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Great Blue Heron in April

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on April 29, 2020| 14 Comments »

When I first got interested in photographing birds, Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) were one of my favorites. They were large, easy to find, and cooperative subjects. Rather than fly away when they sensed my presence, they would often remain in place. That tendency, I learned, was both a blessing and a curse. It is easier to photograph a bird when it is stationary, but eventually I wanted to capture action and Great Blue Herons, I learned, have endless patience—they can stay motionless for a really long time before they strike, often longer than I was willing to wait.

I still love to see Great Blue Herons and spotted this one earlier this month during a trip to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The heron seemed restless and was slowly slogging its way through the vegetation. Perhaps it was hunting or maybe it was just relocating to another spot. In any case, it was wonderful to see and photograph one of my old familiar favorites.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Greater Bee Fly

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bombylius major, Canon 50D, Greater Bee Fly, Prince William County VA, Spring Beauty, Tamron 180mm on April 28, 2020| 17 Comments »

This insect is fuzzy like a bee and acts as a pollinator as it sips nectar, but it is not a bee, it is a fly, a Greater Bee Fly (Bombylius major). Are you confused yet? Unlike bees, bee flies have only two wings instead of four, large eyes, skinny long legs and very short antennae. Bee flies also seem hyperactive, hovering in midair rather than landing as they suck up the nectar with a really long proboscis and thereby avoiding potential predators like crab spiders.

When I did a little research, though, I learned that bee flies have a dark side. According to an article entitled “A Pollinator With a Bad Reputation” by Beatriz Moisset, “The reason why it diligently hovers over bare ground early in the spring is that it is looking for bee nests, probably the same ones with which they compete for nectar. The bees dig tunnels and lay their eggs at their bottoms after collecting enough pollen to feed the larvae. This requires numerous trips, thus the bee fly takes advantage of the mother’s absence and lays its eggs in such nests. Making use of its flying prowess, it does not even need to land but it flicks its abdomen while hovering over the open burrow, letting one egg fall in or near it. The fly larva finds its way to the chamber where the mother bee has laid the provisions and the egg and proceeds to feed on the stored pollen. Afterwards it devours the bee larvae; when it is fully grown, it pupates and stays inside the nest until next spring.”

I was inspired to post this image by a recent posting by Pete Hillman entitled “Dark-edged Bee Fly” that featured a similar bee fly. In my zeal to post photos of all of the ephemeral wildflowers I had seen this spring, like the Virginia Spring Beauties in this photo, I had forgotten about this bee fly.

You may notice that the bee fly’s wings are blurred in this— image and assume that I was shooting with a slow shutter speed. I checked the EXIF data for the shot and found that the shutter speed was 1/2500 second—I think that it had consumed as much coffee as I had that late March morning. I recommend that you click on this image to see all of the amazing details of this fascinating insect, the Greater Bee Fly.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Gnatcatcher at ground level

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, gnatcatcher, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Polioptila caerulea, Tamron 180mm on April 27, 2020| 29 Comments »

As I was searching in a small field of eye-height vegetation for dragonflies last Wednesday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, my eyes detected a flash of blue and white and I realized that a bird had joined me in the field. I was shocked to see that it was a male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea). During my previous encounters with a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, the bird has always been moving about in the foliage high in a tree.

I sprung into action and managed to get some decent shots of this tiny bird, despite the fact that I was shooting with my 180mm macro lens, the one that I generally use for the macro shots of insects that you see on this blog. The coolest image, I think, is the first one and it was mostly a matter of luck. I had just taken the second shot below when the gnatcatcher took off and I instinctively pressed the shutter release and captured a fun action shot.

So what was the gnatcatcher doing at ground level? As I was was processing my images I noticed that there were old spider webs in most of them. It is most obvious in the final photo, but if you click on the other images, you will see webs to the left of the bird in the penultimate shot (and in its mouth, I think), and also to the right of the bird and a little lower in the second shot (and possibly in the corner of its mouth).

