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Archive for the ‘Summer’ Category

Powdered Dancer damselflies

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 9, 2024| 3 Comments »

I was happy to spot these male Powdered Dancer damselflies (Argia moesta) on Monday at a creek in Prince William County, Virginia. Most of the damselflies that I see regularly are found at small ponds and marshy areas, but this species prefers rocky streams and rivers. Sometimes Powdered Dancers will perch in the streamside vegetation, but often they will perch flat on rocks in the water, as you can see in several of these shots.

The thoraxes of Male Powdered Dancers are mostly white due to pruinosity, i.e. they are covered by minute waxy dust particles that makes them look frosted or powdered. This phenomenon is present in some dragonflies too, most notably the male Common Whitetail dragonflies.

Powdered Dancer

Powdered Dancer

Powdered Dancer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Swift Setwings in August

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

During several recent visits to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, I did not see any Swift Setwing dragonflies (Dythemis velox), so I feared that they might be gone for the season. I was therefore delighted last Thursday to spot several of them at the small pond at this refuge.

Swift Setwings like to perch at the very tip of vegetation that hangs over the water, which makes getting a profile shot of one a challenge without getting wet. These little dragonflies often perch in a distinctive pose with their wings pulled forward, which reminded some scientist of the “ready-set-go” position of a sprinter and is reportedly the reason for the name of the species.

On this day, a breeze was blowing periodically and it seemed like the Swift Setwings had to repeatedly readjust their wing positions to maintain their balance, which you can see particularly well in the second photo below.

Swift Setwing

Swift Setwing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dragonfly handstand

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 5, 2024| 6 Comments »

As I watched television coverage of the Olympic Games in Paris, I could not help but notice the numerous handstands in almost all of the gymnastic events for the men. There were handstands on the floor, on the rings, on the parallel bars, the high bar, and even on the pommel horse.

When I spotted this male Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) doing a handstand last Thursday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, I immediately thought of those Olympic gymnasts.

This position is sometimes referred to as the “obelisk” pose for dragonflies. Many scientists believe that it is used as a form of thermoregulation to keep the body cooler by reducing the amount of surface exposure to direct sunlight. Several other dragonfly species use this pose, but I observe it most often with the male Blue Dasher dragonflies.

Blue Dasher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue-fronted Dancer damselfly

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 3, 2024| 6 Comments »

I was delighted to spot this handsome male Blue-fronted Dancer damselfly (Argia apicalis) on Thursday during a quick visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. This species is not rare, but I do not see it very often at my favorite locations for dragonflies and damselflies. It is pretty easy to identify a Blue-fronted Dancer because, as its name suggests, its thorax is almost completely blue, with only a few hairline shoulder stripes.

According to Wikipedia, the damselflies in the genus Argia, are commonly known as “dancers” because of the distinctive jerky form of flight they use, which contrasts with the straightforward direct flight of bluets, forktails, and other pond damselflies.

Blue-fronted Dancers are quite small, about 1.5 inches (38 mm) in length, so it was quite a challenge to get this one in focus as he perched on some vegetation close to the ground. I am pretty sure that I switched to manual focus for this shot, because the autofocus of my camera has trouble staying on such a narrow subject and kept trying to focus on the ground.

Blue-fronted Dancer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sidewards glance

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 2, 2024| 5 Comments »

Some dragonflies are openly curious and will look at me straight in the eye and even perch on me sometimes. Others will immediately fly away when they sense my presence.

This male Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) that I spotted during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge seemed to be a bit shy. He tolerated my presence well as I moved about to frame the shot, but gave me a sidewards glance instead of looking right at me. Was it shyness or maybe a little impatience that I was not taking the photo more quickly?

Whatever the case, I was happy to be able to capture his beautiful speckled blue eyes so well.

Great Blue Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Slaty Skimmer (male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 1, 2024| 1 Comment »

I am always looking for cool perches when I spot dragonflies. Sometimes I will try to communicate telepathically with the dragonflies to prompt them to move to photogenic perches, but, alas, I am rarely successful—I guess that my telepathic powers are weak.

I was delighted on Monday at Occoquan Regional Park when this dark male Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta) voluntarily perched on the flowering stalk of a beautiful dark red plant. I have no idea what kind of plant it is, but I really like the color combination of this dragonfly and the the vegetation. The twisting pattern of the flowers on the stalk were a nice bonus and add a bit of additional visual interest to the image.

Slaty Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Grounded butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 31, 2024| 5 Comments »

Most of the time I see butterflies in the air or perched on vegetation, but some species, like this Red-spotted Purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) are low-fliers and spend a lot of time perching on the ground. I spotted this beauty on Monday during a short visit to Occoquan Regional Park in nearby Lorton, Virginia.

