spring | Mike Powell

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Violet Dancer damselflies

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Argia fumipennis, Argia fumipennis violacea, Canon 7D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Variable Dancer, Variable Dancer damselfly, Violet Dancer, Violet Dancer damselfly on May 31, 2023| 2 Comments »

Some of you may have noticed that the banner photo for this blog shows a beautiful purple damselfly, one of my favorite insects. The intense purple is really striking and is not a color that I seen very often when I am looking for wildlife to photograph. The official species name for the damselfly is Variable Dancer (Argia fumipennis), though I prefer to use the colorful and descriptive name of its most common subspecies, the Violet Dancer (Argia fumipennis violacea).

Last Thursday I was delighted to spot numerous Violet Dancers in the vegetation along the edge of a small pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. I even managed to photograph one on the trail surrounding the pond, as you can see in the first photo in which the damselfly is perched on a small stone. For the other two shots, I was much farther away from the damselfly. These damselflies like to perch on vegetation that overhangs the water, so I shot from a distance to avoid slipping into the pond, which has happened on occasion in the past.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Slender Bluet damselflies

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, damselfly in flight, Enallagma traviatum, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, slender bluet, Slender Bluet damselfly, Tamron 180mm on May 30, 2023| 5 Comments »

Last Thursday I was delighted to spot some Slender Bluet (Enallagma traviatum) damselflies at the small pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, my first sighting of this species this year. Although this species is quite small—about 1.2 inches (31 mm) in length—I managed to get a shot of a Slender Bluet in flight, as well as several shots of Slender Bluets perched in the vegetation at the edge of the pond.

Many of the summer species of dragonflies and damselflies have now reappeared and I will be focusing a lot of my attention in the upcoming months on highlighting the beauty of these amazing aerial acrobats.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First Water Lilies of Spring

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 7D, green spring gardens, pink water lily, water lilies on May 28, 2023| 5 Comments »

Water lilies are one of my favorite flowers and I was delighted this past Wednesday to see that several of them are already in bloom at a small man-made pond at Green Spring Gardens, including a couple of pink ones. Later in the season there will also be lotuses at this pond, but it appears to be too early for them right now. It is also a bit early for most of the dragonflies—I love to take photos of dragonflies perching on lotuses and water lilies.

Since there are so few water lilies blooming, I could not get the wider shots that remind me of the paintings of Claude Monet, one of my favorite artists, so I focused instead on capturing individual portraits of several of the flowers. It has always seemed to be that water lilies glow with an inner light and I was happy to capture a hint of that light in several of these photos.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hitching a ride

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 7D, damselfly, green spring gardens, Tamron 180mm, teneral damselfly on May 27, 2023| 2 Comments »

I did not get a close enough look at it to identify its species, but a teneral damselfly decided to momentarily hitch a ride on my pant leg last Wednesday at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, VA. A teneral damselfly is one that has only recent emerged and is therefore pale and does not yet have its full adult coloration.

It turns out that a 180mm macro lens is less than optimal for a selflie, even of my leg—I could not get far enough away to include the whole damselfly in the frame. The only other alternative is for me to become a lot more flexible, which at my age does not seem very likely.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Zabulon Skipper butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, green spring gardens, Poanes zabulon, Tamron 180mm, Zabulon Skipper, Zabulon Skipper butterfly on May 27, 2023| 5 Comments »

There are lots of different species of skipper butterflies in my area and it is hard for me to tell them apart. I spotted this beautiful little butterfly last Wednesday at Green Spring Gardens, just a few miles from where I live. I think that it is a Zabulon Skipper (Poanes zabulon), although it might possibly be the similar-looking Peck’s butterfly. I’d like to say that there is a scientific reason why I chose Zabulon over Peck’s, but it really is because I think that Zabulon is the cooler name of the two—I love the exotic sound of the word “Zabulon.”