Why would they be messing with spider webs? According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher pairs use spiderwebs and lichens to build small, neat nests on top of tree branches and may build up to seven nests in a breeding season. The website also notes that breeding males have a black V above their foreheads extending above their eyes, which you can see quite clearly in the second shot. I wonder if breeding season is begining

I have not spotted any gnatcatcher nests yet this year, but two years ago in late May I took some shots of a nest at the same refuge that show the amazing construction abilities of these little birds. Check out the posting called Baby gnatcatchers? by clicking on the title of the posting or clicking here. The nests are fascinating to examine.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Calligrapher Fly

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm macro, Cindy Dyer, Eastern Calligrapher Fly, flower fly, hover fly, hoverfly, Toxomerus geminatus on April 25, 2020| 26 Comments »

When I first saw some tiny little flies buzzing around in the garden of my neighbor and photography mentor Cindy Dyer, I knew that they were not bees. I could tell that they were hover flies, because of the way they acted, or perhaps you know them as flower flies, because of where they can be found most often.

As I observed the flies, I was attracted to the beautiful, elaborate patterns on their bodies and realized that this was a different species of hover fly than I was used to seeing. Unfortunately, according to Wikipedia, there are over six thousand hover fly species worldwide. How could I possibly identify this species?

I was shocked, amazed, and delighted when a Facebook viewer informed me that this species is known as the Eastern Calligrapher Fly (Toxomerus geminatus). I love the thought of someone hand drawing the delicately etched pattern with pen and ink, creating a miniature work of art.

If you want to learn more fun facts about this cool little fly, check out an article from riveredgenaturecenter.org entitled “Bug o’the Week–Eastern Calligrapher Fly” by clicking on the name of the article.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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My first damselflies of 2020

Posted in damselfly, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Forktail, Eastern Forktail damselfly, Fort Belvoir VA, Fragile Forktail, Fragile Forktail damselfly, Ischnura posita, Ischnura verticalis, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Tamron 180mm on April 24, 2020| 9 Comments »

I finally photographed my first damselflies of the spring on Wednesday during during a brief visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. I spotted the female Eastern Forktail damselfly (Ischnura verticalis) in the first image as she perched on a log in a mini-wetland area adjacent to a small pond. In addition to capturing the damselfly itself, I am really happy with the way that the texture of the bark and the interplay of the light and shadows turned out in the shot.

The second shot shows a male Fragile Forktail damselfly (Ischnura posita), one of the few damselflies that I am able to identify with a relatively high degree of confidence. On males of this species (and most females too), the shoulder stripe is interrupted and looks like an exclamation point. I like the way that the muted colors of the dried-out vegetation on which this damselfly was perched help to make its colors stand out and draw a viewer’s eyes to the main subject.

I will almost certainly get more and better shots of damselflies in the upcoming months, but there is something special about stopping for a moment to celebrate images of my first damselflies each year.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly

Posted in Army, Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Tailed-blue, Eastern Tailed-blue butterfly, Everes comyntas, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Tamron 180mm on April 23, 2020| 24 Comments »

Yesterday I was excited to spot several tiny Eastern Tailed-Blue butterflies (Everes comyntas) during a brief visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. What was particularly striking was that these delicate butterflies were perched with their wings partially open, revealing a spectacular blue color. I maneuver to position myself almost directly above one perched close to the ground, waited for it to open its wings fully, and captured this shot.

If you click on this image, you can get a better look at the marvelous details of this male Eastern-Tailed Blue, including the tiny “tails” and the little orange chevrons at the bottom of the hind wings. I was struck by the apparent asymmetry of the butterfly’s wings—the right wings look bigger than those on the left—but wonder if that is simply a consequence of the angle at which I took the shot or perhaps the wings were not fully open and were at slightly different angles.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Canon 50D, gnatcatcher, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Polioptila caerulea, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on April 22, 2020| 12 Comments »

At this time of the year I often hear the distinctive singing of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (Polioptila caerulea), but I rarely get a clear view of these tiny birds. I like the way the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website describes these birds, “The nasal, wheezy, rambling song and insistent, squeaky calls are great first clues to finding them, particularly as these tiny birds can get lost in the generally taller habitats used in the eastern part of their range.” If you are interested in hearing samples of the different calls and songs of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, click this link to another part of the same website.

Once I have heard the singing, I begin to scan the foliage near the top of top of a tree and if I am lucky I will detect some motion. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers like to flick their tails from side to side to scare up insects and then the gnatcatchers chase after them. Strangely, though, gnats do not form a significant part of their diet. So, in addition to being small (about 4 inches (10 cm) in length), they are almost always moving—that makes it quite a challenge to photograph one.

