April 27, 2024 by Mike Powell
I was absolutely thrilled to capture some shots of this White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It was a cloudy, overcast day and it seemed like the vireo was mostly in the shadows, which caused the first and last images to look a bit drab. Fortunately, though, I was able to catch the bird mid-song in the first shot, which definitely added some visual interest.
In many ways the second shot is my favorite of this set, even though the body of the vireo is partially blocked by the foliage. Somehow the colors in this image seem brighter and more true to life. In all of the shots, I really like the way that the light eyes of the subject pop, giving the vireo a very distinctive look.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, singing vireo, Tamron 150-600mm, vireo, Vireo griseus, White-eyed Vireo, Woodbridge | 3 Comments »
April 26, 2024 by Mike Powell
During the summer it seems like dragonflies are everywhere, perching prominently in plain sight in all kinds of environments, but this early in the season there are a whole lot fewer of them and the ones that are around are relatively hard to find. Last week, though, I was blessed to encounter quite a few Ashy Clubtail dragonflies (Phanogomphus lividus) while I was exploring a creek in Prince William County, Virginia.
The Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, one of my favorite on-line dragonfly resources, described well the environment in which to find this species. “To find Ashies, look for clean, stable, rocky forest streams and then search out the closest sunny clearing, stream-side meadow or sunlit path. Like Common Whitetails and Blue Corporals, Ashy Clubtails prefer to perch flat on bare-soil, fallen logs, rocks or leaf litter.”
Most of the Ashy Clubtails that I spotted were in fact perched in the middle of the trails that I was following, like the one in the final photo. Although the dragonflies are sometimes skittish, it is relatively easy to get a photo of one, albeit with a fairly uninteresting background. The Ashy Clubtail in the first photo has a somewhat more interesting pose, with a nice shadow to add some visual interest.
My favorite photo of this little group, however, has to be the middle one. I really like the confrontational pose of the female Ashy Clubtail as she perched on a leaf and looked right at me. In case you are curious, the dragonflies in the first and second photos are females and the one in the final photo is the male. If you look carefully at the tips of their abdomens (their “tails”), you can see that only the males have terminal appendages that look like a sidewards-facing parenthesis and are quite distinctive.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Ashy Clubtail, Ashy Clubtail dragonfly, Canon 7D, Phanogomphus lividus, Prince William County VA, Tamron 18-400mm | Leave a Comment »
April 25, 2024 by Mike Powell
On Monday at Occoquan Regional Park, I was thrilled to capture some shots of this male Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) as he flew by me overhead. Kingfishers are really skittish and quite often I am aware of their presence of these speedy little birds when I hear their rattling call as they fly away from me. This kingfisher, however, flew across my field of view, which allowed me to track it and focus on it as it passed.
How do I know this is a male kingfisher? Normally male birds are more colorful than their female counterparts, but that is not true for Belted Kingfishers—females have a chestnut-colored band across their chests that the males do not have.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Belted Kingfisher, birds in flight, Canon 7D, kingfisher, kingfisher in flight, Lorton VA, male Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 18-400mm | 9 Comments »
April 24, 2024 by Mike Powell
What is your first reaction when you see a snake? If you are like many people, you turn and run away as fast as you can. My reaction is generally the opposite one—I move closer to the snake, either physically or with a zoom lens, in order to get a more detailed look at it. Most of the snakes in our area are non-poisonous, but I still remain very cautious, because some of them will strike and/or bite.
On Monday I spotted a large black snake in the vegetation at Occoquan Regional Park. As I started to get a little closer, it began to vibrate its entire body and the dried leaves helped to create a rattling kind of sound. Yikes! I decided that I was close enough to get a few shots. Usually the black snakes that I encounter are ratsnakes, but this one turned out to be a Northern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor constrictor). The two species of snakes are somewhat similar in appearance, but the scales of the black racer are smoother and more shiny in appearance.
I decided to check out the website of the Virginia Herpetological Society for more information on the black racer and was surprised to learn that “Coluber constrictor does not constrict, as the scientific name implies, but pins its prey with body loops and swallows it alive.”