I tried to get down to eye-level with the butterfly when I photographed it so that the background would fall away into a pleasant green blur and was largely successful. I like too that I was able to capture some of the green striations in the leaf on which the butterfly is perched and those little lines help to lead the viewer’s eyes to the butterfly.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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White butterfly, pink flower

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Cabbage White, Cabbage White butterfly, Canon 7D, green spring gardens, Pieris rapae, Tamron 180mm on May 26, 2023| 1 Comment »

This tiny Cabbage White butterfly (Pieris rapae) paused for only a moment on a pink flower, but I managed to get a shot of it on Wednesday at Green Spring Gardens. If you look closely, you can just make out the butterfly’s stunning green eyes.

The composition of this image is pretty simple, but I think it is effective. I would have liked to blur out the background a bit more, but even though it is cluttered, it is not distracting. I think that is because the pink and white are so bright and distinctive that they “pop” against the green background.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bee tongue

Posted in Bees, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, bee, bee tongue, Canon 7D, green spring gardens, proboscis, Tamron 180mm on May 26, 2023| 3 Comments »

On Wednesday at Green Spring Gardens, a county-run historic garden just a few miles from my home, I got a really good look at this bee’s proboscis, the long, straw-like tongue that it uses to collect nectar. From my angle, it looked more like a deadly weapon. Yikes! As you can probably tell, I have switched to using my macro lens most of the time now that the warmer weather has caused more insects to reappear.

One of my friends on Facebook named this bee the “Gene Simmons” bee, because it reminded him of an iconic pose by the singer from the band KISS in which his extended tongue reached to the tip of his chin. It is hard to know if it is true, but according to urban legend, Simmons had his tongue insured for a million dollars during the 1970’s, when KISS was at its height of popularity. The popular rumor at the time that he had a cow’s tongue grafted onto his own, however, has been disproven.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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More Lady’s Slipper orchids

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, Travel, tagged Canon 7D, Cypripedium acaule, iPhone 11, Lady's Slipper orchid, Orkney Springs VA, Pink Lady's Slipper, Shrine Mont, Tamron 150-600mm on May 25, 2023| 8 Comments »

I was happy this past weekend to see that Pink Lady’s Slipper orchids (Cypripedium acaule) were still in bloom in Orkney Springs, Virginia during my recent church retreat at Shrine Mont. Last year at about the same time of the year I spotted a few of them and was successful in finding some when I searched that same general location. The retreat center is located in a mountainous and cooler area of the state, which means that the growing season for flowers is a little behind my area, where the lady’s slippers faded a few weeks ago.

At first I spotted only a few of these fragile little flowers, but eventually I came upon a large patch of almost a dozen of them, as you can see in the final photo. It was a bit of a challenge for me to compose photos of flowers, because I am so used to taking pictures of wildlife. I have to admit, though, that I enjoyed having the luxury of taking my time to compose my shots—with wildlife I often have to react quickly to capture a fleeting moment, so composition is not usually my top priority.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Common Baskettails in flight

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Common Baskettail, Common Baskettail dragonfly, dragonfly in flight, Epitheca cynosura, Orkney Springs VA, Shrine Mont, Tamron 18-400mm on May 24, 2023| 5 Comments »

I can’t help myself. Whenever I see dragonflies flying over the water, I feel compelled to try to photograph them in flight. This past weekend I spotted several Common Baskettail dragonflies (Epitheca cynosura) flying patrols over a small pond in Orkney Springs, Virginia. The dragonflies flew by numerous times, giving me a lot of opportunities to take shots.

As is usually the case, most of my shots were out of focus or included only a portion of the dragonfly at the edge of the frame. However, as most of you know, I am quite persistent and eventually I managed to get some decent shots of the dragonflies.

Several of my sharpest shots show the dragonfly against a gray background, but lack a sense of the environment. The last three shots include patches of algae and give you a really cool perspective that reminds me of the view that you get from an airplane window when you look out and see another airplane along with the ground below.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Azure Bluet damselfly

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Azure Bluet, Azure Bluet damselfly, Canon 7D, Enallagma aspersum, female Azure Bluet, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm on May 22, 2023| 7 Comments »

I photographed this damselfly on last Wednesday at Occoquan Regional Park in Northern Virginia. The pattern of black and blue markings on the damselfly’s abdomen was unfamiliar to me. The closest I could come when comparing it with photos in my identification guide was a female Azure Bluet (Enallagma aspersum), but identification of bluet species can be tricky, since almost all of them are black and blue and you have to look really closely to distinguish one from another.