I was therefore quite thrilled to capture this image last Friday of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I had been tracking this bird for a while as it moved about from one patch of leaves to another and was more or less ready when it popped out of the foliage onto this small branch.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Early yellow iris

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Bearded Iris, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm macro, Cindy Dyer, iris, Runnymeade, yellow iris on April 21, 2020| 10 Comments »

Most of the irises in the garden of my neighbor and photography mentor Cindy Dyer have not yet bloomed, but this one beautiful yellow bearded iris decided to jump ahead of the others. Most of the iris buds are on stems several feet high, but this blossom is only a few inches off of the ground—perhaps that is why it was an early bloomer.

If you look closely at the two shots, you will immediately notice that I took them on separate days. The light was quite different on each those days and there were raindrops present on the petals when I took the second shot. Additionally, I chose a very different shooting angle for each image and processed them to emphasize different aspects of the photo. I have a slight preference for the overall feel of the first shot, but love the raindrops in the second shot—I think the pair of images work well together in tandem.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sparkling blue eyes

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Phalacrocorax auritus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on April 21, 2020| 11 Comments »

I never fail to be entranced by the striking blue eyes of a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), like this one that I spotted last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the time when I spot cormorants, they are in the deep waters and their eyes are too far away to be seen. Even when they are a bit closer, the eyes are often hidden by shadows.

On this occasion, however, the cormorant was in a small pond, so I was able to track it easily after I spotted it. On one of its dives the cormorant popped up within range of my camera and turned into the light for a moment before it submerged itself again, allowing me to get this shot with a clear view of its sparkling blue eyes.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Osprey looking up

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, osprey nest, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on April 20, 2020| 12 Comments »

It has been almost a month since I last checked in on the Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Last month they were busy collecting materials to build or repair their nests. Last Friday I spotted several nests that had grown considerably in size and the ospreys in the nests appeared to be sitting on their eggs.

I captured this image when one of the sitting ospreys had lifted her head to the sky, looking with hopeful expectation for her mate to return. Maybe he would be bringing her a fresh fish or perhaps he would be spelling her a bit from her maternal duties or could it be that she simply longer for his presence.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Chasing a butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Protographium marcellus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, Zebra Swallowtail, Zebra Swallowtail butterfly on April 19, 2020| 29 Comments »

Does the pressure of confinement/isolation/social distancing weigh you down? I know that I definitely feel that way at times. What I found on Friday morning, though, was that I felt totally free and uninhibited when I was chasing after this Zebra Swallowtail butterfly (Protographium marcellus). From a distance I must have looked like a madman as I ran back and forth and in circles trying to stay close to this butterfly.

It was more than just hoping and passively waiting—I put all of my energy into my childlike desire to to get a closer look at this beautiful butterfly. Maybe one of the secrets to handling the stresses inherent in today’s crises is to seek pleasure in simple joyful activities, like chasing a butterfly.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagles in April

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on April 19, 2020| 12 Comments »

On Friday morning, the temperature was only 38 degrees F (3 degrees C), so I abandoned my macro lens, assuming that insects would not be active, and switched back to my telephoto zoom lens. I returned to my favorite location, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge (OBNWR), to look for birds. This location is relatively remote and has few amenities, which means that it is rarely crowded—there have been times in the past when my car was the only one in the parking lot. Unlike many parks in our area, OBNWR remains open and it has become my place of refuge.

It has been almost a month or so since my last visit, so I was not sure which birds would be active. As you may have seen in yesterday’s posting, some warblers are now passing through our area. While it is nice to welcome these colorful visitors, I was perhaps even happier to spot some of my favorite year-round residents, the Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). There are at least two active eagle nests in the refuge and one of the volunteers there told me that there is already an eaglet in one of the nests.

I captured these two images not far from the nest with the eaglet, so it is quite possible that at least one of these eagles is a parent. The early morning sunshine was quite beautiful and I love the way that it illuminated the side of the eagle’s face in the first image. The second image gives you an idea of the amount of leaves now on the trees, which makes it difficult to spot birds, especially the smaller ones. Fortunately the white coloration of the bald eagles and ospreys and their large size makes it hard for them to hide completely.

