell Beauty, have a lifespan of 11 to 12 months, one of the longest lifespans for any butterfly.

In the springtime, these butterflies mate and I suspect that the butterfly in the photo below that I spotted in early June at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge is part of the “new generation.” I don’t know a whole lot about the entire life cycle of the Mourning Cloak, but from what I have read, their lives include periods of activity followed by long periods of inactivity. During the summer, for example, they enter into a “dormant” stage, known as aestivation that is somewhat similar to hibernation, and then become active again in the autumn.

I love the markings of this beautiful butterfly and was thrilled when it held its wings open for a few seconds and let me see the stunning blue markings on its inner wings that stand out among the mostly subdued colors on its body.

Mourning Cloak butterfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Crested Flycatcher

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 17, 2025| 2 Comments »

Earlier in June I spotted this cool-looking bird at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I am not really sure what species it is, but I think it might be a Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus). The bird was mostly hidden in the foliage, but I managed to get a couple of reasonably clear shots of it.

I love the wash of yellow on its belly that gradually fades into the gray of its throat. There are a few other birds in the flycatcher family that are somewhat similar in appearance, so I could be off in my identification, but this is the one that most closely matches the descriptions and images in my identification guides.

Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Crested Flycatcher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ebony Jewelwing damselfly

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I spotted my first Ebony Jewelwing damselflies (Calopteryx maculata) of the year last week during a short visit to Wickford Park, a small suburban park with a creek that runs through it. Members of this species have distinctive dark wings and are generally found in shaded streams where the mixed lighting makes it challenging to photograph them.

Female Ebony Jewelwings have small white patches (known as pseudostigmas) on their wings that along with their terminal appendages make them easy to identify. The damselflies in these two photos are both female. I am not sure why the eyes of the damselfly in the first photo are so red in appearance—perhaps it is a result of the angle of the light or maybe it is related to the age of the individual. Whatever the case, the red eyes give the damselfly a devilish look.

Ebony Jewelwing

Ebony Jewelwing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First Slaty Skimmer of 2025

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 14, 2025| 5 Comments »

On Wednesday I visited Wickford Park, a small suburban park a few miles from where I live that has a creek that flows through it. In the past I have spotted a variety of dragonflies and damselflies at this location and once again I was rewarded with some new sightings.

I was pleasantly surprised to spot a male Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta), the first one that I have seen this year. During the summer, Slaty Skimmers are quite common at a number of the locations that I visit. The dark slate blue of the mature males of this species and their brown eyes make this species pretty easy to identify.

I thought about cropping this image closer to give a better look at the dragonfly, but decided that I really liked the twisting vegetation on which the dragonfly was perched and ultimately decided to keep the crop loose. What do you think?

Slaty Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Love is in the air

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 13, 2025| 4 Comments »

A dragonfly couple in wheel formation flew by me during a recent visit Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and landed on some nearby vegetation. This acrobatic position is the one used by most dragonflies for mating—sometimes they will mate while in the air and other times they will “do the deed” while perched.

I am not totally certain but I believe that these dragonflies are Unicorn Clubtails (Arigomphus villosipes), a species that I see from time to time in my area.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Powdered Dancer damselfly

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, spring, Summer, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on June 12, 2025| 5 Comments »

Most of the time that I see damselflies, they are perched in the vegetation. Powdered Dancer damselflies (Argia moesta), like this one that I spotted last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, however, like to perch on bare ground, emergent stones, and along trails. Immature male Powdered Dancers are tan to dark brown, turn darker with age, and becoming almost completely whitish at maturity.

The “powdered” color of this damselfly helped in to blend in almost perfectly with the sand and gravel on this trail at the wildlife refuge. If I had not seen it land, I suspect that I would have had real trouble spotting this Powdered Dancer damselfly.

Powdered Dancer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Reaching for nectar

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 11, 2025| 6 Comments »

This Zebra Swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus) had its wings fully extended as it reached for nectar from an unidentified plant last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I love the way that the photo below shows the butterfly’s long “tails” that appear to be fully intact, making me wonder if this butterfly had recently emerged.

In my area of Northern Virginia Zebra Swallow tails tend to have at least two broods a year. According to the local Prince William Conservation Alliance, “The summer generation is larger and has proportionally wider stripes and longer tails than the spring generation.”

Zebra Swallowtail

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Yellow-breasted Chat

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on June 10, 2025| 5 Comments »

Last Monday I spotted this beautiful Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I thought that this was my first encounter with this bird species, but a search of my previous blog postings revealed that I got some long distance shots of one in 2022.

Many of the migrating warblers that are passing through my area have various yellow markings, so I assumed that this was simply another warbler. The reality, however, is hardly simple. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “The Yellow-breasted Chat has always been a mystery to taxonomists—it looks similar to warblers but is larger, with a more varied repertoire of songs and calls, and also has other differences in behavior and anatomy. The species was placed in the warbler family (Parulidae) for decades, but in the late 2010s was given its own family (Icteriidae), in recognition of these differences.”