I posted the photo in a Facebook group dedicated to dragonflies and damselflies in Virginia and was a little shocked when one of the experts in the group confirmed my tentative identification. As far as I can recall, this is a new species for me, which makes this sighting even more special.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Pondhawks

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm on May 19, 2023| 2 Comments »

I was delighted on Wednesday to spot my first Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) dragonflies of the season while I was exploring the trails at Occoquan Regional Park. As we progress into summer, this species will become quite abundant, but it is always a joy to spot these little beauties.

Females, like the ones in these photos, are bright green in color and have a banded abdomen. I did not see any males that day, but they start out with coloration similar to that of the females and then gradually transition to having a blue abdomen and a blue and green thorax. Both genders have green faces, which, along with their coloration, make them easy to identify.

I love the way that the green spring foliage matches the colors of an Eastern Pondhawk and provides a beautiful backdrop for them, as you can see in these photos.

I will be away in the mountains this weekend on a church retreat, so will probably not be posting for the next few days. I will have my camera with me, though, so you may see a few photos from my adventures there in upcoming blog postings.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First Ebony Jewelwing of the season

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Calopteryx maculata, Canon 7D, Ebony Jewelwing, Ebony Jewelwing damselfly, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm on May 18, 2023| 2 Comments »

Yesterday I spotted my first Ebony Jewelwing damselfly (Calopteryx maculata) of the season while exploring at Occoquan Regional Park in Lorton, Virginia. As far as I know, this is the only damselfly in our area with completely dark wings, so it is a pretty easy species to identify.

Most of the time I spot Ebony Jewelwings in the shadowy vegetation along small streams, but this one was perched in the open. Perhaps it was enjoying the warmth of the spring sunshine.

I am not sure why the eyes of this damselfly appear to be red, because most of the time the eyes of male Ebony Jewelwings are darker. Perhaps the reddish coloration is a result of the angle of the light or maybe it is related to the age of the individual and will darken as he grows old.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Calico Pennant dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Calico Pennant, Calico Pennant dragonfly, Canon 7D, Celithemis elisa, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on May 17, 2023| 5 Comments »

I was delighted last Thursday to see quite a few Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa) dragonflies during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The markings and wing patterns on this species are really striking, making this one of the most attractive species that I see during the dragonfly season.

Some of the Calico Pennants appeared to have newly emerged—when dragonflies initially break through the exoskeleton of their water-dwelling larvae selves, their wings are really shiny and fragile and their coloration is often pale. The dragonfly in the first photo appears to be in that stage of development, which is sometimes referred to as “teneral.” It you look closely at the place where the dragonfly is grasping the vegetation, you can see what is quite probably its discarded exoskeleton from which it had recently emerged.

The Calico Pennants in the second and third photo are females, as was the one in the first photo. The patterns on the wings of these more mature females are more distinct and their yellow coloration is somewhat brighter. How do I know that they are females? If you look closely at the ends of their abdomens (the “tails”) you can see the terminal appendages that indicate their gender.

Female Calico Pennants have yellow markings on their abdomens, but that is not a reliable indicator of their gender, because immature males have that same coloration. The dragonfly in the fourth photo, for example, is an immature male Calico Pennant. If you compare the tip of the abdomen of this dragonfly with the one in the third photo, you may be able to see that there are differences.

What does a mature male Calico Pennant look like? I managed to spot only a single mature male that day, but fortunately was able to capture a shot of it. As you can see in the final photo, adult male Calico Pennants have red marking on their abdomens and the veining on their wings is pinkish in color.

