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Immature woodpecker?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Sphyrapicus varius, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on March 31, 2015| 7 Comments »

Bird identification should be easier. Once again I have photographed a bird and I am not sure of its identity. I am confident that it is a woodpecker, but beyond that, doubts begin to creep in and none of the pictures in my identification guide really match the bird in my photos.

The woodpecker is a lot bigger than the Downy Woodpeckers that I frequently see, but smaller than the Pileated Woodpeckers that I see less often. The black-and-white pattern on its back seems different from any that I have seen before. In some of the photos, I detect a little bit of red just above the bill, especially in the last image.

So what is it? Well, if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it might be an immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius).

I’d welcome assistance from more experienced birders in identifying my mystery woodpecker.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Finally a spring flower

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon 50D, crocus, Runnymeade, spring flowers on March 30, 2015| 7 Comments »

After a long winter wait, I am finally seeing a few spring flowers blooming in the gardens in my neighborhood. So far all I see are crocuses, but it looks like the daffodils will not be far behind. The weather is still erratic—I awoke to sub-freezing temperatures yesterday morning—but it is beginning to look like spring is here at last.

I took these crocus shots in the middle of the day on a windy, sunny afternoon. In the first image, I was trying to capture some of the beauty of the sunlight coming through the petals. In the second shot, I had the lens almost wide open and the really shallow depth of field helps to give a dreamy painterly quality to the image that I really like. The two images are very different, but I think they work especially well as a set.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Madeira Cranesbill geranium

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Photography, spring, tagged Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon 50D, geranium, Geranium maderense, Madeira Cranesbill geranium, US Botanic Garden, Washington D.C. on March 28, 2015| 10 Comments »

The weather has not been very cooperative and outdoors there are not yet many flowers blooming. Yesterday I went to the US Botanic Garden in Washington D.C. to get my “fix” of flowers in a more temperate setting. Among the many beautiful flowers that I observed was this Madeira Cranesbill geranium (Geranium maderense).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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The long and winding road

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, spring, tagged ant, Branta canadensis, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon 50D, passion flower, tendril, US Botanic Garden, Washington D.C. on March 28, 2015| 13 Comments »

I’m so desperate for the weather to warm up more and for insects to emerge that I got really excited when one of my fellow photographers spotted a small ant on one of the tendrils of a passion flower vine yesterday at the US Botanic Garden in Washington DC.

The ant seemed determined to follow the long and winding road.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bees in Ohio

Posted in Bees, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged bee, beehive, Blacklick Ohio, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon 50D, Ohio on March 25, 2015| 17 Comments »

While I was in Blacklick, Ohio (just outside of Columbus) this past weekend, I had a chance to observe and photograph the beehive of the folks with whom I was staying. They offered to let me wear a beekeeper suit, but I declined and instead got up close and personal with some of the bees. In these images, a bee was licking up some syrup that had dripped down the side of the hive structure.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Orchid in Ohio

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon 50D, Columbus Ohio, Franklin Park Conservatory, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Ohio, orchid on March 24, 2015| 7 Comments »

One of the many highlights of my trip this past weekend to Ohio was a visit to the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus, where I was able to observe butterflies and orchids in a wonderful indoor setting.

I am still going through a backlog of photos, but this gorgeous pink orchid is one of my initial favorites. It was great to have macro lens back in my hands after a winter in which it mostly stayed on the shelf.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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No dragonflies yet this season

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Arigomphus villosipes, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens, Unicorn Clubtail on March 20, 2015| 5 Comments »

On a beautiful sunny day this past Monday I searched diligently for the first dragonflies of the spring at my local marshland park. I knew that it was probably too early for dragonflies, but somehow I hoped that the 65 degree temperatures (18 degrees C) would magically cause them to appear.

I traipsed through the mud and along the banks of several streams; I examined vernal pools where the frogs were already active; and I walked though fields where the dried-up vegetation was neck high. I looked and looked for half a day, but came up empty-handed.

