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Dragonflies in flight

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Banded Pennant, Banded Pennant dragonfly, Canon 7D, Celithemis fasciata, Cyrano Darner, Cyrano Darner dragonfly, dragonflies in flight, Epitheca cynosura, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Nasiaeschna pentacantha, Prince Baskettail, Prince Baskettail dragonfly, Tamron 18-400mm on July 21, 2023| 15 Comments »

Yesterday I visited Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge and spent a lot of my time there trying to get shots of dragonflies in flight. The dragonflies were not very cooperative and kept their distance most of the time, but eventually I managed to get a few decent shots. What was especially cool was that I captured images of dragonflies from three different families—Skimmer, Darner, and Emerald.

The first photo shows a Banded Pennant (Celithemis fasciata), a Skimmer, as he was flying toward me. Banded Pennants are pretty small at about 1.3 inches (33 mm) in length, so I was pretty thrilled to capture this shot as he was flying toward me. This was actually the first time that I had seen a Banded Skimmer this season.

The second photo shows a Cyrano Darner (Nasiaeschna pentacantha). Despite the fact that I took the shot from a long distance away, you can still see the prominent “nose” that is supposedly reminiscent of the long nose of literary character Cyrano de Bergerac.

The last two photos show Prince Baskettails (Epitheca cynosura) that are members of the Emerald family. Prince Baskettails, which are about 2.9 inches (74 mm) are quite easy to identify, because they are the only large dragonfly in our area with patterned wings. I had more opportunities with this species that with the others, because several Prince Baskettails were flying repetitive patrols only various parts of the pond and passed by me multiple times. Although it is a little easier to focus on a dragonfly in flight when the background is clear, I think it is even cooler when I manage to include reflections in the water in a photo, as was the case with the reflections of the branches in the final photo.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Frogs on Lily Pads

Posted in Amphibians, frog, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, frog on a lily pad, green frog, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, Lithobates clamitans, Northern Green Frog, Tamron 18-400mm, Washington D.C. on July 17, 2023| 13 Comments »

I was delighted to spot several frogs sitting on lily pads during my recent trip to Washington D.C. to visit Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. In the first photo, the cute little frog was perched on some large lily pads from a water lily species from South America. These lily pads have raised edges that always remind me of a tart pan. Reportedly this type of lily pad can grow to as much as 10 feet (3 meters) in diameter and can support a considerable amount of weight if it is evenly distributed.

The second and third photos show the same frog perched on a flatter-style lily pad. I think that this frog is a Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans), although I must confess that I have trouble telling green frogs from bullfrogs. I really like the eye-to-eye pose in the final photo in which the frog’s face reminds me a lot of Kermit the Frog from the Muppets.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Another Monarch butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Danaus plexippus, Monarch, monarch butterfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on July 15, 2023| 2 Comments »

Recently I featured some shots of a Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) feeding on some milkweed. I feared that it might be the only Monarch that I would see this year, because there have been some years in the recent past when I have not spotted a single Monarch butterfly.

I was absolutely delighted this past Wednesday when I spotted another Monarch. I was walking along one of the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge when my eyes were attracted by a flash of bright orange. I assumed incorrectly that it was “only” a Viceroy, but when I zoomed in, I could see that it was a Monarch.

I was using my long 150-600mm lens with a monopod, so I had to scramble a bit to get a good shooting angle. I was thrilled with the shot that I captured of the Monarch in action with its proboscis extended. I am not sure what kind of flower this is, but I really like the way that it was drooping a little as the butterfly perched lightly on it, helping to create a nice triangular composition.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Osprey babies

Posted in Baby photography, Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, osprey babies, osprey nest, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on July 14, 2023| 4 Comments »

For the first time in a month or so, on Wednesday I put my 150-600mm zoom lens on my camera in place of my trusty 180mm macro lens and visited Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Rather than focusing on insects, as I have been doing since early spring, I decided to try to get some shots of birds. Several local photographers have recently posted photos of the juvenile bald eagles at the wildlife refuge that are now much larger that when I saw them last and I was hoping that I might have a chance of seeing them myself.

As it turned out, I did not see the juvenile eagles that day, but I did catch a glimpse of at least two Osprey babies (Pandion haliaetus) that were in the nest with one of their parents. I don’t know how old the little ospreys are, but they seemed curious and energetic. One of them stretched out his wings a bit while I was watching, but the babies don’t appear to ready to fly on their own quite yet.

The rather loosely constructed nest has branches sticking out in all directions that often blocked my view of the trio of ospreys and this is one of the few photos that I took in which I had a clear view of all three of their faces. I did not have very much luck getting photos of other birds that day, many of which I could hear but could not see amidst the abundant foliage.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Not a biplane

Posted in abstract, aircraft, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged biplane, Canon 7D, Libellula needhami, Lorton VA, Needham's Skimmer, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Occoquan Regional Park, Snoopy, Sopwith Camel, Tamron 180mm on July 13, 2023| 9 Comments »

I love the abstract feel of this image that I captured last week at Occoquan Regional Park. The shapes and colors in the photo are much more important than the details of the subject, which I think is a Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami). From this angle, dragonflies often remind me of the biplanes of World War One, like the Sopwith Camel that was sometimes featured in Snoopy comic strips.