We are gradually transitioning to the summer dragonfly species and some of the early spring ones are starting to disappear. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for the “new” species, so don’t be surprised to see more dragonfly photos in the upcoming months.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tweety Bird

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Looney Tunes, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotaria citrea, Tamron 18-400mm, tweety bird, warbler, Woodbridge VA on May 16, 2023| 10 Comments »

I love the poses of this bright yellow Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) that I spotted last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The warbler was actively twisting, turning, and stretching as it foraged for food and amazingly was perched quite low in the vegetation—most of the times in the past I have seen Prothonotary Warblers high in the trees and was forced to shoot them from an unflattering sharp upward angle.

Quite often when I am focusing on a wildlife subject, it moves. Most of the time the result is a blurry image, but sometimes I end up with a really cool shot. The Prothonotary Warbler took off just as I pressed the shutter release and I was lucky to capture it in action, as you can see in the final photo.

The yellow plumage of a Prothonotary Warbler is startlingly bright and cheerful. Invariably the sight of a Prothonotary Warbler makes me think of Tweety Bird, a character from Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoons that I remember from my childhood. I think that Tweety was supposed to be a canary, but he didn’t really look like a canary. Often Tweety had adventures with Sylvester the cat, the subject of Tweety’s signature line, ” “I tawt I taw a puddy tat!””

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Blue Heron in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron in a tree, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on May 15, 2023| 5 Comments »

As I was scanning the trees for small birds last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I spotted this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) surveying its surroundings from its high perch. I have occasionally seen herons roosting in the trees in the past, but it has usually been earlier in the day—this heron might have decided that it wanted a mid-afternoon nap or at least a few peaceful moments.

Now that I am retired, I have rediscovered the pleasure of naps and a Sunday afternoon nap has become part of my weekly routine.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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An eaglet at last

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle nest, Canon 7D, eaglet, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on May 14, 2023| 1 Comment »

I patiently watched the large Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nest last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and eventually caught a glimpse of an eaglet. As some of you may recall, I have been keeping an eye on three eagle nests at this refuge and have already seen eaglets at the other two nests. This nest is significantly larger than the other two nests, as you can see in the second photo, and it is difficult to see activity in the nest.

I was zoomed in as close as I could with my telephoto lens and still had to crop the image in the first photo quite a bit so you can see the eaglet with its open mouth—I suspect it wanted to be fed. As you can see, one of the parents was in the nest with the eaglet and the other parent was perched in a nearby tree. It is possible that there are more eaglets in the nest, but I was really happy to spot one.

In case you are curious, I did not have my longest telephoto lens with me that day. Normally I use my Tamron 150-600mm lens when I know that I will be photographing birds. I was anticipating that I would be focusing on both large and small creatures, so I was using my Tamron 18-400mm lens on this occasion. This lens gives me a great deal of flexibility in photographing dragonflies as well as birds and in capturing landscape shots like the shot of the nest—I was standing in the same spot for both photos in this blog posting.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Singing Prairie Warbler

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prairie Warbler, Setophaga discolor, singing warbler, Tamron 18-400mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA on May 13, 2023| 3 Comments »

On Thursday I was blessed to photograph a beautiful little Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) as it was singing in a small tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. At this time of the year I can often hear the birds, but have trouble spotting them amidst the abundant foliage. Even when I am able to locate a warbler, it is usually perched really high in a tree, out of range of my telephoto lens. In this case, the warbler was almost at eye level when I took these photos.

Despite its name, the Prairie Warbler is not found on a prairie. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Finding this bird during the breeding season is often as simple as finding the scrubby second-growth forests, young pine stands, and overgrown pastures that it prefers. In spring, listen for males singing from a mostly exposed perch in one of the tallest trees in its territory, a distinctive sputtering buzz that starts low and climbs high up the scale, beyond human hearing.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Pink Lady’s Slipper orchids

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Canon 7D, Cypripedium acaule, Lady's Slipper, Lady's Slipper orchid, Pink Lady's Slipper, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm on May 12, 2023| 19 Comments »

I was thrilled earlier this month to spot a dozen or so Pink Lady’s Slippers (Cypripedium acaule) as I exploring a creek in Prince William County, Virginia. Most of them were growing individually, but there were a few small clusters of these beautiful native orchids.