Later in the week I was going over some photos from last June and came across this image of a Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes). There was something about the image that really appealed to me.

So here is a memory of the past, with hopes for an equally successful dragonfly hunting season as we move into spring.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Reminder

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, hunting, Huntley Meadows Park, reminder, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 19, 2015| 8 Comments »

As I was wandering through remote areas of my local marshland park earlier this week searching for dragonflies, I was reminded of the need to be cautious when I came upon this hunter’s tree stand. At various times there is controlled archery hunting of deer at the park. I have not yet seen anyone with a bow, but this is the third location at which I encountered a tree stand. I was tempted to climb up into the stand and check out the view, but decided it was a bit too much trouble.

I have a bright orange stocking hat that I wear sometimes in the winter—it may not be a bad idea to get an orange baseball cap too.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Early osprey

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 18, 2015| 7 Comments »

I was surprised this past Monday to see that Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) have already returned to our area. I don’t often see ospreys at my local marshland park and was somewhat shocked to look up into the sky and see one soaring high above me. Actually I thought it was a hawk at first and then concluded that it must be a bald eagle, because of the white head. It was only when I looked more closely at the photos that I realized that it was an osprey.

In the past I have taken some closer shots of ospreys and on those occasions I was struck by the amazing yellow eyes and the incredible talons. This time, however, I was struck by the surprisingly wide wingspread of the osprey. The sunlight was coming from the right direction to illuminate and highlight the bird’s wing feathers.

There are a number of locations in our area where ospreys generally nest and I guess that it is not too early to check them out. Somehow I thought the ospreys wouldn’t be back here for another month or so, but I confess that this is not one of the birds that I have kept track of very closely in the past.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Frog music

Posted in Amphibians, Music, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, frog, Huntley Meadows Park, Lithobates sphenocephalus, Southern Leopard frog, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 17, 2015| 3 Comments »

Yesterday the marsh was alive with the sound of music—frog music. As the temperatures soared to 65 degrees F (18 degrees C), the high-pitched sound of the frogs grew to almost deafening levels at some of the shallow vernal pools.

It was obvious that there were hundreds, if not thousands of frogs present in the area, but they seemed to be invisible. I managed to spot only a single one, this little Southern Leopard Frog that was partially submerged in the water at the edge of one of the pools.

In a few days the vernal equinox will arrive here in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the start of spring (according to the astrological calendar). The frogs obviously decided to get jump ahead a bit or are using the meteorological calendar, which calculates the start of spring as the beginning of the month of March.

Yesterday the frogs were loudly proclaiming that spring is here, and I am thrilled at the prospect of warmer weather and new life springing up everywhere.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Chasing the guys

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 15, 2015| 1 Comment »

Love is in the air and this female Hooded Merganser duck (Lophodytes cucullatus) chose to chase after her male suitors rather than wait for them to come to her.

She’s looks to be a feminist duck of the 21st century, determined to upend the traditional gender roles of the past. Who says you have to wait for the guy to make the first move?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spotted Turtle in March

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Spotted Turtle, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 14, 2015| 10 Comments »

Now that the ice on the ponds has melted, the turtles have resurfaced, including this relatively uncommon Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) that I photographed yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park.

According to the Virginia Herpetological Society, “Extinction or extirpation is possible. Populations of these species are in decline or have declined to low levels or are in a restricted range. Management action is needed to stabilize or increase populations.”

I was very happy to spot this turtle and tried hard not to disturb it too much in getting a few shots.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved..

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Red-necked Grebe

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Grebe, Huntley Meadows Park, Podiceps grisegena, Red-necked Grebe, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 14, 2015| 4 Comments »

I don’t consider myself to be a birdwatcher, but I have to admit that there is something pretty exciting about seeing (and photographing) a new species. Early yesterday morning, I spotted a small bird swimming in a pond at my local marsh that looked unfamiliar.

I had no idea what it was, but took some photos so I could check when I returned home. If I hadn’t been a birdwatcher, I would have examined it more closely with binoculars or ideally a spotting scope and consulted a guidebook that I would have been carrying with me (and carried on a conversation with my fellow birdwatchers).