The website also noted that “Coluber constrictor has a catholic diet,” which caused me to do a double take. I grew up in a predominantly Roman Catholic neighborhood and tend to associate the word “catholic” with that church, so I immediately wondered how the snake determined the religious preferences of its victims. When a sense of reality returned to me, I remembered that “catholic” with a small initial letter simply means “universal,” so that statement probably just means that the black racer has a wide-ranging diet.
Ever curious, I wondered why this species is called a “racer.” Do they compete in competitions? The herpetological society provided the following information about the snake’s hunting habits:
“Northern Black Racers are active, diurnal predators that use vision to search for prey. Coluber constrictor actively forages with the forepart of the body raised off the ground and the head held horizontally searching for prey. They will seek escape by swiftly moving to thick grass cover or into a burrow entrance…Because they are active snakes that widely search for prey, they have large home ranges. Movements of up to 1.6 km have been recorded.”
My apologies to those readers who are creeped out by photos of snakes. I find then to be as fascinating as the more traditionally “beautiful” creatures that I often feature.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, snake, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Coluber constrictor, Coluber constrictor constrictor, Lorton VA, Northern Black Racer, Northern Black Racer snake, Occoquan Regional Park, racer, Tamron 18-400mm | 9 Comments »
April 23, 2024 by Mike Powell
I spotted these cool-looking ducks last week in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Some research and help for on-line experts helped me determine that these are Red-breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator), a duck species that I do not see very often. I really like the spiky hairdos and long bills of these ducks that give them a distinctive punk vibe. I kept hoping that they would swim closer to shore, but, alas, they drifted farther and farther away, so I could not capture any close-up images.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Mergus serrator, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-breasted Merganser, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA | 1 Comment »
April 22, 2024 by Mike Powell
Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) are woodland plants with large umbrella-shaped leaves. Instead of having flowers above the leaves, like most plants, mayapple plants have flowers that grow on the stems below the leaves, like this one that I photographed last week at Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge.
Mayapples typically grow in colonies that originate from a single root. Most of the mayapple plants that I see have only a single stem and are infertile. The fertile ones, which are fairly uncommon, have a pair of leaves on a branched stem and a single flower grows at the junction spot where the branching occurs.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, plants, spring | Tagged Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, Canon 7D, Fort Belvoir VA, Mayapple, mayapple flower, Podophyllum peltatum, Tamron 18-400mm | 1 Comment »
April 22, 2024 by Mike Powell
I love the spiral shape of fiddleheads, the furled fronds of fledging ferns, like these ones that I spotted last week at Prince William Forest Park. I have been told that fiddleheads are quite tasty when sautéed with garlic, olive oil, and lemon, but I have not yet tasted a fiddlehead.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, plants, spring | Tagged Canon 7D, ferns, fiddlehead, fiddlehead ferns, Prince William Forest Park, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA | 2 Comments »
April 21, 2024 by Mike Powell
As I was hiking last Thursday in Prince William Forest Park, I spotted a cool-looking mushroom on a moss-covered fallen tree. I crouched low to the ground so that I could capture an eye-level shot of the mushroom. While I was carefully composing a few shots in the camera’s viewfinder, my eyes detected some movement in the corner of the frame and I was a bit shocked to see the head of a Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), one of the few lizard species in Virginia.
Skinks are generally very skittish, so I froze in place and slowly changed the focus point from the mushroom (first photo) to the skink (second photo). Once I knew that I had captured those shots, I moved slightly to the side to see if I could get a better angle on the skink.
I never could not see the skink’s entire body, but really like the final shot that shows a lot of the details of the skink. I am not sure what the skink was doing, but it seemed to be focusing intently on something. Perhaps it was so focused on a potential prey that it was less aware of me than it might otherwise have been.
A small change in focus made a big difference in the final results. Maybe that’s true in other aspects of our lives.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Common Five-Lined Skink, Five-lined Skink, mushroom, Plestiodon fasciatus, Prince William Forest Park, switching focus, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA | 5 Comments »
April 20, 2024 by Mike Powell
An Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) raised a wing as it flew by me on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, displaying the fish that it had just caught. There are quite a few osprey at the refuge at this time of the year and it is not uncommon for me to see one clutching an osprey in its talons. However, it is rare that I am able to get a good look at the prey, because it is often hidden by the osprey’s wing movements.