Photography allows for such a wide range of approaches to express myself creatively. I can be geeky and technical, as I usually am, striving to capture the minute details of my often tiny subjects or I can be as “artsy” as I choose, focusing on capturing and creating moods or feelings with the basic elements of light and darkness, of colors, lines, and shapes.

Professional photographer’s are sometimes advised to create a signature style and to stick with it. I am proudly an amateur, who captures images for love—the root word in “amateur”—and I defiantly refuse to stick to a single style. My photos and words help you to see the world through my eyes and hopefully my unbounded curiosity and enthusiasm about the world are evident in my postings. If you meet me in person, you’ll see that the “me” in my postings is not a social media persona—it is genuinely who I am.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Widow Skimmer dragonfly (male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Libellula luctuosa, Lorton VA, male Widow Skimmer, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm, Widow Skimmer, Widow Skimmer dragonfly on July 12, 2023| 4 Comments »

I love the distinctive wing markings on male Widow Skimmer dragonflies, one of only a few dragonfly species that I have encountered with both light and dark patches on their wings. I spotted this handsome male Widow Skimmer last week during a brief visit to Occoquan Regional Park in Lorton, Virginia.

One of the cool things about this dragonfly is that it looks almost like a butterfly when it is flying. With most dragonflies, the transparent wings seem to almost disappear when they are flying, but with the male Widow Skimmer, the wings are much more visible when the dragonfly is in motion.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First Monarch Butterfly of 2023

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Danaus plexippus, first Monarch of 2023, Lorton VA, milkweed, Monarch, monarch butterfly, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm on July 10, 2023| 7 Comments »

I was excited to spot my first Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) of the season last Friday at Occoquan Regional Park in Lorton, Virginia. The milkweed was barely in bloom, but the Monarch nonetheless seemed to be really enjoying it.

I love the beauty of the Monarch, of course, but I am also very conscious of the fact that this species is considered to be endangered, threatened by the loss of habitat and by climate change. Some years I have not seen any Monarchs at all, so each sighting is special to me, reassuring me that Monarchs are continuing to survive.

As you can see, I attempted to get shots of the Monarch, the only one that I saw that day, from varying distances. When I first spotted the Monarch, I took several long distance shots like the third one below that show some of the habitat. Then I slowly moved forward, attempting to use the milkweed in my compositions.

It was a bit of a challenge to get good shots, because the butterfly was in almost constant motion, moving all around the little clumps of milkweed and changing its wing and body positions. I had to work quickly too, fully aware that the butterfly could fly off at any moment.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Common Wood Nymph butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 7D, Cercyonis pegala, Common Wood Nymph, Common Wood Nymph butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm on July 9, 2023| 1 Comment »

I was delighted to spot this Common Wood Nymph butterfly (Cercyonis pegala) this past Wednesday at the edge of the hike-bike trail on the back side of Huntley Meadows Park, a county-run marshland park in Alexandria, Virginia. I love the distinctive yellow patch on its wing and its really cool eyes with vertical stripes. Common Wood Nymphs usually like to hang around near the edges of the woods rather than in the fields that many butterflies seem to prefer.

Generally I like to get the plane of the sensor of my camera sensor as close to parallel as possible with my subject, so that the entire subject is in focus. In this case, though, a large mass of thorny vines kept me from being able to get my desired shooting angle and consequently the focus on the left-hand side of the subject is a little soft. That being said, I am nonetheless pretty happy with this shot of a cool-looking butterfly that I don’t see very often.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Common Sanddragon dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 7D, Common Sanddragon, Common Sanddragon dragonfly, metamorphosis of a dragonfly, Progomphus obscurus, Tamron 180mm, Wickford Park on July 8, 2023| 3 Comments »

I was thrilled on Wednesday to photograph my first Common Sanddragon dragonfly (Progomphus obscurus) of the year as he was enjoying a sandy beach near Wickford Park in Alexandria, Virginia. Unlike most dragonflies that prefer to perch on vegetation, Common Sanddragons are usually found perched flat on the sunny, sandy sections of shallow creeks.

According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, “Despite its name, this species is rare in Northern VA. In other parts of the country, where clean, sunny, shallow creeks with plenty of sandy/gravely banks are common, so too are Common Sanddragons. Our urban waterways are too influenced by stormwater, flowing fast and unchecked off impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots, roofs, etc.). This creates deeply incised, eroded banks and streambeds, with excess silt, unstable flows.”

This species is special to me because I was the first person to document its presence at Huntley Meadows Park, a county-run marshland park where I used to do a lot of my photography before it became overcrowded with photographers. Check out my June 2014 blog posting New dragonfly species in the park for the details of how I stumbled upon this “new” species.