It looks to me like this might be a Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena), a species that I have never before encountered. With a name like “redneck,” I thought it might be a rural Southern bird, but it actually is found mostly in the north during summer months.

I am looking forward to seeing more new birds this spring and can’t wait to see what other birds decide to visit my local marshland park.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Goose bath

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 50D, goose, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 13, 2015| 6 Comments »

The Canada Geese at my local marsh seemed thrilled that the ice on the ponds had finally melted and they splashed about happily in what looked to be a group bathing session. Their exuberance and excited splashing reminded me of a children’s pool party. Previously I had seen geese dip their heads underwater to get wet, but these geese took it another step and appeared to be doing complete flips underwater. There was so much activity that it was virtually impossible to isolate and capture the action in a still shot.

Eventually they needed to dry off and I got this shot as one Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) rose up out of the water and vigorously flapped its wings. There is something about the goose’s pose that I really like, with the curved wings almost mirroring the curved neck.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First spider of the spring

Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, spider, spring on March 11, 2015| 15 Comments »

The calendar says that it is not quite spring, but after the cold weather we have had recently, it sure feels like spring when the temperature reaches 60 degrees F (15.5 degrees C) on consecutive days. As I walked about in my marshland park this past Monday I noticed some small flying insects, giving me hope that dragonflies and damselflies will be on the scene soon.

As I was climbing down the stairs of the observation deck, I noticed something hanging in the air. When I bent toward it, it seemed to move farther away from me and eventually came to rest on the surface of the boardwalk. I was a little shocked to see that it was a tiny spider.

There was no way that I was going to be able to get a shot of the spider with the 150-600mm zoom lens that was on my camera, but fortunately I had my 100mm macro lens in my bag. With one eye on the spider, I rapidly changed lens. As I tried to figure out a way to get a shot, the spider started moving, which, of course, increases the challenge of getting a macro shot.

I managed to get a few shots of this early-appearing spider, which I have not yet been able to identify, before it crawled into a crack in the boards and disappeared from view. I’m pretty confident that I will get some better images of spiders as the weather continues to warm up, but this one is special, because it is the first one of the season for me, so I am more than happy with my record shots of it.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Neighborhood beauty

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Runnymeade, squirrel, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 9, 2015| 14 Comments »

On a beautiful spring-like morning, even the squirrels in my suburban townhouse neighborhood today looked amazingly photogenic.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First sign of spring

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon 50D, flower, Runnymeade, signs of spring on March 8, 2015| 15 Comments »

I can’t identify this tiny flowering plant, but it is blooming now in the garden of one of my neighbors. Despite the large mounds of snow throughout my townhouse neighborhood, I can’t help but hope and believe that spring is not far away.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spangled Skimmer dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula cyanea, Spangled Skimmer, Spangled Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm macro lens on June 17, 2014| 13 Comments »

This dragonfly has such distinctive markings that I should have been able to identify it easily, but I had never seen one like it before, so I didn’t know what it was.

Fortunately, a short time later that day I ran into local dragonfly expert and fellow blogger Walter Sanford, who informed me that it was a Spangled Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula cyanea). Spangled Skimmers have black and white stigmas on their wings, which makes them unique among dragonflies in my part of Northern Virginia. As you may be able to guess from my images, Spangled Skimmers are among the species of dragonflies that like to perch, which makes it easier to photograph them—if you can find them.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Now, Dasher…

Posted in Art, Christmas, Dragonflies, Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Pachydiplax longipennis, Tamron 180mm macro lens on June 8, 2014| 6 Comments »

What do you think about when you hear the word “dasher?” From my early childhood days, the word meant only one thing—it was the name of one of Santa’s reindeer.

Many of us grew up hearing these familiar words from the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” (“A Visit From St. Nicholas“) by Clement Clarke Moore:

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

So, every time I see a Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis), like this beautiful male that I photographed this weekend, I can’t help but have a little thought of Christmas, even on the hottest days of summer.