Normally I attempt to capture shots of birds in flight with my longest lens, a Tamron 150-600mm. At this time of the year, though, I am just as likely to want to photograph butterflies and dragonflies as birds, so most of the time I keep my Tamron 18-400mm lens on my camera that lets me focus on a much closer subject. I sacrifice a bit of reach by using this lens, but, as you can see in the image of the osprey captured with this lens, it can produce good results even when fully extended. I encourage you to click on the image to see the feather details of the osprey and the details of the hapless fish too.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged birds in flight, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, osprey fishing, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA | 4 Comments »
April 20, 2024 by Mike Powell
On Monday I spotted this cool little butterfly at Occoquan Regional Park in nearby Lorton, Virginia. I was a little surprised to learn that it is a Falcate Orangetip butterfly ( (Anthocharis midea), given that the butterfly has not a single visible spot of orange. Apparently only the males have the orange tips for which the species is named and this one is a female.
When I first spotted this tiny butterfly flying about, I assumed that it was a Cabbage White. However, I quickly noticed the colored pattern on the outside of the wings and realized that my initial impression were wrong—Cabbage Whites are all white except for some black spots. When I looked even closer I noticed the butterfly’s gray eyes and scallop-edged wings, unlike the Cabbage Whites that have green eyes and more even-edged wings.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Anthocharis midea, Canon 7D, Falcate Orangetip, Falcate Orangetip butterfly, female Falcate Orangetip, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 18-400mm | 5 Comments »
April 19, 2024 by Mike Powell
One of the earliest dragonflies to appear in the spring in my area is the Blue Corporal (Ladona deplanata). Blue Corporals are relatively easy to identify because they have two stripes of their shoulders—two stripes is the traditional marking for the rank of corporal in the armed forces. When they first emerge, males and females have similar colorations, but the males turn blue as they mature.
The dragonfly in the first photo is an immature male Blue Corporal and was the first member of this species that I photographed on 10 April at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The shiny wings and pale markings suggest that this dragonfly was newly emerged. I believe that the dragonfly in the second photo is a female Blue Corporal, judging from her terminal appendages.
I usually try to get close-up shots of dragonflies, but when I can’t get near them, I am content to capture more “artsy” shots, like the final image below that shows a male Blue Corporal perched on some vegetation poking out of the shallow water of a pond.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Blue Corporal, Blue Corporal dragonfly, Canon 7D, Ladona deplanata, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA | 3 Comments »
April 18, 2024 by Mike Powell
As many of you know, I keep an eye on several eagle nests at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge at this time of the year, waiting with hopeful expectation for the birth of new eaglets. In one nest that is relatively small, the adult Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is now sitting upright, rather than hunkering down over the eggs to keep them warm. I suspect that there is at least one eagle baby, but I have not yet seen any tiny eagle heads pop up over the edge of the nest.
I am not sure what’s happening with the much larger eagle nest. I had assumed that the eagles were sitting on eggs. However, on Tuesday I watched as an osprey perched on one of the trees supporting the nest and buzzed a nearby perched eagle. Several other photographers have reported seeing osprey actually sitting in the eagle nest.
As I observed the nesting area on Tuesday afternoon, two eagles in a tree overlooking the nest briefly engaged in what looked like mating behavior. Was an earlier nesting attempt unsuccessful? Are the eagles going to make another attempt to have babies this season?
It is a bit late in the year for the eagles to begin nesting, but I think there is still time for them to do so. Normally this process begins earlier in the year before the ospreys have returned, so there is no competition for the nest. Although there appears to be competition now, I would put my money on the eagles, which I believe are larger and stronger than the osprey.
I will continue to monitor the nesting situation. There may be more drama there this spring than in previous years.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, bald eagle nest, Canon 7D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, mating bald eagles, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA | Leave a Comment »
April 17, 2024 by Mike Powell
When this little butterfly flew by me last week at Prince William Forest Park, it looked a bit like a nondescript brown moth. However, when it landed on the ground and I was able to zoom in on it, I was amazed by its variety of colors, textures, and markings. I was pretty sure that I had never seen one like this. When I returned home, I did some searching on the internet and concluded that this is a Henry’s Elfin butterfly (Callophrys henrici).