It was hot and humid and it seemed like most of the insects and birds were taking afternoon naps, so I cut my trip short and joined them in their siestas.

Red-spotted Purple

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Insect Olympics

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Olympics, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 30, 2024| 1 Comment »

Inspired perhaps by the Summer Olympics in Paris, this female Halloween Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina) was practicing her acrobatic moves last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Yesterday I watched coverage of some of the men’s gymnastics competition and I was in awe of the ease with which the athletes were able to do handstands in the air on rings, on parallel bars, and on the ground. I have always been in awe of the combination of strength and balance of both human and insect gymnasts.

I’d give this dragonfly a perfect 10.0 as a score.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Active osprey nest

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 29, 2024| 3 Comments »

There was a lot of activity at one of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nests last Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. When I first noticed the nest, there were a several Osprey sitting in the nest—initially I thought there were only two in the nest, but when I looked more carefully, I could see that there were at least three osprey there.

As I watched, another osprey flew into the nest as you can see in the first photo below. The nest does not appear to very large, so the the birds had to rearrange themselves a bit to accommodate the new arrival. In the second photo, one of the osprey seemed to be expressing its displeasure with the need to move a bit.

I think this may be a family unit, though I can’t be absolutely sure of that. When I look closely at the eyes of the osprey, some of them appear to be orangish in color, unlike the paler eyes of adults.

I especially love the body language in the second photo. It’s fun to imagine the conversation that is taking place. Perhaps, for example, the osprey with the flapping wings is complaining that the newly arrived osprey did not have a fish in its talons to share with the rest of the family. What do you think?

Osprey

Osprey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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In the clouds

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Halloween Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis eponina) perch so high in the vegetation that it sometimes seems like they are perching amidst the clouds, like this one that I spotted a week ago at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. One of the advantages of this species’ perching preference is that it is often easy to get an uncluttered background. In addition, I frequently can get a shot like this one in which the light shines through the cells of the wings, illuminating them like a stained glass window.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spooky morning

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 26, 2024| 5 Comments »

This Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) took a long look at me last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge before deciding that I was not dead, though I was moving quite slowly because of the heat and the humidity. Most of the vultures that I see in my area are Turkey Vultures, which have red, featherless heads, but, as you can in the photo, we also have Black Vultures.

I readily acknowledge that vultures play an important role in our ecosystems by eating dead animal carcasses and preventing the spread of diseases that could affect local food webs and human health. However, I admit that I, like most people, find these amazing birds a little creepy. Perhaps it is the result of watching countless Westerns on television as a child, movies in which circling vultures were always seen as a foreboding sign of death.

I like the way that this stark, naked tree enhances the spookiness of the vulture. One of my Facebook friends suggested that this would make a good Halloween image. For now, the image serves to remind us that life is ephemeral, tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Black Vulture

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Needham’s Skimmer (male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Immature male Needham’s Skimmer (Libellula needhami) dragonflies are yellow and black in color, like the females of the species, but gradually turn into a wonderful shade of reddish-orange as the season progresses. I was delighted to spot this mature male Needham’s Skimmer last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and captured this image as he perched on a stalk of what appears to be Eastern Gamagrass.

Needham's Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Tight squeeze

Posted in Bees, Birds, Flowers, Insects, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 24, 2024| 2 Comments »

The entrance to a partially-open flower on a trumpet vine was so narrow that a bumblebee really struggled to gain access to the sweet goodness inside last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Eventually the bee was able to wiggle its way inside and add to the pollen baskets on its hind legs.

I could not help but recall how much easier it is for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) to access the nectar in trumpet vine flowers using their long, slender bills. I have not yet been able to photograph any hummingbirds this season, but thought that I would reprise a photo from an August 2015 blog posting entitled “Hummingbird and trumpet vine.” Click on the link to see some additional photos of hummingbirds feeding on trumpet vines and learn more about my encounter that day.

bumblebee

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Quixotic quest

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2024| 2 Comments »

I do not tilt at windmills, but often find myself engaged in my personal quixotic quest of trying to photograph dragonflies in flight. It is such a challenging task that I titled a video that I posted on YouTube, “Impossible Shots? Dragonflies in flight.” Despite the almost overwhelming odds of getting a good shot of one of these aerial acrobats in flight, I feel irresistibly drawn to trying over and over again whenever I see a dragonfly in the air.