But Santa, some may complain, didn’t have a blue Dasher. That’s true, of course, but Elvis had no problem singing of a Blue Christmas, the perfect setting for a Blue Dasher. (Click here to watch a You Tube video of Elvis singing this signature tune.)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dragonfly up close

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Common Baskettail, Common Baskettail dragonfly, dragonfly, Epitheca cynosura, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens on June 6, 2014| 8 Comments »

Have you ever looked really closely at a dragonfly? I expected to be able to see its beautiful colors, but I was a little surprise to see how many little hairs were present on the face and body of this Common Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosura) that I encountered in mid-May at my local marsh.

I was standing in one of my favorite spots, at the edge of a beaver pond, when this dragonfly flew in and perched a few feet away from me. I don’t know if it was resting or napping or simply didn’t mind my presence, but it allowed me to get amazingly close to it. I was able to take quite a few shots of it and even was able to set up my tripod (although there was so much underbrush that it was tough to get a really stable base).

As you can see from the first shot, depth of field was an issue for me when I moved in this close and I didn’t manage to keep all of the legs in focus. I took the second shot from a bit further back and more of the dragonfly is in focus.

Want a new view on life? Try looking at the world through a macro lens and you’ll see some amazing things.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Skink

Posted in Humor, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Reptiles, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Common Five-Lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatus, Huntley Meadows Park, lizard, Plestiodon fasciatus, skink, Tamron 180mm macro lens on June 5, 2014| 10 Comments »

Is it just me, or does the word “skink” sound funny to you? Certain words simply sound odd to me and for some reason “skink” is one of them—I can’t help but smile whenever I say the word out loud.

Recently I took this shot of a Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus, formerly Eumeces fasciatus) at my local marshland park. It was sunning itself on a rotten log and didn’t detect my presence immediately and run away, which is what usually happens when I spot a skink. It seems to have its head cocked a little and has a smile on its face, as though daydreaming, as I do when sunbathing.

I wonder if you could use “skink” as a verb to describe the crawling-type behavior typical of a skink, as in, “I saw my friend skinking about.” If “skink” were a verb, would it follow the model of “drink,” with verbal forms that included “skank” and “skunk?” That might induce a bit of confusion, I suppose, since “skank” suggests a different kind of behavior, as does “skunk.” English can be a strange language.

I’ll just continue smiling.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Adulthood

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged adulthood, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, dragonfly, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, green spring gardens, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens on June 4, 2014| 6 Comments »

Yesterday I wrote of a male Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) transitioning to adulthood, but I realized this morning that not all viewers know what an adult male pondhawk looks like.

This first shot shows an adult male Eastern Pondhawk perched above a big mass of algae, duckweed, and other “stuff” at a small pond at a local garden. Originally I was frustrated when the dragonfly flew into this mess and did not perch above the cleaner water of the pond. I wasn’t sure if I could get a clear shot with all of the clutter, but was pleasantly surprised with the result. I actually like the bubbles in the foreground and the texture and visual interest that it adds to the shot.

I took the second shot in a totally different environment, at the edge of a field. It shows the bright green coloration of the Eastern Pondhawk female (and young males). My local dragonfly expert, Walter Sanford, keeps reminding me that one of the keys to differentiating the genders is the terminal appendages and I think this one is a female.

When you take the blue from the top photo and the green from the bottom one, you get the color combination of yesterday’s posting. As for me, I find the colors to be exceptionally beautifully individually as well as in combination.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Moving toward adulthood

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, dragonfly, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, Huntley Meadows Park on June 3, 2014| 8 Comments »

I have always been intrigued by the fact that many male dragonflies start out looking like females and over time acquire their male coloration. It’s a bit of an oversimplification, but male Eastern Pondhawk dragonflies (Erythemis simplicicollis) are blue and females are green. Males of this species initially are green and gradually turn blue. Last weekend I managed to get some shots of a dragonfly who is in midst of this transitional period.