It is reassuring to see that the cycle of life is continuing normally in nature even when our lives have been completely disrupted and most of us are confined and/or in isolation.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Warbler in the spring

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga coronata, Tamron 150-600mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-rumped Warbler on April 18, 2020| 21 Comments »

It is warbler season now where I live. This can be a frustrating time of the year for me, because the arrival of these colorful migrating birds coincides with the re-leafing of the trees. I can hear the warblers and occasionally get a glimpse of their bright colors through the leaves, but it is rare for me to get a clear shot of one.

Yesterday, I was thrilled to capture this image of a Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I started to track this bird as it was moving about in the foliage and was fortunate to be ready when it paused for a split second in the open. I did not plan this particular composition, but it worked out really nicely with the shapes of the branches on the right side of the image and the mostly out of focus leaves on the left.

This image speaks of spring to me. Happy Spring to those in the Northern Hemisphere and hopefully those experiencing autumn in the Southern Hemisphere will also enjoy the bright springtime colors.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unfurling fern frond

Posted in abstract, Art, Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Canon 50D, ferns, fiddlehead, Prince William County VA, spiral, Tamron 180mm on April 17, 2020| 20 Comments »

I love the beautiful curves a fiddlehead forms as it gradually unfurls into a full-fledged fern frond. I have no idea how long this entire process takes, but it was amazing to see the various stages of development of the many fiddleheads that I spotted on Tuesday while exploring in Prince William County.

The clouds in the sky and the unseasonably cold temperatures seemed to have prompted all of the dragonflies to remain in secluded spots and I did not spot a single one that day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Fishing Spider in April

Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spiders, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Dolomedes triton, fishing spider, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Six-spotted Fishing Spider, Tamron 180mm on April 16, 2020| 17 Comments »

Most of the time when I see spiders, it is because I spot their webs first. Some spiders, though, rely exclusively on speed to capture unsuspecting prey, like this Six-spotted Fishing Spider (Dolomedes triton) that I spotted on Monday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.

Fishing spiders sit at the edge of the water with some of their long legs fully extended. When they sense vibrations of a potential prey on the surface of the water, fishing spiders can walk on the water to seize insects, vertebrates, tadpoles and occasionally small fish or even dive underwater up to 7.1 inches (18 cm), according to Wikipedia.

When I first spotted this fishing spider, it was perched on a semi-submerged log, as shown in the second image below. The spider somehow sensed my presence and ran towards some vegetation at the edge of the water. I was able to maneuver to a position from which I was looking almost directly down at the spider and captured the first image which makes the spider look rather large and menacing, which is why I selected the photo as the featured image.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ladybug in April

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Coccinellidae, Fort Belvoir VA, Harmonia axyridis, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, ladybird, ladybug, Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle, Tamron 180mm on April 15, 2020| 19 Comments »

I love ladybugs and was thrilled to spot this one on Monday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. When I posted this photo on Facebook, one viewer noted that this is a Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis), a non-native species that has become the most common species in the United States since it was deliberately introduced into the country in 1916 in an attempt to control the spread of aphids.

How can you tell a native ladybug from the Asian ladybug? Several sources on-line note that the Asian ladybug has a white marking behind its head in the openings of what looks like a black M, as you can see on the ladybug in my photo. If you are interested in learning more about the differences, check out this fascinating article at thespruce.com, The Differences Between Ladybugs and Asian Lady Beetles.

Whether native or not, this ladybug in my eyes is beautiful. If you want to see something really cool, click on the photo and check out the details on the ladybug’s front foot. I never knew that ladybugs have two tiny toes.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Ratsnake

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Ratsnake, Pantherophis alleghaniensis, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm on April 14, 2020| 7 Comments »

So many of the creatures that I encounter blend in so well with their environments, that I detect them only when they move. That was the case with this Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) last week that I spotted while I was exploring in Prince William County, Virginia.

I was a bit startled when the leaves started to rustle almost directly beneath my feet and my eyes detected the form of a large black snake slowly slithering away from me. The snake apparently had been sunning itself before I inadvertently disturbed it.