I spotted this Black Saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata) patrolling over the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last Thursday and was thrilled to capture this shot of the dragonfly as it flew past me.Black Saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata). I love the way that you can see how the dragonfly had enhanced its aerodynamic profile by folding up its legs under its thorax, a bit like the way aircraft retract their landing gear after taking off.

In case you are curious, Black Saddlebags are only about 2 inches (52 mm) in length, so I have to be paying attention in order to even spot one. After years of pursuing my quest, though, my eyes are now calibrated to recognize the shape of a dragonfly pretty quickly and my hand-to-eye coordination has improved with practice, so that I am able to track these a lot better than when I started.

Black Saddlebags

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Impressive Wingspan

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 22, 2024| 2 Comments »

I love to look closely at dragonfly wings. I have a mental picture of the cells of a dragonfly wing as being made up of regularly-shaped squares, like those on a page of graph paper. When I examine them in real life, though, I am always delighted to see all of the different shapes and sizes of these tiny cells in intricate patterns that rival those of massive stained-glass windows.

I photographed this male Widow Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula luctuosa) last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I love to see dragonflies with patterned wings and the males of this species have the added bonus of having both brown and white patterns on each wing.

This dragonfly was relatively cooperative and did not fly away as I moved slowly into a position that gave me a good view of the wings. I had to bend and crouch a little to get this shot that emphasizes the impressive wingspan of this handsome little dragonfly.

Widow Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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What is the main subject?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on July 20, 2024| 5 Comments »

The main subject of one of my photos is usually pretty clear—I try to fill as much of the frame as possible with the insect or bird on which I am focusing at that moment with a telephoto or macro lens. Of course, it is often impossible to “fill the frame,” because my wildlife subjects frequently are skittish and are likely to depart if I move too suddenly or get too close to them.

As I was reviewing my photos from a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last week, I came across this shot of a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus). The wren was pretty far away and had its back to me. The only thing that saved this from being another “butt shot” was the slight turn of the wren’s head that provided me with a chance to get a profile shot.

The shot of the wren is ok, but it was the amazing background that took my breath away. I dabble with watercolor painting and I would be absolutely thrilled to be able to paint a background like this, with all of those different shades of green and the deliciously soft “bokeh ball.” Wow!

I decided that the main subject of the photo that I wanted to show you all was actually the background, not the Carolina Wren. Consequently I did not crop very tightly and left it to the viewers to focus their attention on the linear structure of the branches and on the wonderful background. I am not sure that a thumbnail view of the image will grab folks’ attention, but I am ok with that—the photos in my blog are intended to provide an interesting view of some aspect of the beauty of nature and not serve as click-bait to maximize the number of views.

Carolina Wren

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Osprey in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 19, 2024| 2 Comments »

Earlier in the season, when the trees were bare, it was very easy to spot Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) when they returned to our area from their wintering grounds. Now, though, the trees are covered in leaves and Ospreys are increasingly hard to see as they perch among the leaves, especially if they remain silent.

I was delighted to spot this vigilant osprey last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. He was alert and focused—he seemed to be paying attention to something, though I am not sure of the subject of his surveillance.

The winds were kicking up periodically, causing a cowlick of feathers to stand up in the back of the osprey’s head. When I was a child, I had a similar problem and had to use a bit of Brylcreem to keep the unruly hair in place. (My Mom used to be able to accomplish the same thing with my hair using only a bit of her saliva and her fingers.)

Osprey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Toothy grin

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2024| 2 Comments »

On occasion I have noticed a dragonfly that seemed to be smiling a little at me. Last week, though, I encountered a female Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge that seemed to have an exceptionally toothy grin—she seemed delighted to pose for me. I love the way that the background blurred out, allowing viewers to focus on the details of this smiling dragonfly and hopefully producing smiles on their faces in response.

Widow Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mating Calico Pennant Dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 17, 2024| 1 Comment »

When dragonflies mate, they usually assume a “wheel” position, in which the male grasps the female by the back of her head and she bends her abdomen towards his thorax. The position appears to be both awkward and acrobatic, but amazingly the dragonflies are able to fly while in this position.

I was searching for dragonflies last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge when a pair of mating Calico Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis elisa) flew by me and landed in some nearby vegetation. Calico Pennants are some of the most spectacular dragonflies in our area, with bright colors and distinctive patches on their wings.

Feeling a bit like a voyeur, I moved a little closer to them and slowly crouched a bit to get a better angle for my shot. In the image below, you can see how the female grasps the abdomen of the male during this process.

I was happy to be able to get most of the two dragonflies in focus, which is always a challenge in situations like this.