Common Sanddragons are also special to me because in June 2016 I was lucky enough to observe and document the thirty minute metamorphosis of a water-dwelling nymph into a Common Sanddragon dragonfly. I had been collecting some discarded exoskeletons of already emerged dragonflies on a sandy bank of a stream when suddenly I felt one moving in my hand. I quickly placed it on the sand and was able to photograph the dragonfly as it was emerging. It was a remarkable encounter and I encourage you to check out my blog posting Metamorphosis of a dragonfly.

Nothing quite that exciting happened during my most recent encounter. I was able to capture some images of the dragonfly on various parts of the “beach” where I initially spotted him. He was pretty skittish and flew away multiple times, but kept returning to the same general are of the creek, sometimes choosing the sandy areas and sometimes opting for the more rocky spots. I particularly like the first photo that has a mixture of rocks and sand and has some green algae that matches the stunning eyes of this Common Sanddragon.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Prince Baskettail in flight

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, dragonflies in flight, Epitheca cynosura, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Prince Baskettail, Prince Baskettail dragonfly, Tamron 180mm on July 6, 2023| 2 Comments »

On Monday I was thrilled to spot this Prince Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosura) flying patrols over the small pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. Previously I had spotted Common Baskettails doing the same thing at this location—see my recent posting Common Baskettails in flight—but they seem to have been supplanted by the Prince Baskettails. How do you tell them apart? Although they are both part of the Emerald family, only Prince Baskettails have patterned wings, as you can see in these photos.

I really like the description of this species on the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website:

“This sleek, elegant dragonfly could in fact be called King Baskettail, as it is the largest member of the Emerald family. There are seven families of dragonflies in the US–Emeralds are known for their glowing green eyes (hence the family name), and their endless, acrobatic flight. Like other members of this family, Prince Baskettails rarely land and can spend many hours in ceaseless flight. Look for this powerful flier making long, repeated, low patrols over open water habitats such as lakes, ponds, canals, and sluggish river sections.”

As a result of the repeated patrols, I was able to track the dragonfly as it flew by me and capture these images. The dragonfly did not get really close to the bank on which I was standing, so my autofocus would not detect my subject and I had to resort to focusing manually. I am pretty happy with the results and I encourage you to click on the images to see the beautiful markings on the body of this Prince Baskettail dragonfly.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue Dasher dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 7D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, obelisk, obelisk pose, Pachydiplax longipennis, Tamron 180mm on July 5, 2023| 8 Comments »

Although Blue Dashers (Pachydiplax longipennis) are among the most common dragonflies in my area during the summer, they are very special to me. I remember visiting a photography show by my dear friend Cindy Dyer in 2012, I believe, and marveling at the photos that she had taken of Blue Dasher dragonflies. I decided that I wanted to be able to take photos like hers of these beautiful creatures.

I went out on numerous occasions and she taught me a lot about both the creative and technical sides of photography. She also served as a muse to me, encouraging me and gently pushing me along my path. She had a well-established blog and decided that I needed one too, so on 7 July 2012, she sat me down I created my blog. My first blog posting on the same day was entitled Blue Dasher dragonfly and it featured a male Blue Dasher dragonfly in the obelisk position, similar to the pose of the dragonfly in the final photo in today’s post. That’s one of the main reasons why Blue Dashers are so special to me.

I spotted these Blue Dashers, all of which are males, on Monday during a brief visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. Each of the three photos represents a different approach I used in attempting to capture the”feel” of my encounters with these dragonflies. The first image shows the details of colors and patterns of the body quite well. The second image gives you a sense of their environment. The final photo focuses on the obelisk pose that is believed to be a form of thermoregulation—by raising its abdomen the dragonfly reduces its exposure to the direct sunlight on hot days.

Some days I will post only a single photo, but most often I enjoy posting a small set of photos that complement each other and provide different perspectives on the living creatures that I love to photograph. Beauty is everywhere.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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New Top Blog Post

Posted in Birds, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, snake, wildlife, tagged blue-eyed garter snake, eagle rescue, fuzzy white caterpillar, most popular postings, most viewed posts, Red-footed Cannibalfly on July 4, 2023| 13 Comments »

How many views does one of my blog posts need to get for me to consider it “successful” or “popular?” On a good day, my blog receives about 100 views, of which 60 may be related to that day’s post. If a post receives over a 100 views over time, I’ll consider it to be one of my top posts.

However, WordPress has a mind of its own, and the most-viewed postings, in my view, are not necessarily the best-written ones or the ones with my best photos. Some of the posts continue to receive views years after they were written thanks to searches on Google and other search engines. Even then, some subjects seem to go in and out of popularity on the search engines as a result of ever-changing algorithms.