After the snake had moved some distance up the side of a small hill covered with fallen leaves and vegetation, it paused and turned to the side, allowing me to capture the first shot below. As those of you who know me might suspect, I too had been making my way up the hill parallel to the snake, waiting for such an opportunity to arise to get a shot of the snake’s head, which explains why I was able to take the shot from relatively close range.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mating Common Green Darners

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Anax junius, Canon 50D, Common Green Darner, Common Green Darner dragonfly, mating Common Green Darners, mating dragonflies, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on April 13, 2020| 22 Comments »

When they are mating, many dragonflies adopt a very conspicuous heart-shaped “wheel” position, like this pair of Common Green Darner dragonflies (Anax junius) that I spotted last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The process begins when the male, in this case the dragonfly with the blue abdomen, grabs a female by the back of her neck with claspers at the end of his abdomen that fit into species-specific grooves in the female. The two dragonflies are then hooked together, often for extended periods of time.

I couldn’t help but notice the sharp thorns on the branch that these dragonflies had selected for their encounter. Yikes—that is living life on the edge. After I took some photos, feeling a little like a voyeur, I decided to give the couple some privacy. When I circled back a short time time later, the dragonflies were gone, presumably having done their part to perpetuate the species.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Frog with spots

Posted in Amphibians, frog, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Acris crepitans, acris crepitans crepitans, Canon 50D, Eastern Cricket Frog, frog with spots, Northern Cricket frog, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm on April 11, 2020| 23 Comments »

The frog in the photo does have a few spots, but the spots on the leaves are what really draw my attention to this image—they provide an almost visually perfect background for the main subject. I spotted this little frog earlier this week while hunting for dragonflies in Prince William County, Virginia.

I believe that this is an Eastern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans crepitans), but was a little confused when I saw repeated references to a Northern Cricket Frog. I think I finally sorted it out in my mind and if I understand it correctly the Eastern Cricket Frog is one of the subspecies of the Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans). Logically it seems odd that east would be a subset of north, but that seems to be the case here.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Colorful forest wildflowers

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged bluet, Canon 50D, Claytonia virginica, forest flowers, Houstonia caerulea, Prince William County VA, Spring Beauty, Tamron 180mm, wild violet, wildflower on April 11, 2020| 17 Comments »

I featured some tiny white forest wildflowers in a recent posting. Here now as a companion to that posting are a few images of colorful forest wildflowers that I have seen when exploring recently in Prince William County.

The first shot is a small wildflower known simply as a Bluet (Houstonia caerulea). The flower in the second image is the appropriately named Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), known also as the Eastern Spring Beauty, because there is also a similar Western Spring Beauty (Claytonia lanceolata). I do not know for sure the name of third flower, but I believe that it is some kind of wild violet.

As always, I welcome assistance in identifying my subjects, particularly if I have misidentified one. Thanks.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Springtime long-jawed spider

Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spiders, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, family Tetragnathidae, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Long-jawed Orb Weaver spider, long-jawed spider, Tamron 180mm on April 10, 2020| 10 Comments »

I have not yet seen any large spiders this spring, but I have run across a few long-jawed spiders. The bodies of long-jawed orb weaver spiders of the Tetragnathidae family tend to be thin and they have extremely long legs of varying lengths. Most often I find them on vegetation overhanging the water, which in this case was a small pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male Common Baskettail

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Common Baskettail, Common Baskettail dragonfly, Epitheca cynosura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Tamron 180mm macro, Woodbridge VA on April 10, 2020| 5 Comments »

It is still really early in the dragonfly season in my area, so each one that I am fortunate enough to spot is special to me. I was therefore thrilled to photograph this male Common Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosura) on Monday as it was hanging vertically from the leaves of a small tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. If you double-click on the image, you can see the dragonfly’s tiny feet with which it is clinging to the leaf.

Most of the times in the past when I have seen members of this species, they have been flying out of reach of my camera. According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, Common Baskettails are hard to spot because they are small with mostly clear wings and spend much of their time hovering high over clearings, making them “probably our least seen “common” dragonfly.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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White forest flowers

Posted in abstract, Art, Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Bloodroot, Canon 50D, forest flowers, Prince William County VA, Star chickweed, Stellaria pubera, Tamron 180mm, white forest flowers, Wood Anemone on April 9, 2020| 24 Comments »

For a short time each spring, tiny wildflowers spring up from the forest floor, giving the forest a magical feel. Many of the forest flowers are white and at first glance they all look the same. When I looked more closely, though, I discovered a wide variety of petal shapes and patterns.