Every time I use the butterfly’s name, I smile, because there is just something whimsical about the word “elfin.” I love the idea of magical woodland creatures that blend in so well with their surroundings that you have to look carefully to spot them.
I encourage you to click on the image to see all of this creature’s wonderful markings, including the little white stripes on its antennae and legs and the beautiful scalloped edges of its wings.
Keep your eyes open today and you too may spot some magically whimsical creatures.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Callophrys henrici, Canon 7D, Henry's Elfin, Henry's Elfin butterfly, Prince William Forest Park, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA | 4 Comments »
April 17, 2024 by Mike Powell
A small group of Common Green Darner dragonflies (Anax junius) was active on Monday at Occoquan Regional Park, including a couple that, after mating, was depositing eggs in the floating vegetation. The male (the one with the blue abdomen) holds onto the female while she does the actual work and then they fly off together still attached in the “tandem” position to another patch of vegetation.
Common Green Darners are a migratory species and I suspect that these particular dragonflies were part of that migration. Most people are aware of the migratory pattern of Monarch butterflies, but are unaware of the fact that Common Green Darners follow a similar pattern. The Science News website provides a good overview of that migration.
“At least three generations make up the annual migration of common green darner dragonflies. The first generation emerges in the southern United States, Mexico and the Caribbean starting around February and flies north. There, those insects lay eggs and die, giving rise to a second generation that migrates south until late October. (Some in that second generation don’t fly south until the next year, after overwintering as nymphs.) A third generation, hatched in the south, overwinters there before laying eggs that will start the entire process over again.”
I was quite fortunate that the patches of vegetation where the dragonflies were depositing the eggs were relatively close to the edge of the pond, so I was able to capture the shots of the dragonflies in action. The second shot was one that I snapped as the couple zoomed by—long-time readers of my blog know that I love to try to capture images of dragonflies while they are flying.
The final image shows one a male Common Green Darner that was flying all around the small pond, searching for food or a mate (or maybe both). It is a fun challenge to try to track and photograph a dragonfly in flight and I felt a little rusty after spending the winter photographing birds. I was therefore quite thrilled when this shot turned out so well. Some newer mirrorless cameras have tracking systems that lock focus on moving subjects, but my trusty Canon 7D DSLR has 2009 technology, so it is a little trickier for me to get shots in—it is definitely a “hands-on” process.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Anax junius, Canon 7D, Common Green Darner, Common Green Darner dragonfly, common green darner ovipositing, dragonflies in flight, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 18-400mm | 6 Comments »
April 16, 2024 by Mike Powell
Each spring a lot of colorful warblers pass through our area on their northward migration. Most of them stay for only a short time, so it is a hit-or-miss proposition for me to find them. This is also the time of the year when the trees are budding, flowering and pushing out new leaves. All of this new growth is beautiful, but it makes it even harder for me to spot the little birds as they flit about, often at the tops of the trees.
Yesterday I was thrilled to spot this Yellow-throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica) high in a distant tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Initially my view of the colorful little bird was blocked by the vegetation, but I bent, twisted, stretched, and leaned in all directions and was eventually was able to get a clear view of the warbler.
My eyes are really active during the spring as I look up to try to find birds and look down to search for dragonflies. I manage to observe lots of cool things, but suspect that there is so much more going on that I do not see or notice.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, warbler, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga dominica, Tamron 18-400mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-throated Warbler | 8 Comments »
April 15, 2024 by Mike Powell
Last week I spotted this bird hopping about in a small creek in Prince William Forest Park. The bird was in constant motion and I could not get close to it, so I was was not able to get a really good shot of it. I vaguely remembered seeing a similar bird a few years ago in the same location, so I checked my old blog entries and determined that it might be a Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla). Several more experienced birders confirmed my tentative identification in a Facebook group for birding forum.