If that were not confusing enough, the name “chat” is used for a number of different birds throughout the world. According to Wikipedia, “Chats (formerly sometimes known as “chat-thrushes”) are a group of small Old World insectivorous birds formerly classified as members of the thrush family (Turdidae), but following genetic DNA analysis are now considered to belong to the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). The name is normally applied to the more robust ground-feeding flycatchers found in Europe and Asia and most northern species are strong migrants.”

All of this scientific explanation leaves me utterly confused. The only thing I know for sure is that the Yellow-breasted Chat that I photographed was a real treat for me—its bright yellow color immediately brought a smile to my face and lifted my spirits. For me, that is more than enough—I’ll leave the arguments about taxonomy and classification to others.

Yellow-breasted Chat

Yellow-breasted Chat

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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American Redstart

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 9, 2025| 4 Comments »

When I photographed this bird last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I really had no idea what it was. Some aspects of its overall coloration reminded me a little of a Tufted Titmouse, but its shape and size were not right. Its mottled and patchy color suggested to me that this might be an immature bird and I wondered if it might be some kind of warbler.

When I returned home I searched though my identification guides and looked at lots of photos on-line and concluded that this was probably an immature male American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla). Some folks on Facebook confirmed my identification, which was helpful, considering that I had never before seen this species. As I suspected, this Redstart is a  New World warbler—apparently there is also an Old World Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) that is completely unrelated to the one that I spotted.

Each spring I am absolutely delighted to find any warblers at all. Often I hear the warblers singing in the leafy trees, but only rarely do I manage to catch a glimpse of their beauty.

American Redstart

American Redstart

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Black Saddlebags dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 7, 2025| 4 Comments »

I tracked this Black Saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata) in the air for quite some time on 2 June at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge until it finally landed and I was able to capture this shot of it perching in the vegetation.

Black Saddlebags are among the few North American dragonfly species that undertake migrations. Specifically, the offspring of the Black Saddlebag dragonflies migrate south in the fall, while some return north in the spring to breed. It’s impossible for me to know if the dragonfly in this photo started its journey somewhere to the south, but that is certainly a possibility. 

One thing I do know for sure is that Black Saddlebags spend a lot of their time in the air, patrolling back and forth over an area. Most of the time when I spot them, they are flying, so it was nice to have a chance to capture a shot of one on the ground.

Black Saddlebags

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue-faced Meadowhawk (immature male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I was really surprised to spot this immature Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum ambiguum) on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In the past I have seen this species only in late summer and early autumn and by the bodies of those dragonflies have always been red in color and the face has had a distinctive blue tinge.

This dragonfly appears to have only recently emerged and that is its the body is tan rather than red—the color will change as he matures. The stripes on the abdomen and the eye color, though, helped me to identify it as a Blue-faced Meadowhawk rather than the somewhat similar Autumn Meadowhawk that has brown eyes.

I was curious to understand why I happened to spot this species a lot earlier than usual and have heard some other dragonfly enthusiasts speculate that the immature Blue-faced Meadowhawks “hide” in the woods and make an appearance only later in the season. One of the experts in Virginia Odonata Facebook group to which I belong noted that “They appear to have two different emergence periods, one in spring and one in late summer/fall.”

Whatever the reason for the early appearance, I was delighted to see and photograph this Blue-faced Meadowhawk, one of my favorite dragonfly species. A few long-time subscribers may recall that I was awarded second place almost ten years ago in a local photography contest for a macro close-up of a Blue-faced Meadowhawk. If you are interested in learning more about that experience and seeing the “award winning” image, check out my blog posting from December 2015 entitled “Second place in local photo contest.”

Blue-faced Meadowhawk

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Female Widow Skimmer

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 5, 2025| 1 Comment »

On Monday I spotted this female Widow Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula luctuosa), my first one of 2025, during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Widow Skimmers have very distinctive dark patches on their wings that reminded the scientist who named them of the dark mourning crepe worn by Victorian-era widows during their initial stages of mourning and even their Latin name “luctuosa” means “sorrowful.”

The weather in my area has warmed considerably this week and already it feels like summer. Gradually the summer dragonflies, like this Widow Skimmer, are starting to appear. The hot days of summer are a bit uncomfortable for me, but seem to be preferred by many dragonfly species.

 

Widow Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Big Bluet damselfly

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 4, 2025| 8 Comments »

When I spotted these damselflies last week I was not sure what species they were. Most of the damselflies that I had seen near this location at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in the past were Big Bluet damselflies (Enallagma durum), but the coloration of this one was different enough that I was not confident in identifying it. I posted a photo in a Facebook group that specializes in dragonflies and damselflies and one of the experts there confirmed that this is in fact a Big Bluet.

I am happy to identify this species, but I must confess that I am even more happy with the images that I was able to capture. For all three images, I believe, I had to focus manually as I tried to compose the images, which can be a real challenge with a digital camera. When I first started taking photos back in the pre-digital age, I remember that my single-lens reflex film camera had a split prism area that you had to adjust and you knew that the subject was in focus when the two halves of the image aligned.

My telephoto lens was extended fully to 400mm, so I was a pretty good distance from the damselflies when I composed these shots. I particularly like the first image, in which the branch at the top third of the shot gradually falls out of focus, allowing the viewer to focus on the damselfly clinging to the leaf.

Big Bluet

Big Bluet

Big Bluet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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