I really like his current two-toned look, but before long he’ll be almost completely blue, (though he will retain the green face.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ladybug loving

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, ladybird, ladybug, love, mating, Tamron 180mm macro lens, voyeur on June 2, 2014| 10 Comments »

It’s difficult not to feel a bit like a voyeur when you spot a pair of ladybugs mating. They consummate the act in public view and their bold coloration makes them almost impossible to miss. Still, there is just something loveable about ladybugs and I doubt that many readers will find these images objectionable.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Too close?

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Epiaeschna heros, Huntley Meadows Park, ovipositing, Swamp Darner, Swamp Darner dragonfly, Tamron 180mm macro lens on June 1, 2014| 14 Comments »

As I was observing dragonflies on Friday at Huntley Meadows Park, a female Swamp Darner dragonfly (Epiaeschna heros) decided that the spot right next to me was the perfect place for her to deposit some eggs. She seemed to fly right at me and then veered just slightly to the left and began to arch her back in the way that dragonflies do when ovipositing.

I was really close to this female dragonfly, so close that my 180mm macro lens might actually have been too much lens for the situation. This was an unusual situation for me—I am usually trying to get closer and closer to a subject. As dragonflies go, Swamp Darners are really large, as much as 4 inches (10 cm) in length.

I didn’t dare move back for fear of scaring her away, so I slowly moved my upper body to try to frame the action. These shots show a couple of the different body positions of the dragonfly as she deposits her eggs.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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To crop or not to crop?

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, crop, damselfly, Eastern Forktail, Eastern Forktail damselfly, green spring gardens, Ischnura verticalis, lily pad, Tamron 180mm macro lens, water lily on May 31, 2014| 14 Comments »

To crop, or not to crop—that is the question. At a certain point in time when we are processing our images, we are all come face to face with this question. To some photographers, composing perfectly in the camera is the ultimate virtue, and they take pride in the fact that they do not crop (and object when their images are cropped).

Moose Peterson is one prominent photographer who does not crop and he explained his views in a fascinating blog posting in 2012 entitled, “The Crop Revisited.” I am still pondering one of his conclusions, “When you don’t give yourself the option to “fix it in post,” photographers push themselves. This always make a better click and the story telling, the subject, that passion of that click becomes clearer and clearer.”

Most of us could not live with such a high standard and for various reasons we choose to crop. I am so used to cropping my images that even when I compose an image just the way that I want it, I am tempted to move in closer with my crop. That was my dilemma with this image of a damselfly on the edge of a lily pad, as it was framed when it came out of the camera.

I really like the long sinuous curve on the left and the large expanse of green on the right. I worry, however, that the damselfly is taking up too little space of the image and is not prominent enough. So I cropped a bit and produced a second version.

That’s not a very extreme crop, but somehow the image feels different to me. Does it make any difference to you? Do you prefer one of the two over the other?

UPDATE: Fellow blogger and local dragonfly expert, Walter Sanford, has identified this for me as an Eastern Forktail damselfly (Ischnura verticalis). Thanks, Walter.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bee fly

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, bee fly, Bombylius major, Canon 50D, Greater Bee Fly, Runnymeade, Tamron 180mm macro lens on May 30, 2014| 6 Comments »

Is it a bee? Is it a fly? It’s a Greater Bee Fly (Bombylius major). What?

This bee fly has to be one of the strangest insects that I have ever seen—it looks like Doctor Frankenstein pieced together an insect from the parts of other insects. Its fuzzy body looks like that of a bee and it has a similar proboscis, though the bee fly’s proboscis seems to be outrageously long. Its long, spindly legs, however, are not bee-like and remind me of certain types of flies. The patterned wings and the way that it hovers are reminiscent of a hummingbird moth, though the bee fly is considerably smaller.

The bee fly is considered to be a bee mimic. Like a bee, it helps pollinate plants when gathering nectar.