Despite its name, a Louisiana Waterthrush is actually a warbler, not a thrush. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website provides the following overall description of the species:
“The ringing song of the Louisiana Waterthrush, in cadence so like the rushing streams that are its home, is one of the first signs of spring in eastern North America. Its brown plumage and bold streaking help explain why this member of the warbler family has the word “thrush” in its name. At all seasons, this species stays close to moving water—especially forested streams and creeks—and bobs its rear end almost constantly. In both spring and fall, Louisiana Waterthrushes are among the earliest migrant warblers.”
Several local photographers have started posting photos of more colorful warblers, so I will be keeping my eyes open for them. Leaves are starting to cover the trees, so I will probably have my usual problem of not being able to spot the little birds even when I can hear them singing.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, warbler, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Louisiana Waterthrush, Parkesia motacilla, Prince William Forest Park, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA, warbler | 1 Comment »
April 13, 2024 by Mike Powell
Most of the insects that I have observed feeding on Virginia Spring Beauty wildflowers (Claytonia virginica) have been equally small in size. I was a bit shocked, therefore, earlier this week to spot a large Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) gathering nectar and/or pollen from a small patch of Spring Beauties at Prince William Forest Park. The bee looked to be at least twice as large as each tiny flower. Wow!
The lighting was quite good and the bee was a bit distracted, so I was able to zoom in close and capture a lot of the details of the bee. I particularly like the speckled green eyes that look like they were carved out of a semiprecious stone. You can also see the bee’s tiny feet as it grasped the edges of the flower. I encourage you to click on the photos, especially the first one, to get a better look at the bee.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Bees, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, carpenter bee, Claytonia virginica, Eastern Carpenter Bee, green-eyed bee, Prince William Forest Park, Spring Beauty, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA, Virginia Spring Beauty, Xylocopa virginica | 5 Comments »
April 12, 2024 by Mike Powell
I almost fell into the pond on Wednesday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge when I leaned over the edge of a steep bank after detecting some movement. Fortunately I did not lose my balance and managed to get a shot of this male Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita), my first damselfly of this season.
Fragile Forktails are almost always the first damselflies in my area to emerge and are surprisingly easy to identify—they have broken shoulder stripes that look like exclamation points. Although they are easy to identify, you have to find them first and their diminutive size (0.83 to 1.14 inches (21 to 29mm) in length) makes them quite difficult to spot.
Damselflies and dragonflies belong to the Odonata order of flying insects. Damselflies generally are more slender, have eyes placed apart, and perch with their wings folded together along their bodies when at rest. Dragonflies tend to be bulkier, have large compound eyes that touch each other, and usually perch with their wings extended when at rest.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Fort Belvoir VA, Fragile Forktail, Fragile Forktail damselfly, Ischnura posita, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm | 2 Comments »
April 11, 2024 by Mike Powell
I was excited yesterday to spot this cool-looking Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) in breeding plumage in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In addition to the golden tufts that sometimes look like horns, this grebe has striking red eyes.
There were not very many birds on the water yesterday, only a few geese, cormorants, and scaups, so I was quite shocked when I saw the head of this Horned Grebe emerge from the water after a short dive. I hoped that the grebe would come a bit closer with each dive, but instead it seemed to get farther and farther away from me.
I suspect that the Horned Grebe was stopping over on a migration flight northward. Although I read that migrating grebes usually form small flocks when migrating, this one appeared to be by itself. I too like to travel alone.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged breeding plumage, Canon 7D, Horned Grebe, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Podiceps auritus, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA | 3 Comments »
April 10, 2024 by Mike Powell
Many beetles are dark-colored and go about their business in the underbrush, unseen by human eyes. Six-spotted Tiger Beetles (Cicindela sexguttata), on the other hand, are hard to miss—their metallic-green bodies sparkle as they perch in the open, like this one that I spotted on Monday in the middle of a sun-lit forest trail in Prince William Forest Park.
The beetle’s common name refers to the six small white spots on the beetle’s metallic-green elytra (the beetle’s hardened wing cases), although the number of spots is somewhat variable. I think that I can see six spots on this beetle, but have sometimes seen as many as eight spots in the past.
As I was doing a bit of research a few years ago, I recall stumbling upon the fact that elytra is the plural form of elytron, following the the same pattern as “criterion” and its plural form “criteria.” For what it is worth, spell-check highlights elytron as an unknown word. English is a strange language.