I have seen these flowers several times in previous years, so I had a general idea of where to look for them, but when I set out on the hike to search for them, I was not certain that my timing was right—it was a bit earlier than I had seen them in past years. I had to walk for several miles to get to this location and initially I could not find any lady’s slippers. Eventually I spotted a single one and was really happy. All of the sudden I started seeing them in multiple spots and was able to capture a variety of images.

I am fascinated by the shape of these flowers and my first instinct was to move in close and capture macro shots to highlight the details of the flower by isolating it from the background, as you can see in the first three images. When it came to groupings of flowers, though, the background could not be eliminated. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I was “forced” to show the environment in which I found the flowers—I have a tendency to forget to take these kinds of shots in my zeal to zoom in. As it turns out, the last image is one of my favorites, though I must admit that the first image in my absolute favorite of these photos.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Puddling swallowtails

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio polyxenes, Prince William County VA, puddling, Tamron 180mm on May 11, 2023| 2 Comments »

I usually think of butterflies drinking nectar from colorful flowers. Sometimes, though, newly emerged Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes) will gather around mud puddles or other damp spots—a behavior often referred to as “puddling”—to suck minerals and other substances out of the damp ground, like these butterflies that I spotted in early May alongside a creek in Prince William County, Virginia.

Butterflies were constantly moving in and out of a small group that seemed to be concentrated at one particular spot. As I was taking this shot, a new arrival “photobombed” me. I really like the motion blur of the arriving butterfly, which gives the image a dynamic feel and also a bit of whimsy. The second shot is a close-up view of one of the butterflies as it extracted nutrients from the moist area.

“Puddling” behavior is mostly associated with male butterflies. According to an article at the Thoughtco website, “Nectar lacks some important nutrients the butterflies need for reproduction. For those, butterflies visit puddles. By sipping moisture from mud puddles, butterflies take in salts and minerals from the soil. This behavior is called puddling, and is mostly seen in male butterflies. That’s because males incorporate those extra salts and minerals into their sperm.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Looking at you looking at me

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle nest, Canon 7D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on May 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

As I was observing a large nest last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I couldn’t help but notice that the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the nest was keeping an eye on me. The eagle seemed to be observing me through a gap in the branches at the top of the nest, as you can see in the first two photos.

After getting a few shots, I continued walking down the trail. When I looked back towards the nest, I could see the eagle’s head poking out of the top of the nest and it still seemed to be watching me.

As you can tell from the final photo, this is a really large nest and it is hard to monitor what is going on inside of it. Are there any eaglets yet? In two other nests at the refuge, I have already seen eaglets, but those nests were much smaller, so it was not hard to spot the babies. I’ll continue to monitor this nest and with a little luck I will see an eaglet or two in this large nest.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Acrobatic Warbler

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotaria citrea, Tamron 150-600mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA on May 9, 2023| 7 Comments »

It was fascinating to watch this acrobatic little Prothontary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) last Friday as it twisted and turned, poked and probed while searching for tasty treats among the leaves of a tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. We have reached a time of the year when most of the small birds are hidden by the leaves on the trees, so I was really fortunate to be able to spot this warbler and to track it as it moved about in this tree.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Turkey and bunny

Posted in animals, Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Eastern Cottontail rabbit, Meleagris gallopavo, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, rabbit, Sylvilagus floridanus, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey, Wild Turkey, Woodbridge VA on May 8, 2023| 4 Comments »

Although it is fun to try to photograph migratory species passing through our area, I am equally content to photograph the local species that are present throughout the year, like Wild Turkeys and Eastern Cottontail Rabbits. This rather rotund Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) seemed to be dancing the hokey-pokey when I spotted it last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. “You put your right leg in, you put your right leg out. You put your right leg in and you shake it all about…” For the record, I did not join in the dance.

Later that same day I encountered this cute little Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus). The rabbit was quite tolerant on my presence and calmly chewed on the grass while I took its picture. For several years I cared for a pet rabbit, so rabbits have a special place in my heart.