I encountered this strange insect when I was examining the little flowers of some allium plants in the garden of my neighbor and fellow photographer and blogger Cindy Dyer. She always has interesting flowers to photograph and I have found an amazing assortment of insects in the garden too.

Greater Bee Fly on allium plant

Greater Bee Fly on allium plant

Head-on look at a bee fly

Head-on look at a bee fly

Bee Fly on allium with trellis in background

Bee Fly on allium with trellis in background

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue Dasher in May

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 50D, green spring gardens, Pachydiplax longipennis, Tamron 180mm macro lens on May 29, 2014| 7 Comments »

This past weekend I finally saw one of my favorite dragonflies, the male Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis), at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia. The Blue Dasher is bright and colorful and likes to perch on protruding vegetation, thereby providing lots of photographic opportunities.

Now that I have seen my first Blue Dashers, I know for sure that summer is almost here.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spider captures dragonfly—the story

Posted in Arachnids, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Bold Jumping spider, Canon 50D, dragonfly, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, Huntley Meadows Park, jumping spider, Phidippus audax, spider, Tamron 180mm macro lens on May 27, 2014| 30 Comments »

As a follow-up to last week’s preview, here is the complete story of my recent encounter with a Bold Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax) and a female Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis). The photos are a bit graphic, particularly for those of us who like dragonflies, but they illustrate the reality of nature that even super predators like dragonflies can easily become prey.

As I was walking at my local marshland park, I spotted a bright green dragonfly perched on the boardwalk and suspected immediately that it was a female Eastern Pondhawk. I moved in slowly to get a shot and was a bit surprised when the dragonfly did not take off when I got close. This is the initial view I had of the dragonfly.

I looked closely at the dragonfly and noticed that it was lying on its side and appeared to be dead. Wondering what might have caused its demise, I picked up the dragonfly’s body to do some amateur forensic analysis. (I obviously watched to many televisions shows about crime scene investigations.) As I lifted the body toward my eyes, I was shocked to find that a fuzzy black spider was still attached to it. Apparently the spider had been hiding in the gap between the boards as it feasted on the dragonfly.

Somewhat in shock, I dropped the dragonfly back onto the boardwalk and the fall caused the spider to be separated from its prey. Undeterred, it quickly set off to recapture the dragonfly.

The spider grabbed the dragonfly in a headlock and began to drag it back toward the gap between the synthetic boards of the boardwalk. It seemed totally oblivious to my presence.

When it reached the gap, the spider paused for a few seconds, as though considering possibility of dragging the body through the gap.

The spider decided to give it a try and did its best to pull the body in, starting with the head.

Despite the spider’s best efforts, however, the dragonfly’s body was simply too big.

As I left the scene, the spider had again settled down out of sight below the surface of the boardwalk, happily enjoying its meal and presumably hoping that it would not be disturbed again.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Green Heron in the marsh

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Butorides virescens, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Great Blue Heron, green heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park on May 26, 2014| 8 Comments »

Green Herons (Butorides virescens) are once again hanging out at my local marshland park. Unlike Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias), which fish while wading in the water, these smaller herons usually wait at water’s edge or on vegetation, which normally makes them tough to spot. This Green Heron, though, decided to perch on a log in plain view, which allowed to take this rather formal looking portrait shot.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Daytime night heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Black-crowned Night Heron, Cameron Run, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, Potomac River on May 25, 2014| 7 Comments »

Yesterday I decided to take a break from insects and went walking along the biking trail at Cameron Run, a tributary of the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia, where I encountered this Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax). As its name suggests, this species is usually most active at night or at dusk, so I was surprised to see one in the middle of the day.

As I was headed down to the water’s edge, I flushed the bird, which took off for some nearby rocks and perched on one of them. I got a couple of shots of the initial action, which gives you an idea of my initial view of the night heron.

In this the first and last shots, I think the heron was scratching an itch, which is a little tough when you are perched one-legged on a pointed rock. Eventually the itch was satisfied and the night heron flew off into the cooler confines of a leafy tree, probably to take a siesta until it was time to fish for dinner.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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