For many years, my most popular blog posting was one from 4 November 2014 entitled Rescue of an Injured Bald Eagle that documented the rescue of the eagle by an a county animal control officer at my local marshland park. I was lucky enough to be present during the rescue operation and my photos (including a link to my blog posting) were picked up by several on-line news organizations in the Washington D.C. area. As a result, that posting has had 3,475 views to date, including 3,290 views during the initial month of the posting.

This month, another blog posting has taken over the lead from the posting of the eagle rescue. My new top post is now a 9 May 2016 blog posting called Blue-eyed Garter Snake. Although this posting had only 70 views during its initial month, it now has had 3,512 views, including 438 views in 2023.

Another posting may soon overtake the eagle rescue posting. The 3 August 2013 posting entitled Fuzzy White Caterpillar currently has had a total of 3,442, only 72 of which came during its initial month. Neither the writing or the photos in that posting are all that great, but I suspect that the title is so generic that it comes up often in Google searches.

One final contender for the top post is a 31 August 2013 posting entitled Red-footed Cannibalfly. This posting has had 3,169 views, of which 61 came in its initial month. For five years in a row it had over 350 annual views and appeared on the first page of Google results. Something changed, however, and it has fallen in the Google rankings since 2018, though it still appears as the fifth entry in a Bing search of “Red-footed Cannibalfly.”

To be perfectly honest, I do not really care that much about views. I use this blog as a means to express myself creatively in my writing and in my photos. I am grateful for the modest success that I have enjoyed and even more thankful for the community of supportive people who have encouraged and supported me over the years.

I made my first posting on 7 July 2012, so I will soon be celebrating an anniversary. According to WordPress, my postings have had 403,801 views to date and I am thankful for each and every one of them and for all of you.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ovipositing Eastern Amberwing

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Eastern Amberwing, Eastern Amberwing dragonfly, female Eastern Amberwing, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, ovipositing, Perithemis tenera, Tamron 180mm on July 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »

During a recent visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge I was delighted to spot a female Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (Perithemis tenera) as she was depositing her eggs in the vegetation in a small pond. Initially she would hover for a moment, as you can see in the first image, and then dip the tip of her abdomen straight downwards to release some eggs, as shown in the second image. The dragonfly repeated this process multiple times at this spot before moving on to other spots.

I have observed this process multiple times, but have rarely been able to photograph it. Eastern Amberwings are the smallest dragonflies in my area and are only about an inch (25 mm) in length, so they are a challenge to photograph. Fortunately when the female is ovipositing, she hovers a bit, which gives me time to focus on her. Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed that the wings of this dragonfly have patterns, but are not amber in color—only male Eastern Amberwings have amber wings.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Common Baskettail in flight

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Common Baskettail, Common Baskettail dragonfly, dragonfly in flight, Epitheca cynosura, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Tamron 180mm on July 2, 2023| 6 Comments »

Whenever I see a dragonfly in flight when I am traipsing about with my camera, I can’t help but stop and try to get a photograph of the dragonfly in the air. My success rate in not high, but sometimes I am able to capture a good image as the dragonfly zooms by me.

In mid-June I spotted a Common Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosura) as it flew back and forth over the pond at Jackson Miles Wetland Refuge. During one of its passes I managed to freeze its motion in this shot. I like the way that you can see all four wings and also the distinctive markings on its body. The bluish-green eyes really “pop” and if you look really closely, you can see the that the dragonfly folds its legs under its thorax (the torso part of its body) while it is flying.

I returned yesterday from my five-day trip up to Massachusetts and Maine to deal with a family emergency. Hopefully I will be able to get out this week and capture some new images. It’s hard to believe that it is already July.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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A brief pause

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Carolina Saddlebags, Carolina Saddlebags dragonfly, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm, Tramea carolina on June 27, 2023| 7 Comments »

I just wanted to alert readers who may be used to me publishing a blog posting almost every day that I will be absent from this space for the rest of this week. A family emergency requires me to travel to Massachusetts and Maine and I will not have access to the internet for most of this time.

I decided though to leave you with a shot of a dragonfly facing away. While I was exploring Occoquan Regional Park earlier this month, I managed to get only a single angled view of this dragonfly before it flew away, but it was enough to confirm that it was my first Carolina Saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea carolina) of the season. Despite the odd angle, I was able to capture the patches on the hind wings that are thought to resemble “saddlebags” and its distinctive red color, so identification was not a problem.

I really like the colors and patterns of this shot, which has more of an “artsy” feel rather than a “scientific” one. Normally eye contact is desirable with a subject, but I look at that “rule” as more of a suggestion than a requirement.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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More mating damselflies

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Calopteryx maculata, Canon 7D, Ebony Jewelwing damselfly, Lorton VA, mating damselflies, mating ebony jewelwings, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm on June 23, 2023| 8 Comments »

Dragonflies and damselflies have rather limited lifespans after they emerge from the water and are transformed from aquatic nymphs into aerial acrobats. One of their biological imperatives is to perpetuate their species, so it is not unusual to see mating activity during this time of the year that is primetime for dragonflies and damselflies.