Yesterday I came across this fun fact about tiger beetles at the University of Minnesota Department of Entomology website. “Tiger beetles’ long legs allow them to dart across the ground at high speeds. In fact, they can run so fast that their eyes can’t keep up, rendering them momentarily blind. This is why they only run short distances at a time.” Wow!
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Cicindela sexguttata, Prince William Forest Park, Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, Tamron 18-400mm, Tiger Beetle, Triangle VA | 4 Comments »
April 9, 2024 by Mike Powell
Many people in the United States were excited to view yesterday’s solar eclipse. I too paused for a few moments in the afternoon to view the eclipse through solar glasses that I had obtained last week during a visit to the Air and Space Museum in the Washington D.C. area.
However, I must confess that I was more excited earlier in the day when I had multiple encounters with Uhler’s Sundragons (Helocordulia uhleri), the first dragonflies that I have been able to photograph in 2024. (Some of you may recall that I searched for dragonflies last week and think that I saw one flying over a stream. However, I did not get a photo of the dragonfly, so for me that first sighting does not really “count.)
I spent several hours yesterday looking carefully at the vegetation along a creek in Prince William County, Virginia where I had spotted Uhler’s Sundragons in previous years. This species appears in limited locations in the early spring and is usually gone by early May. Unlike many of the dragonflies that I will see during the summer that are habitat generalists, Uhler’s Sundragons require a specific kind of habitat, usually a mountain stream. According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, “Uhler’s need clean, small to medium, rocky forest streams with gravelly and/or sandy substrate, and a decent flow.”
I was fortunate to be able to photograph both female and male Uhler’s Sundragons. I have alternated genders in the photos below, with the females in the odd-numbered images and the males in the even ones. One of the ways to tell the genders apart is to look at the tips of the abdomens (the “tails”) and you can see that the terminal appendages are different. The lower portion of the abdomens of the males is also somewhat enlarged, as you can see in some of the photos.
Dragonflies perch in many different ways. Some species perch horizontally and some hang vertically. Uhler’s Sundragons most often perch at an angle, as shown in the first and last photos, though sometimes they may hang vertically from the vegetation.
The dragonfly season has now opened and I look forward to many more encounters with these amazingly beautiful aerial acrobatic insects that have a magical appeal for me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, female Uhler's Sundragon, Helocordulia uhleri, male Uhler's Sundragon, Prince William County VA, Tamron 18-400mm, Uhler's Sundragon, Uhler's Sundragon dragonfly | 6 Comments »
April 6, 2024 by Mike Powell
Now that we have moved into April, I have begun to really search for dragonflies. On Thursday, I explored a creek in Prince William County, Virginia where I have found early-season dragonflies in past years, but, alas, I was not able to photograph any. However, I am pretty sure that I spotted a dragonfly flying low over the waters of the creek, so I am somewhat optimistic that the dragonfly season for me will soon start. The lighting was not good and the dragonfly was pretty far away, so I am not sure what kind it was, but there are so few insects flying this early in the year that the few that are in the air readily catch my eye.
While I was searching along the edges of the creek, I spotted a hawk soaring overhead and was able to get a few shots of it. I am pretty confident that this is a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), judging from the coloration of the tail and the prominent “belly band” of darker feathers.
I was using my versatile Tamron 18-400mm lens, so I did not have the reach of the “normal” lens that I use for birds, i.e. the Tamron 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens. I have to say, though, that I am quite happy with the images that I was able to capture of this beautiful soaring hawk.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Buteo jamaicensis, Canon 7D, Prince William County VA, Red-tailed Hawk, soaring hawk, Tamron 18-400mm | 7 Comments »
April 3, 2024 by Mike Powell
Real estate is at a premium in Northern Virginia, and new houses are jammed into the tiniest of spaces. Unfortunately, this channel marker did not appear to be quite big enough to support the nest of an osprey couple. During a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I watched the ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) carry a number of sticks to the marker as they unsuccessfully attempted to construct a nest—most of the sticks simply fell off the sides of the marker.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, osprey nest, osprey nest building, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 6 Comments »
April 2, 2024 by Mike Powell
As I was preparing to go out to lunch yesterday with my dear friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer, she glanced down at her garden and noticed that an iris was already in bloom, the first one of the spring. I suspect that this is some kind of dwarf iris, because it was nestled low in the vegetation and was only about six inches (15 cm) tall.