Within this group of three flowers, I can identify only the middle one, which I am pretty sure is a Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera). If you happen to recognize the others, I would appreciate your help in identifying them. Thanks.

UPDATE: Steve Gingold has identified the first flower as Bloodroot and the third one as Wood Anemone. Thanks, Steve.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Thinking of peaches

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm macro, Cindy Dyer, peaches, tulip on April 8, 2020| 12 Comments »

The color and texture of this tulip reminded me of a ripe peach when I first saw it yesterday morning. Alas, it will be months before peaches will be in season and the canned cling peaches that I remember from my childhood can’t compare to the fresh ones.

Like so many of the wonderfully colorful flowers that I have featured recently, this beauty is from the garden of my neighbor and photography mentor Cindy Dyer. Thanks again, Cindy.

At this time of the year, I tend to shoot most often with my 180mm macro lens. With my APS-C crop sensor camera, I get an equivalent field of view of almost 300mm, which gives me some standoff distance for shooting live subjects like dragonflies. However, for shooting subjects like flowers, I found it difficult to frame the images because I was shooting from so far away. For this shot, I switched to a 60mm macro lens and shot with the aperture wide-open at f/2.8.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Female Uhler’s Sundragons

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, female Uhler's Sundragon, Helocordulia uhleri, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm, Uhler's Sundragon, Uhler's Sundragon dragonfly on April 8, 2020| 16 Comments »

I felt like I had hit the jackpot last Friday when I finally spotted several Uhler’s Sundragon dragonflies (Helocordulia uhleri) while exploring a stream in Prince William County, Virginia. Uhler’s Sundragons are a scarce and seldom seen dragonfly species with a brief and early flight period. There is a very active Virginia dragonfly group in Facebook that posts sightings and photos and it appears that my sightings of this species were the first in our state for 2020.

Last year I was able to do some reconnaissance of an area where this species had been spotted in previous years using information shared with me by fellow dragonfly fanatic and blogger Walter Sanford. Eventually I found and photographed some Uhler’s Sanddragons and he and I were able to spot them again several times.

This species generally is found in a specific type of habitat—”Clean, sandy or gravely forest streams with a mix of riffles and pools,” according to the excellent Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website. So Friday I scoured the locations where had spotted them last year and it was in one such location that I spotted the Ashy Clubtail and Common Green Darner that I featured recently in my posting First dragonflies of the season. I looked for Uhler’s Sundragons there but came up empty-handed.

It was at a second spot that I finally spotted one as it flew through the air and landed on a piece of vegetation. There is not much flying this early in the season and I could tell from the way that it perched that it was probably my target species. I think I was shaking a little bit and certainly my heart rate had accelerated, but I managed to get a shot of that one (the middle shot below), before it flew away. A few minutes later, I had another spotting and captured the last shot below—it might have been the same dragonfly or a different one.

Part of my long walk back took me along another stretch of the same stream and I was absolutely thrilled when I spotted yet another Uhler’s Sundragon and captured my favorite shot of the day, the first one below. It turns out that all of the Uhler’s Sundragons that I photographed were females. I am not sure if the males were all out patrolling or were simply in other locations.

Many of the locations where I might normally search for dragonflies are closed and some of the others are potentially crowded, so I am not willing to go there. As you can see from my recent postings, I am staying really close to home most of the time, with trips like this one to remote locations being a rare exception.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Kaleidoscope of Butterflies

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, kaleidoscope of butterflies, Papilio glaucus, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm on April 7, 2020| 18 Comments »

What do you call a group of butterflies? I have always been fascinated by the collective nouns that we use in English for groups of creatures. I was delighted to learn that one of the collective nouns used for butterflies is a kaleidoscope.

“A kaleidoscope of butterflies” seems to be the perfect descriptor for this group of beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus) that I spotted yesterday. They appeared to be engaged in a behavior known as “puddling,” during which the butterflies, most often the males, gather minerals and other nutrients from the soil or other organic material.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Joyful expectation

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cindy Dyer, Runnymeade, Tamron 180mm, tulip, tulip bud on April 6, 2020| 18 Comments »

What are your feelings about the future? For me, they are like this tulip bud, full of the promise of new life and beauty that is yet to come. The challenge for us all is to be patient and wait with joyful expectation.