On a trip earlier this month to Occoquan Regional Park, I spotted this pair of Ebony Jewelwing damselflies (Calopteryx maculata) in their distinctive sidewards-heart mating position. I am really happy with this image because I was able to use my shooting angle and camera settings to keep the bodies of both damselflies in focus and achieve a blurry background that allows a viewer to focus on the damselflies without any visual distractions.

In case you are curious, the damselfly to the left is the female and the one with the shiny green body is the male. You can tell the genders from the mating position and from the little white patch on the wings that is present on female Ebony Jewelwings and not on the completely dark wings of the males

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Rainbow dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Pride Month, Summer, wildlife, tagged Anax junius, Canon 7D, Common Green Darner, Common Green Darner dragonfly, immature male common Green Darner, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Pride Month 2023, rainbow dragonfly, Tamron 180mm on June 20, 2023| 7 Comments »

This handsome Common Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius) does not have all of the colors of the rainbow, but it does have many of them and I love its mix of vibrant colors. The dragonfly was perched vertically really low in the vegetation when I spotted it during a recent to Occoquan Regional Park. I ended up sprawled almost flat on the ground to get this shot—my position would have made for an amusing photo, but fortunately no one else was around to capture that moment.

Mature male Common Green Darners have bright blue abdomens. The reddish pink color of this dragonfly’s abdomen suggest to me that it is an immature male. Early and late in the season, the abdomens of male Common Green Darners may appear purple. Common Green Darners have dark-colored platelets in their blood that rise to the surface when it is cold, darkening their abdomen color and attracting more sun. On bright, hot days, those dark platelets sink, and the abdomen turns bright blue again, now reflecting light.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Damselfly hook-up

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Calopteryx maculata, Canon 7D, Ebony Jewelwing, Ebony Jewelwing damselfly, Lorton VA, mating ebony jewelwings, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm on June 19, 2023| 10 Comments »

Last week I managed to capture a series of images of a hook-up between two Ebony Jewelwing damselflies (Calopteryx maculata). Initially I was focused on a female that was perched on a leaf, but then noticed a male who was circling around her. According to Wikipedia, “Calopteryx males will hover in front of a female with alternating fast and slow wingbeats; if she is receptive she will remain perched, otherwise she will fly off.” This female remained in place, so the male moved in, as you can see in the first three photos.

During mating, the male uses claspers at the tip of his abdomen to grasp the female behind her head tightly enough to resist the attempts by other males to dislodge him, a position sometimes called “tandem.” The male then flexes his abdomen to encourage the female to loop her abdomen round to interlock with him, forming the “wheel’ position,” the sidewards-heart position shown in the final photo.

I suppose that I could leave the description here, but the process that was taking place was so weird and fascinating that I thought I should explain what is going on. In order to keep from getting too graphic, I will borrow some language from Wikipedia.

“Mating in damselflies, as in dragonflies, is a complex, precisely choreographed process involving both indirect insemination and delayed fertilization….When he (the male) is ready to mate, he transfers a packet of sperm from his primary genital opening on segment 9, near the end of his abdomen, to his secondary genitalia on segments 2–3, near the base of his abdomen. The male then grasps the female by the head with the claspers at the end of his abdomen; the structure of the claspers varies between species, and may help to prevent interspecific mating… The female then curls her abdomen downwards and forwards under her body to pick up the sperm from the male’s secondary genitalia, while the male uses his “tail” claspers to grip the female behind the head: this distinctive posture is called the “heart” or “wheel.”

Wow! I think I will leave it at that. Suffice it to say that the process is complicated and the participants have to be incredibly flexible.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Gray Petaltail up close

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Fairfax County Virginia, gray eyes, Gray Petaltail, Gray Petaltail dragonfly, perched dragonfly, Tachopteryx thoreyi, Tamron 180mm on June 18, 2023| 3 Comments »

This Gray Petaltail dragonfly (Tachopteryx thoreyi) was quite cooperative and let me take a close-up portrait last week as I was exploring a small pond in Fairfax County, Virginia. Gray Petaltails are known to be quite friendly and inquisitive and I have had one perch on me on multiple occasions. During one such encounter in 2019, fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford snapped a couple of photos of one perched on me when I was wearing a gray sweatshirt that must have made me look like a tree to the dragonfly. If you want to see the photos, check out Walter’s blog post entitled “You look like a tree to me.”

Most of the time I am not able to approach a dragonfly from this angle to get a close-up shot. Dragonflies have incredible vision and I am certain that this one could see me coming. However, he apparently did not see me as a threat and stayed in place while I took several shots. As you can see, the depth of field was incredibly shallow for this shot—only a small portion of the dragonfly’s body was in focus—but I was able to keep the striking gray eyes in focus and capture a lot of details that highlight their beauty.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Slaty Skimmers in June

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Libellula incesta, male Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm macro on June 17, 2023| 1 Comment »

There were lots of Slaty Skimmers (Libellula incesta) flying about on Tuesday at the small pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, but none of them were cooperative in perching within range. They seemed to content to buzz around over the lily pads and land occasionally in vegetation overhanging the water—I was willing to lean a little to get closer to the dragonflies, but did not want to risk falling into the water.