I thought about cropping the photo a little tighter, but wanted to retain the bug that is in the upper left corner of the image. As you might guess, I did not notice the little insect when I captured the photo with my iPhone. Cindy likes to call these “bonus bugs”—it is amazing how often I discover these “bonus bugs” in my photos when reviewing them on my computer.
Cindy has planted a wide variety of irises in her garden, so this is a sneak preview of the amazing beauty that is yet to come. I don’t know the name of this iris variety, but love the lavender color of its “beard.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring | Tagged Alexandria VA, Cindy Dyer, Cindy's garden, dwarf iris, first iris of spring, iPhone 11, iris, Runnymeade | 3 Comments »
April 1, 2024 by Mike Powell
This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was partially hidden by tree branches when I first spotted during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I tried to move as stealthily as I could to try to get a clearer view of the eagle, but the eagle detected my presence. I captured this image as the eagle was preparing to take off. The eagle flew downwards from its perch and my view was completely obstructed, so I was not able to capture any in-flight shots of the eagle.
As you can see, many of the trees in my area have buds now. I think this tree might be a Sweet Gum tree, because I can see some of its distinctive spiky seed balls still hanging from the tree.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring | Tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle takeoff, Canon 7D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sweetgum Tree, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | Leave a Comment »
March 30, 2024 by Mike Powell
I’ve been really busy preparing for multiple church services this Holy Week—I help to lead singing during the worship services—so I have not been able to go out as often this week as I would have liked. So today, I am featuring another tiny forest wildflower that I spotted on Monday at Prince William Forest Park.
I think that this one is a Wood Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia), though there is a similar-looking wildflower called a Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) and I am not sure how to tell the two of them apart. According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website, “Since Anemones are usually slender-stalked and tremble in the breeze, they have been called “Wind Flowers.””
I used to think that all of the white spring wildflowers looked the same but gradually I am beginning to see the differences in the number and shape of the petals and in the different types of stamens. However, I am far from being an expert in plant identification, so you should take all of them with a grain of salt.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring | Tagged Anemone quinquefolia, Canon 7D, Prince William Forest Park, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA, Wood Anemone | Leave a Comment »
March 29, 2024 by Mike Powell
Each time I venture out into the forested trails of Prince William Forest Park at this time of the year I encounter different wildflowers, most of which are present for only a short period of time. This past Monday, for example, I spotted some Bloodroot plants (Sanguinaria canadensis) in bloom, my first of the season. These white flowers are a bit bigger than many of the other wildflowers that I see.
According to the Missouri Botanical Garden website, “Each [bloodroot] flower stalk produces a solitary, 2″ (50 mm) wide, 8-10 petaled, 1.5″ (38 mm) diameter, white flower with numerous yellow center stamens. Flowers open up in sun but close at night, and are very short-lived (1-2 days). Leaves continue to grow in size after bloom (sometimes to as much as 9″ (228 mm) across) and remain attractive until mid to late summer when the plant goes dormant.”
The forest floor was quite cluttered, so I decided to take this photo from directly above the bloodroot flower. I like the way that the shot emphasizes the geometric shape of the petals in an almost abstract way.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Flowers, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring | Tagged Bloodroot, Canon 7D, Prince William County VA, Sanguinaria canadensis, spring wildflower, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA | 3 Comments »
March 28, 2024 by Mike Powell
Early spring wildflowers, like the Virginia Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), are an important source of food for a host of small bees and other insects. Many insects gather pollen from these flowers and in doing so help to pollinate the plants. One species, the Spring Beauty Miner Bee (Andrena erigeniae), is so specialized that it reportedly feeds only on this ephemeral flower.