As with all of my other recent tulip shots, I photographed this bud in the garden of my neighbor and friend Cindy Dyer. Thanks, Cindy.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First dragonflies of the season

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Anax junius, Ashy Clubtail, Ashy Clubtail dragonfly, Canon 50D, Common Green Darner, Common Green Darner dragonfly, Phanogomphus lividus, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm on April 6, 2020| 18 Comments »

Last Friday I photographed my first dragonflies of the spring, a male Common Green Darner (Anax junius) and a female Ashy Clubtail (Phanogomphus lividus). The Common Green Darner is probably a migratory dragonfly that is just passing through as it heads north—we do have local-born members of this species, but it is too early for them to have emerged.

The Ashy Clubtail, which was actually the first dragonfly that I photographed, almost certainly emerged locally. When a dragonfly emerges, its wings are really shiny and the wings of this Ashy Clubtail were definitely sparkling in the sunlight. According to the local flight calendar, the Ashy Clubtail is one of the earliest dragonflies in our area to emerge, but I have never seen one this early before.

As you can see, I captured the images of both of these dragonflies when they were perched flat on the ground. There were dry leaves all around, which made a stealthy approach almost impossible and focusing on the dragonfly was a bit of a challenge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bee with green eyes

Posted in Bees, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged bee with green eyes, Canon 50D, Eastern Carpenter Bee, male Eastern Carpenter Bee, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm, Xylocopa virginica on April 5, 2020| 22 Comments »

Did you know that some bees have green speckled eyes? I was really startled by the brightness of this bee’s eyes as I was taking its photo last Monday while exploring in Prince William County, Virginia. Some research on-line revealed that this is a male Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica).

I was pretty sure that I had never before seen a bee like this, but I was wrong. As I was preparing this posting, I discovered that I had seen a similar bee in October 2012 and published a posting entitled “Green-eyed Eastern Carpenter bee.” Wow. It’s been a long time between sightings, so maybe I can be forgiven for having forgotten about the previous time, though at my age I can simply claim that I had a “senior moment.” Ages has its privileges.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Natural triangles

Posted in abstract, Art, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged abstract, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cindy Dyer, leaves, light and shadow, natural triangles, Palm Sunday, Runnymeade, Tamron 180mm on April 5, 2020| 8 Comments »

Beauty is everywhere, including in the abstract patterns of nature. Last week my eyes were drawn to the interplay of light and shadows in the leaves of some iris plants that have not yet bloomed in the garden of my neighbor Cindy Dyer. I love the series of triangles and straight lines in the resulting image and there is something soothing and peaceful about the various shades of green.

When I posted this image in Facebook, my pastor noted that these leaves reminded her of the palms that we would normally be waving in a procession to begin the celebration of Palm Sunday. In a few hours we will be celebrating in a different way, via Zoom teleconferencing software, but we have been asked to gather some branches or colorful pieces of cloth to wave in front of our cameras as we say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” This pandemic has changed some of the outward aspects of our worship, but we continue on.

Whether you are Christian or not, my prayer is that this Sunday finds you feeling thankfulness in the midst of this crisis for what you still have and not merely lamenting that which you have lost. I also pray that you are filled with the joyful hope that we will eventually make it through this difficult time. If there is one thing we have certainly learned, it is that we are truly all in this together.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Orchard spider in April

Posted in Arachnids, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spiders, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cindy Dyer, Leucauge venusta, orchard spider, Runnymeade, Tamron 180mm on April 4, 2020| 8 Comments »

This week I did a pair of postings in a single day that I called “beauty and the beast” that was so well received that I thought I would do it again. Earlier this morning I did the “beauty” part with a shot of some crabapple blossoms in my front yard. For the “beast” part, I decided to feature this shot of a little orchard spider (Leucauge venusta) in the garden of my neighbor, fellow photographer and blogger Cindy Dyer. The spider was hanging in the midst of a group of irises that have not yet bloomed and I was happy to be able to be able to frame the shot so you have a sense of the spider’s environment.

As always, I offer my apologies to those who are creeped out by spiders, and recommend that you check out the crabapple posting if you have not seen it yet. As for me, I find spiders to be always fascinating and often beautiful.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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