Slaty Skimmers are one of our most common summer dragonfly species and they find themselves at home in almost any habitat. The mature males are really easy to identify because of their dark bodies and eyes. Immature males and females are a lot harder to distinguish from a number of other species in the skimmer family, like the Great Blue Skimmer and the Bar-winged Skimmer.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dragonfly ovipositing

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Anax junius, Canon 7D, Common Green Darner, Common Green Darner dragonfly, common green darner ovipositing, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, ovipositing, Tamron 180mm on June 16, 2023| 6 Comments »

I spotted a female Common Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius) as she was ovipositing while her male partner held onto her last Saturday at the edge of the small pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. Common Green Darners are large dragonflies—about 3 inches (76 mm) in length—so it was relatively easy to track the pair as they moved about placing eggs in various patches of vegetation in the water.

After mating takes place, the males of some species of dragonflies disappear. In other species, the male stays nearby, guarding the female and fending off other males that might remove the initial suitor’s sperm and replace it with their own. Some species, like this Common Green Darner, remain attached to the female in a position known as “tandem.” while egg-laying takes place. The female Common Green Darner submerges her abdomen and lays her eggs in or on the aquatic vegetation, as you can see in these images. If you look really closely at the first image, you can see what I believe is the dragonfly’s curved ovipositor that she uses to make a little slit into the vegetation in which to place the eggs.

According to an article on Animal Diversity Web, there are two different lifecycles for Common Green Darners, one for the dragonflies that have migrated northward and one for the resident population. “Migratory adults mate and oviposit in June. Unlike resident populations, nymphal development for migrant offspring takes only 3 to 5 months, and they do not overwinter. They emerge as tenerals typically around late-August and September. They often begin their migration as tenerals, feeding along the way and developing into adults.” The timing of the activity that I observed suggests that these could be migrant Common Green Darners.

“For residents in the north, the adults mate and oviposit in late July to August. The resulting offspring hatch and develop to mid-instars and then overwinter when temperatures drop. Total nymphal development time can take 11 to 12 months for residents, as the nymphs finish development when temperatures warm in the spring and then emerge as adults in the following June and July.”

I highly recommend the article that I referenced, which has lots more fascinating information about this colorful dragonfly species.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Blue-fronted Dancer damselflies

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Summer, wildlife, tagged Argia apicalis, Blue-fronted Dancer, Blue-fronted Dancer damselfly, Canon 7D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Tamron 180mm on June 15, 2023| 2 Comments »

Many damselflies have distinctive shoulder stripes, but the thoraxes of Blue-fronted Dancers (Argia apicalis) are almost completely blue and have only hairline black stripes. Last Saturday I was delighted to spot some Blue-fronted Dancers at the small pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, my first sighting of this species this season. Although the blue thorax made them easy to identify, what really struck me were their brilliant blue eyes, a feature that I had never noticed before. Wow!

I was able to photograph these damselflies on various locations as I repeatedly circled the pond. Periodically I would glance out at the water, where several families of Canada Geese were swimming around with their almost grown goslings. In the final photo, you can see one of the feathers from the geese, a quirky and almost whimsical addition to my photo of the Blue-fronted Dancer—I really like that image.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Eastern Pondhawks (male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, Lorton VA, male Eastern Pondhawk, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm on June 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I love the look of male Eastern Pondhawk dragonflies (Erythemis simplicicollis) when they are transitioning to adults. When they are juvenile, male Easter Pondhawks have emerald green thoraxes and black striped abdomen, like their female counterparts. Gradually the body coloration shifts to blue as they mature. I really like their appearance when, as was the case with these pondhawks that I photographed last week at Occoquan Regional Park, their bodies have beautiful shades of both green and blue.

In the second and third photos, you get a glimpse of the pondhawk’s beautiful eyes that are also a combination of blue and green. Although you can’t see it very well in these photos, Eastern Pondhawks of both genders have bright green faces, which helps to distinguish the male Eastern Pondhawks from a number of other dragonfly species that have blue bodies.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sable Clubtail dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Fairfax County Virginia, Lorton VA, Sable Clubtail, Sable Clubtail dragonfly, Stenogomphurus rogersi, Tamron 180mm on June 13, 2023| 4 Comments »

I was thrilled to spot at least one male Sable Clubtail dragonfly (Stenogomphurus rogersi) last Saturday while I was exploring a small stream in Fairfax County, Virginia. I visited that section of the stream several times during the day and had multiple sightings of a Sable Clubtail, but I am not sure if there was more than one of this species or if I was seeing the same individual each time.