According to the Bug of the Week website that featured this species in an article, “Using jaws and legs the female bees excavates a gallery in the soil, leaving a small pile of dirt near the entrance hole. This gallery can be as long as 15 centimeters and contain numerous lateral brood chambers. During the daytime she forages for pollen on flowers of spring beauties, which apparently are the sole source of food for her brood. Pollen from these blossoms is formed into balls and placed into brood chambers…As brood chambers are built and provisioned with pollen, the bee deposits a single egg on a pollen cake. During spring and early summer developing larvae consume the pollen, and later in summer they will form pupa. By late autumn development of the adult is complete and winter is spent in the adult stage within the brood chambers. Newly minted adults emerge each spring coincident with the appearance of spring beauty’s’ blossoms.” Wow!
On Monday I was fortunate to capture a shot of a Spring Beauty Miner Bee in action gathering pollen. If you look closely at the image, you will see how the tiny bee has collected pollen on its back legs.
Last year I posted an image of a Cuckoo Bee on the same kind of flower. That bee does not collect pollen. Instead it enters the nests of a host and lay eggs there, stealing resources that the host has already collected. From what I understand the cuckoo bee waits for the miner bee to leave its burrow and then lays its egg there. The offspring of the cuckoo bee eats the pollen in the burrow and then eats the larva of the miner bee. Yikes!
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Bees, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Andrena erigeniae, Canon 7D, miner bee, Prince William Forest Park, Spring Beauty, Spring Beauty Miner Bee, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA, Virginia Spring Beauty | Leave a Comment »
March 27, 2024 by Mike Powell
As I was walking along a creek on Monday at Prince William Forest Park, several tiny frogs unexpectedly jumped out of my way. I was able to visually track one of those frogs and saw where it landed. After a single leap, the frog froze in place and I was able to slowly maneuver myself into position to capture this image.
I am pretty sure that this is a Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans). A bit later in the season, I will be able to hear the cricket frog’s distinctive call, which sounds to me like two marbles being clicked together, but the frogs that I encountered that day were silent.
According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, the Northern Cricket Frog is one of the smallest frogs in Virginia, ranging from .87 inches to 1.14 inches (22-29 mm) in length. Their typical life span is four to twelve months, though sometimes they can live as long as three years. Cricket frogs hatch from their eggs in 29-90 days between July and August and metamorphosize into adults in late summer. In early autumn, the frogs burrow into the soil to hibernate until spring comes.
I was quite pleased with the amount of detail that I was able to capture in this image, from the bumpy warts of the frog’s back to the stripes on its tiny toes. My Tamron 18-400mm lens is quite versatile and is capable of providing macro-like capability in certain circumstances. I encourage you to click on this image to get a better look at the tiny cricket frog.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Amphibians, frog, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Acris crepitans, acris crepitans crepitans, Canon 7D, cricket frog, Eastern Cricket Frog, Northern Cricket frog, Prince William Forest Park, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA | 1 Comment »
March 26, 2024 by Mike Powell
I went on a pretty long hike yesterday in Prince William Forest Park—just over 18,000 steps (7.1 miles or 11 km) according to my iPhone—and was delighted to spot this beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus), my first of the season.
When I first spotted the butterfly, it appeared to be sucking moisture and minerals from the wet soil, as you can see in the first photo. The butterfly flew to a nearby location and resumed its efforts and I was able to maneuver around to get the second image that shows the markings of the butterfly a bit better.
Personally I prefer the first photo that is more dynamic and gives a better sense of the activity of the butterfly. From a purely scientific perspective, the second one might be preferable because it shows more of the butterfly’s identification features. I am more of an artist than a scientist, though, so capturing all of the details with clinical precision is not as important to me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 7D, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio glaucus, Prince William Forest Park, Tamron 18-400mm, Triangle VA | 3 Comments »
March 25, 2024 by Mike Powell
It was cool, cloudy, and windy when I visited Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last Friday. I did not see any activity at the two eagle nests that I checked, but suspect that there was an eagle in each of them, hunkered down keeping the eggs warm.
I did encounter solitary adult eagles several times as I walked along the trails. Perhaps these Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) were the mates of the eagles sitting in the nests. Whatever the case, these eagles looked to be hypervigilant and serious, keeping a close watch over the entire area. This eagle kept its head moving a lot, so I was happy when I managed to capture this profile shot as it perched in what I believe is a Tulip tree.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 7D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 1 Comment »
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Mike Powell 