Calico Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Trying to stay cool

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 16, 2024| 2 Comments »

The entire East Coast of the United States is in the midst of a heat wave. Yesterday here in the Washington D.C. area we had a record high temperature for 15 July of 102 degrees (39 degrees C) with the heat index even higher. Yikes.

Following recommendations of doctors and weather forecasters, I stayed indoors for most of the day and worked on a few images that I captured last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, including this shot of a Halloween Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina).

Many dragonflies perch with their wings held stationary, but Halloween Pennants seem to move their wings about quite a bit to maintain their balance as they perch precariously on the very tips of tall stalks of vegetation. It is very easy to isolate the dragonfly from the background, because they are perched above all of the ground clutter, but it is a bit of a challenge to focus on the dragonfly as it is buffeted to and fro by even the slightest of breezes.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Red-winged Blackbirds in July

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 15, 2024| 5 Comments »

I was delighted to see some Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In the first photo, a male  Red-winged Blackbird seemed to be showing off for me as he balanced himself on a single leg, glanced in my direction, and seemed to smile. Eventually he climbed to the tip of the small branch and appeared to be complaining about something that he observed.

A short distance away I captured the final image of a female Red-winged Blackbird. As you can she, she is not black nor does she have any red on her wings, so it feels a little strange to call her a Red-winged Blackbird. Although I was not able to get very close to her, I really like the overall composition of the image and the moment of action that I was able to capture as she called out.

Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Dog Days of Summer

Posted in cross stitch, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , on July 14, 2024| 6 Comments »

What do you do to cope with the heat at this time of the year? I stay indoors a bit more in my air conditioned house and decided this week to work on a cool little cross stitch pattern. Yesterday I finished the pattern, which is available as a free download from Silver Creek Samplers. (https://www.silvercreeksamplers.com/dog-days)
Although my ears are not quite as long as those of the dog in this image, I confess that I have been spending a lot of time in front of a fan as we cope with a heat wave that has enveloped much of the United States this past week.
As I noted in a blog posting earlier this month, I returned this year to cross stitching, which I did a lot during the 1980s and 1990s, after a break of about 20 years. I am working on a bigger project, but sometimes it is fun to knock out little projects like this one that make me smile.
dog days of summer
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 13, 2024| 1 Comment »

We have a number of different dark swallowtail butterfly species in our area and sometimes I have trouble telling them apart. Recently I have seen Black Swallowtails fairly frequently and occasionally I will see a Pipevine Swallowtail. I know that there is also a dark morph version of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and a Red-spotted Purple butterfly sometimes looks almost like a swallowtail.

Are you confused yet? When I spotted this cool-looking butterfly on Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I was not sure what it was. Rather than endlessly speculating while in the field, I follow what I call the “Law of the Wild West”—shoot first and ask questions later—and wait to identify my subjects until after I have loaded my images onto my computer.

I have grown accustomed to using a blog posting by the Louisiana Naturalist to help identify dark swallowtails—it provides side-by-side photos of four different species. On the basis of that posting and some other research, I have concluded that “my” butterfly is probably a Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) butterfly, a species that I don’t recall seeing the past few years.

The background of the photo is not particularly interesting, but I was patient enough to wait for the butterfly to open its wings, so you get a good look at the wonderful markings of this Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly.

Spicebush Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagle tries to steal fish from Osprey

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2024| 5 Comments »

On Wednesday I watched as a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) chased an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) high in the sky above the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in a vain attempt to steal its freshly caught fish. I captured the second shot when the eagle flew past me after giving up on its chase.
It has been several months since I last photographed a Bald Eagle, so I was thrilled to capture these images. As most of you know, I concentrate most of my photographic attention on dragonflies and other insects during the warmer months. However, I am always alert to the possibility of photographing birds when I manage to spot them.
During the winter months I generally use a 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens that gives me a long reach, but in the summer I tend to rely on a 180mm macro lens or the 18-400mm zoom lens that I used for these shots. This lens gives me a good deal of versatility, allowing me to capture my close-in tiny subjects and some longer distance ones like these raptors in flight.
Eagle and Osprey
Bald Eagle
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Green Heron in July

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on July 11, 2024| 7 Comments »

I was a little shocked yesterday to see a Green Heron (Butorides virescens) while I was searching for dragonflies at a small pond at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In the past I have seen Green Herons at other locations at the refuge, but never before at this pond. Green Herons are smaller and squatter than the Great Blue Herons that I am more accustomed to seeing.

When I initially spooked the Green Heron, it flew to a mucky, shallow end of the pond, where I was able to capture the first two images. I am always amazed at the length of the neck of a Green Heron when it extends it fully—it looks so much taller and slimmer in the second shot. I also really like the floppy head feathers that sometime look like a Mohawk hairstyle.