As you can see from these two photos, Sable Clubtails like to perch low in vegetation just above the level of the water of the stream. As a result I had to crouch really low to be able to capture these images. The lighting was brighter for the first photo and you can see many of the details of the markings on the dragonfly, but I really like the cool shadow in the second image, which has a more “artsy” feel.

Sable Clubtails are rarein our area. Fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford did extensive research and rediscovered this species in 2018 and I have been fortunate to see a Sable Clubtail at this stream in most years since then. If you are interested in the backstory of Walter’s efforts, check out his June 2018 blog posting entitled Off-season homework pays dividends.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Widow Skimmer in June

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Libellula luctuosa, Lorton VA, male Widow Skimmer, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm, Widow Skimmer, Widow Skimmer dragonfly on June 12, 2023| 8 Comments »

Many summer dragonfly species are now emerging on the scene, like this immature male Widow Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula luctuosa) that I spotted last Tuesday at Occoquan Regional Park in Lorton, Virginia.

Anecdotally, someone thought that these dragonflies appeared to be draped in mourning crepe and that is the source of the “widow” in the name of the species. The Loudon Wildlife Conservancy website states that “This dragonfly got the “widow” name because, unlike most other dragonfly species where the male stays near the female after she lays the eggs, the male in this pair leaves her after the eggs have been laid.” Either explanation is plausible, though I have seen more references to the first explanation than the second one.

I was quite fortunate that the dragonfly chose a high perch that allowed me to separate it from the rest of the background. Quite a few of the dragonflies that I have photographed recently have perched on the ground or in dense vegetation and the backgrounds in those photos have been quite cluttered.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Inquisitive Ratsnake

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, snake, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Eastern Ratsnake, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Pantherophis alleghaniensis, Tamron 180mm on June 11, 2023| 4 Comments »

I was a bit surprised at the way that this Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) had poked its head up high to peer above the vegetation on 6 June at Occoquan Regional Park. It felt like one of the snake charmers that I used to see in movies when I was growing up, although as I recall those snakes tended to be cobras. For the record, I was not playing a flute nor was I trying to hypnotize the snake.

The snake seemed to be alert and inquisitive as it scanned its surroundings. Perhaps it was looking for potential prey. As you may be able to tell, I tried to get down as low as I could to take this photo. I tried to be as stealthy as I could and he snake did not move—it was either unaware of my presence or did not view me as a threat. When I departed, it was still in the same spot with its head and “neck” elevated.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Friendly dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, friendly dragonfly, Gray Petaltail, Gray Petaltail dragonfly, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Tachopteryx thoreyi, Tamron 180mm on June 10, 2023| 3 Comments »

Usually I see Gray Petaltail dragonflies (Tachopteryx thoreyi) perched vertically on tree trunks, but this one perched horizontally on a fallen branch and stared at me after landing momentarily on my shoulder on Tuesday at Occoquan Regional Park in Lorton, Virginia.

I really like to get eye-to-eye contact with dragonflies—somehow it makes the encounter more personal and intimate. One of the consequences of shooting from this angle, though, is that much of the body of the dragonfly will be out of focus. I am ok with that and in fact it tends to pull the viewer’s eyes towards those bits that are in focus, particularly the dragonfly’s wonderful compound eyes.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Common Green Darner close-ups

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Anax junius, Canon 7D, Common Green Darner, Common Green Darner dragonfly, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 180mm on June 9, 2023| 11 Comments »

I am used to seeing Common Green Darner (Anax junius) dragonflies flying overhead, but on Tuesday I had the relatively rare chance to see one up close at Occoquan Regional Park. The Common Green Darner is a large, colorful dragonfly that is known for its long distance migratory flights. According to Wikipedia, “By attaching micro-radio transmitters to Common Green Darners, researchers have found them to be capable of migrating up to 140 kilometers in a day, though they typically cover less distance per day. ” Wow!

I spotted this dragonfly when I saw it fly to a perch in the vegetation just inches above the ground. I slowly made my way towards the vertically-perched Common Green Darner and surprisingly it did not move. I am not certain, but I had the impression that the dragonfly had newly emerged and was resting as its body parts dried out.

My 180mm macro lens gives you the impression that I was right on top of the dragonfly, but I was actually quite a bit farther away than it seems. After I took a few shots and moved away, the Common Green Darner remained in place. In fact, when I passed by the same area about twenty minutes later, it was still perched there.

I was thrilled by the amount of detail that I was able to capture. You can easily see the distinctive “bullseye” marking, for example, on the “face” of the dragonfly. The second image is a closer crop of the first image and it helps you to see some of the ommatidia, the thousands of faceted optical units that make up the dragonfly’s amazing compound eyes. You may want to click on the image to make it larger on your screen.