Turkeys and rabbits are quite common at this refuge and at certain times of the day I am likely to encounter them. Generally they slowly move into the undergrowth as I approach. I don’t think they necessarily view me as a threat, but they probably do not want to take chances.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eaglet tests its wings

Posted in Photography, Birds, Nature, wildlife, spring, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle nest, Canon 7D, eaglet, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on May 7, 2023| 2 Comments »

This juvenile Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) may not be quite ready to fly, but it was testing out its wings by flapping them vigorously while I was observing the nest on Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The eaglet is so large that there is no longer any room in the small nest for its parents—one of its parents was perched on a higher branch in the same sycamore tree.

A few weeks ago, I observed two eaglets in this nest and I have not had a good look at both eaglets since that time. Has something happened to the other eaglet? When I looked closely at all of my photos, I noticed that I could see the silhouettes of both eaglets sitting side by side in some of the images, as you can see in the final photo. The eagle on the left seems much smaller than the one on the right, which was the one that was flapping its wings in the first two photos.

The foliage in the tree and the barrier across the trail keep me from seeing any better what is happening in this eagle nest, but it looks like the eaglets are growing bigger and stronger, especially the one on the right. It should not be too long before it is time for the eaglet to be making its first tentative attempts at flight.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Macro damselfly

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Fragile Forktail, Fragile Forktail damselfly, Ischnura posita, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm on May 6, 2023| 8 Comments »

I love to use my macro lenses. There is something almost magical about capturing details on tiny subjects, like this Fragile Forktail damselfly (Ischnura posita) that I spotted this past Monday alongside a pond in Prince William County, Virginia. Fragile Forktails are only about an inch (25 mm) in length, so I had to get pretty close to my subject to “fill the frame,” even with my 180mm macro lens.

One of the biggest challenges when I get this close to a subject is that my depth of field is really shallow, so I risk having a lot of my subject out of focus. In fact, in the majority of my photos of this damselfly, either the eyes or the tip of the abdomen is in focus, but not both. In this kind of situation, the “trick” to having the entire subject in focus is to position myself so that the sensor of my camera is parallel with the plane of the subject.

In this image, you can see that about the only things in focus are the damselfly and the edge of the leaf on which it was perched—the rest of the image is pleasingly blurred. This approach works pretty well with damselflies, which hold their wings above their bodies when perched, but does not work as well with dragonflies, which perch with outstretched wings. As a result, portions of the dragonflies in most of my photos are blurred, though I usually give top priority to keeping their eyes in focus.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ospreys

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on May 5, 2023| 2 Comments »

There are now plenty of Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) to see at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, though it is still a challenge to get a decent shot of one. I spotted the osprey in the first photo last week and it seemed to be in a pensive mood or perhaps was simply alert to the possibility of an attack from above. One of my Facebook readers suggested that this was an osprey father-to-be who was contemplating the weight of his new responsibilities and the end of his happy-go-lucky bachelor days.

The osprey in the second shot was keeping watch over one of the larger osprey nests at the wildlife refuge. Unlike bald eagles, which put a lot of care and attention into the construction of their nests, ospreys often seem content to throw a few sticks together in a rather haphazard way. As a result, quite a few osprey nests are damaged by winter storms and have to be reconstructed when the ospreys return in the spring.

The osprey in the final shot is working on a different nest. Ospreys lay their eggs later than the eagles, which are already caring for their young eaglets. It is probably about time now for the ospreys to begin sitting on their nests and incubating their own eggs.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tiny butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Anthocharis midea, Canon 7D, Falcate Orangetip, Falcate Orangetip butterfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on May 4, 2023| 8 Comments »

I was happy that I managed to get a shot of this tiny butterfly perched low in the vegetation at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday. I think it may be a Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea), although the butterfly never opened its wings, so I was not able to confirm that the wings were tipped with orange.

I was a bit shocked that I was able to capture so much detail of this tiny creature, given that I was shooting with my Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens fully extended to 600mm. When I bought this lens in November 2014, I remember reading reviews about the lens that stated that it was soft at 600m. That has not really been my experience. If I pay attention to my techniques and use a monopod for additional stability (as I was doing for this shot), I can shots that are acceptably sharp to my eye.