The Green Heron eventually sensed my presence and flew to a nearby tree. The heron was partially hidden by the abundant foliage, but eventually I was able to capture the final image of it among the leaves.

It was hot and humid yesterday, so I limited my trekking to a couple of hours and drank plenty of water. Still, it was nice to get out in the wild with my camera after a week of spending most of my time indoors.

Green Heron

Green Heron

Green Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Complementary colors

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 10, 2024| 6 Comments »

When it comes to color theory, red and green are viewed as complementary colors, i.e. they are on the opposite sides of a color wheel. When used together, complementary colors provide a high contrast and high impact color combination—together, these colors will appear brighter and more prominent.

A week ago I was delighted to post a photo of a perched Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) dragonfly, a species that is almost always in flight when I am fortunate to spot one. A few days later, I managed to get some even better photos of a perched Carolina Saddlebags during a visit to Occoquan Bay Regional Park.

The lighting was good and the background was far enough away that it became blurry. The complementary colors of the dragonfly and the background really make these images “pop.” The interesting poses of the dragonfly draw in the viewer as well—a breeze was blowing and the dragonfly struggled a bit to maintain its hold on the tip of the vegetation on which it was perched.

It is really cool when the elements of a photograph come together like this and I am able to capture the scene in a way that is both technically and artistically pleasing. It was a good day.

Carolina Saddlebags

Carolina Saddlebags

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dragonfly environment

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 8, 2024| 5 Comments »

Sometimes my photos convey the mistaken impression that dragonflies are large and are easy to find and photograph. Using telephoto and macro lenses and a stealthy approach, I try to isolate the dragonflies, so that viewers can focus on the beautiful details of these amazing aerial acrobats.

The reality though, is that most dragonflies are quite small—this male Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (Perithemis tenera) is only about one inch (25 mm) in length—and they often fly about amidst vegetation that conceals their movements.

This image gives you a sense of the vastness of the environment and some of the challenges in spotting the dragonflies. Of course, the second challenge is getting close enough to the subject without scaring it away, though in this case I was content to capture a wide-angle shot that shows this dragonfly in its preferred environment.

Eastern Amberwing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Needham’s Skimmer (male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Simple photographic compositions are often the most effective ones, like this image of a male Needham’s Skimmer (Libellula needhami) dragonfly that I captured last week at Occoquan Regional Park in Lorton, Virginia. All that is present in the frame is the dragonfly, the stem of the vegetation on which he is perched, and a blurred background—there is nothing extraneous or distracting. The limited color palette and the angled pose help to make the subject “pop.”

Sometimes photography can seem so complicated, but at other times it seems natural and intuitive and I am able to capture the beauty of nature without having to think consciously about what I am doing.

Needham's Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Kingfisher in July

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 6, 2024| 5 Comments »

As I was searching the edge of a pond for dragonflies earlier this week I suddenly heard the unmistakable call of a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). As I lifted my head, the kingfisher flew across my field of view and perched on a wooden post sticking out of the water. Even though the kingfisher was quite far away, I could see that it had a relatively large fish in its bill.

Normally a kingfisher will beat its catch against a branch to subdue it before swallowing it head-first. I was hoping to be able to see if the kingfisher would be successful in swallowing this prey—it looked too big for it to swallow in one gulp, but I have been surprised in the past when herons and cormorant have swallowed large fish.

Alas, the kingfisher flew away before I could see if it would be successful in swallowing its prey.

Belted Kingfisher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Dragonfly and mites

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 5, 2024| 5 Comments »

I photographed this male Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) on Tuesday at Occoquan Regional Park. As I was working on the image, I noted that the dragonfly had an infestation of what look to be red water mites on at least two of its wings. You may need to click on the images to zoom in and you should be able to see some small red spherical objects that I am pretty sure are water mites.

According to Wikipedia, these water mites, likely from the genus Arrenurus, “establish an association for the purpose of transportation and nutrients, and attach to the host during the host’s transition from larva to adult.” Although these mites do not kill the dragonfly hosts, studies “show that parasitism by the mites affect the host’s longevity and fecundity by draining its tissue fluids, hampering copulation and interfering with sperm transfer.” Yikes!

 

Widow Skimmer

Widow Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Smiling dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 3, 2024| 3 Comments »

Can dragonflies smile? Although I realize that it is probably an anatomical impossibility, this female Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) sure did look like she was smiling at me when she posed for this little portrait last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Great Blue Skimmers are quite common in our area during the summer and are relatively easy to identify because of their white faces.

Great Blue Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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