According to an on-line article called Dragonfly’s Eyes, “Dragonflies have very large eyes and have very good vision. Vision dominates their behaviour, including predation and looking for mates. The compound eye is made up of ommatidia which is a visual unit consisting of a lens system and a group of light sensitive cells. A large dragonfly may have up to 30,000 ommatidia in each compound eye. Each ommatidium collects one visual information, together form a mosaic image in the dragonfly’s brain. It is believed that the insects’ compound eyes are not as high resolution as vertebrate eyes. However, the dragonfly’s visual system is extremely sensitive to movement and it points in almost all direction and gives the 360 degree visual field.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Aurora Damsels

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Aurora Damsel, Aurora Damsel damselfly, Canon 7D, Chromagrion conditum, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm on June 7, 2023| 3 Comments »

Last week I was delighted to spot several Aurora Damsel (Chromagrion conditum) damselflies as I was exploring a pond in Prince William County. I had seem some Aurora Damsels earlier in the spring, when they were newly emerged, but had not yet seen any mature adults.

According to the damselfly guide that I use for reference, Damselflies of the Northeast by Ed Lam, the genus Chromagrion “consists of a single species, the Aurora Damsel, a blue and black damselfly with bright yellow on the side of the thorax. It lacks eyespots and shoulder stripes and often perches with its wings slightly spread, unlike most members of its family” of Pond Damsels (Coenagrionidae).

As I have learned from photographing insects and birds, I rarely can capture all of the distinguishing features of a species in a single photograph. In the first photo, you can see the slightly-spread wings, the distinctive markings on the abdomen and thorax, and the lack of eye spots. You cannot, however, see the bright yellow markings on the thorax. I like to think of these kinds of shots as “scientific,” because the entire body of the damselfly is in almost perfect focus.

I personally tend to be a little more fond of shots like the second image. The damselfly seems to be posing for me with its head slightly cocked and the background and the perch are creative parts of the image. The eyes of the damselfly are in focus, but most of the rest of its body is at least a little blurry. I like to think of this type of shots as “artistic.”

Most of my photography is a mixture of the “scientific” and the “artistic” approaches. Sometimes the approach is dictated by the circumstance, e.g. when I have to react instantaneously, and sometimes the approach is a consequence of the creative choices that I have made in my camera settings or in composition or angle of view. The cool thing about photography is that it easily accommodates a wide range of approaches and I can be as geeky or artsy as I want to be at ay given moment.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Lancet Clubtail dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Lancet Clubtail, Lancet Clubtail dragonfly, Phanogomphus exilis, Tamron 180mm on June 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I was delighted to spot several handsome Lancet Clubtail dragonflies (Phanogomphus exilis) during a recent visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, my first sightings of this species this season. As you can see from these two photos, Lancet Clubtails like to perch flat on the ground and I spotted both of these near the edge of the pond.

I love the bright blue eyes of Lancet Clubtails and the yellow flange near the tip of the abdomen, a feature that helps to distinguish Lancet Clubtails from the visually-similar Ashy Clubtails. Some members of the Clubtail family have large and obvious “clubtails,” but the one on the male Lancet Clubtails is relatively small—you have to look at the proper angle to see it well. I like the way that the shadow in the first photo makes it easy to see the enlarged area near the end of abdomen that constitutes the “clubtail.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Can you spot the dragonfly?

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged camouflage, Canon 7D, Gray Petaltail, Gray Petaltail dragonfly, hiding in plain sight, Prince William County VA, Tachopteryx thoreyi, Tamron 180mm on June 4, 2023| 8 Comments »

Can you spot the dragonfly in the first photo? Let me give you a clue—the large dragonfly is in the center of the image. Can you see it now?

Some dragonflies are easy to see, because of their bright colors or the way that they perch in the open on prominent stalks of vegetation. Others are a bit harder to see, because they perch on the ground or in dense vegetation (or they fly continuously and rarely seem to land).

The Gray Petaltail dragonfly (Tachopteryx thoreyi) is a bit of an anomaly—it perches in the open, but is still very hard to spot. Why? Its gray and black coloration is an almost perfect match for the rough bark of the trees on which it usually perches vertically. In the past I have watched a Gray Petaltail fly to a tree and perch and had trouble seeing it, even though I knew exactly where it was.

Last Wednesday I spotted my first Gray Petaltail of the season as I was exploring a small pond in Prince William County, Virginia. I had seen this dragonfly species at this location several times to the past, so I was carefully scanning the trunks of trees on which they sunlight was shining directly—Gray Petaltails seem to prefer direct sunlight, especially earlier in the day.

I often have to rely on movement to see dragonflies that are so well camouflage, but amazingly I spotted the dragonfly in the first photo while it was still perched. I cropped the image and made a few tweaks to make it a little more visible for you, but it was so tough to spot that I had to creep closer and look from a different angle to make sure that my eyes were not playing tricks on me.

For the second and third shots, I moved around the tree in an effort to better isolate the dragonfly from the tree. I think that approach worked especially well in the final photo in which the dragonfly had raised its wings a bit. Suddenly the Gray Petaltail was much more visible. I chose my angle carefully to try to get a bit of the sky in the photo—I was shooting at an upward angle—and I really like the way that the background came out in the final image.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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