For those of you who are especially geeky, for this shot I was shooting with a Canon 7D at f/8, 1/400 sec, and ISO 800 with an exposure compensation value of minus 1.33 stops. More important than the settings, though, is the fact that I like the image that I managed to capture—that is always my number one priority.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Varying backgrounds

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Blue Corporal, Blue Corporal dragonfly, Canon 7D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Ladona deplanata, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on May 3, 2023| 2 Comments »

As I was reviewing my photos of the past couple of weeks, I was a little surprised at the number of shots that I have taken of Blue Corporal (Ladona deplanata) dragonflies in wildly varying environments. Blue Corporals are an early-season species and won’t be around for too much longer, so I am happy to have had the opportunity to observe so many of them. Most of the time, Blue Corporals like to perch flat and, judging from the photos, it doesn’t seem to matter if there are rocks, vegetation, or even lily pads.

From the perspective of a naturalist, I like the way that the different photos give you a feel for the environments in which I found these dragonflies. As a photographer, I was also struck by the way that the colors and textures of the background interact with the subjects. Most of the backgrounds in these shots are somewhat cluttered, but I did my best to use framing and focusing techniques to keep the background from being too distracting.

If I had to make a choice, I would say that the first photo is my favorite of the Blue Corporal images. I love the juxtaposition of the dragonfly with the varied textures, shapes, and colors of the rocks. I also really like the way the background grows progressively more blurry towards the top of the image. Do you have a favorite?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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King of the hill

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged birds in flight, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Tree Swallow, Woodbridge VA on May 2, 2023| 3 Comments »

As I was focusing in on a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) that was happily singing from a perch sticking out of a small pond, another swallow came screeching in in an attempt to take over the perch. The attack was successful and the first bird was forced to leave.

Happy with his effort to become “king of the hill,” the new swallow began to sing with all of his might as he surveyed his new kingdom. How long will his reign last? Undoubtedly the swallow knows that others may soon seek his place, but seems determined to enjoy his moment in the spotlight.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Common Baskettail dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Common Baskettail, Common Baskettail dragonfly, Epitheca cynosura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on May 1, 2023| 8 Comments »

I tracked this Common Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosura) in the air for quite some time as it patrolled back and forth along one of the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, hoping that it would land. Fortunately I acted quickly when finally it did perch and was able to capture these shots.

The Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website provides the following description of the Common Baskettail, “Small, dark, constantly hovering. Fast, acrobatic flight. Often high above clearings and sunny paths/old roads. Also along pond, stream and river edges.” As you can tell from this description, it is pretty challenging to get a shot of a Common Baskettail dragonfly.

Occasionally I will try to capture an image of a Common Baskettail while it is flying, but that works better when the dragonfly is flying above a pond than when it is flying with a background of vegetation. If you are interested in seeing some shots of Common Baskettails in flight, check out my blog posting from May 2022 entitled “Flying Common Baskettail dragonflies.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Raindrops on irises

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, bearded irises, Canon 60mm, Canon 7D, Cindy's garden, iris, irises, Runnymeade on April 30, 2023| 10 Comments »

The rain has stopped for now, but some raindrops remain, sparkling like tiny jewels this morning on the bearded irises in the garden of my neighbor and fellow photographer Cindy Dyer. I tried to get creative with the framing of the first shot, with a blurred iris in the background of an unopened bud.

In the second shot, I was so close to the bearded iris that you almost can’t tell that the primary subject is a flower—I love my macro lenses. There third and fourth shows show a couple more varieties of irises that are currently in bloom in Cindy’s garden, with lots more still to come.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Impassive eagle

Posted in aircraft, Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle nest, Canon 7D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on April 29, 2023| 8 Comments »

This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) remained steadfastly on guard above its large nest on Wednesday at Occoquan National Wildlife Refuge as a jet flew by in the distance. As I was focusing on the eagle, I caught sight of the jet out of the corner of the eye and managed to time the shot pretty well to be able to include the jet in the frame.

Normally I do not like to include man-made objects in my wildlife photos, but in this case I really like the juxtaposition between the wildness of a bald eagle’s flight and the more “civilized” human flight.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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