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Posts Tagged ‘Canon 7D’

Russet-tipped Clubttail in September

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

For the last few weeks I have been searching diligently for the late-season dragonfly species that appear on the scene in late August and early September. So far I have come up mostly empty-handed, but I was thrilled to spot this cool-looking Russet-tipped Clubtail dragonfly (Stylurus plagiatus) on 6 September at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. In my area, Russet-tipped Clubtails  are seen most often in August and September, but they are somewhat uncommon.

As some of you know, I dabble a bit with YouTube. At about this time last year I did a little video about Russet-tipped Clubtails that you might enjoy watching. It was one of my first videos and lasts about a minute and a half.  Click on this link to view the video in YouTube. I am also embedding a YouTube link at the end of this posting. Depending on how you are reading this blog, you may be able to watch the video from within the blog.

A year ago, I had aspirations of shooting more video footage during my photography outings. I have made only minor progress in that area, but it is still something that interests me a lot. I have learned the basics of making and editing videos, but am struggling to figure out what stories I want to tell and how a video can help me tell those stories.

Russet-tipped Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Damsels in distress

Posted in Arachnids, Autumn, damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spiders, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 18, 2023| 3 Comments »

As we move deeper into September I have been seeing more and more Black and Yellow Garden Orbweaver spiders (Argiope aurantia). These spiders are impressively large and have prominent webs with a distinctive zigzag pattern near the center.

During recent visits to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I have seen multiple Big Bluet damselflies (Enallagma durum) that have gotten caught up in the webs of the Argiope spiders. In the first photo the spider is moving in on two damselflies. After immobilizing the prey, the spider will often wrap it in web material, as you can see in the second image.

The final shot shows a hapless damselfly entangled at the edge of a web. I observed the damselfly for a few moments to see if I could detect any signs of movement, with thoughts that I might be able to free it. However, I did not see any movement and suspect that I had arrived too late to rescue this damsel in distress.

Some viewers may object to these kind of graphic images, but for me it is part of the “circle of life” in nature—all creatures have to eat to survive. As I have observed numerous times, today’s predator may well become tomorrow’s prey.

damselfly

damselfly

damselfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Dragonflies in September

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2023| 10 Comments »

In many of my blog postings, I concentrate on a single species of dragonflies, but today I want to celebrate the diversity of species that I have been seeing during the month of September. Despite my warnings in some earlier postings about the decreasing numbers of dragonflies, I continue to see a variety of species—Northern Virginia, where I live, is blessed to have an abundance of different dragonflies and damselflies.

The first photo shows a female Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera), the smallest dragonfly in our area.  Males of this species hang out at ponds, but the females, which do not have amber wings like the males, are usually found in vegetation some distance from the water.

The second image shows a male Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa), a beautifully colored dragonfly with distinctive patterns on its wings. The third image shows a mature female Needham’s Skimmer (Libellula needhami). Her wings show some damage and her color has fades, but she is still beautiful and the golden strands on the front edges of her wings were sparkling in the sunlight when I captured this image.

The fourth image shows a female Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis), one of the most common dragonfly species in my area. I love the brilliant emerald color of the females (and immature males) of this species and the black markings on the abdomen.

The dragonfly in the last photo was the toughest one for me to identify. It had flown up into a tree and I was looking into the sun when I captured the image. However, I am pretty sure that it is a female Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans).

All of these dragonflies belong to the Skimmer family, the largest dragonfly family that includes the species most likely to be seen by a casual dragonfly watcher. The other families, which are generally harder to find, include Clubtails, Cruisers, Darners, Emeralds, Petaltails, and Spiketails. If I remember correctly, I have managed this season to photograph at least one dragonfly in all seven of these dragonfly families.

Eastern Amberwing

Calico Pennant

Needham's Skimmer

Eastern Pondhawk

Great Blue Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Dragonflies in the air

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 16, 2023| 2 Comments »

Dragonflies were flying overhead at several locations at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Thursday, including a Common Green Darner (Anax junius), multiple Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata), and at least one Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens). The Wandering Glider, alas, was elusive and I could not get an in-flight shot of it, but I did manage to get a shot of a Common Green Darner (1st photo) and a Black Saddlebags (2nd photo).

All three of these dragonfly species are migratory species. Migrating dragonflies will often fly in mixed swarms that are large enough that they are sometimes picked up by weather radars. For more details about this phenomenon, check out this September 2019 article in the Washington Post entitled “Weather radar is picking up swarms of dragonflies from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic.”

Common Green Darner

Black Saddlebags

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Heron at water’s edge

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on September 16, 2023| 2 Comments »

On Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I captured this image of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at water’s edge. Heron’s are quite large and normally are easy to spot.

However, as I was approaching this area, this Great Blue Heron was initially hidden from view by the metal posts sticking out of the water, as you can see in the second photo. Fortunately the heron’s head was turned to the side and it was the bird’s large bill that gave away its presence. I had to walk farther down the trail and look back to get the viewing angle for the first photo in which the heron is somewhat separated from the posts and is more visible.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Autumn Vibes

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 15, 2023| 1 Comment »

For those of us in the northern hemisphere who use the astronomical calendar, tomorrow (23 September) marks the beginning of the autumn season. In so many of the photos that I have taken during the past few weeks, I have noted signs of the changing seasons.

The warm orange tones in this shot of a female Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami) remind me of pumpkins and autumn leaves. The fading flowers in the photo of a male Common Whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia) remind us that the growing season is coming to an end. The dryness of the stalk on which the Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta) dragonfly perch brings to mind the droughts and extreme weather that many have experience during this summer.

Embrace the new season and the opportunities is provides, whether it be autumn in the northern hemisphere or spring for those in the southern hemisphere.

Needham's Skimmer

Common Whitetail

Slaty Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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White-banded Crab Spider

Posted in Arachnids, Autumn, Flowers, Nature, Photography, spiders, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 14, 2023| 10 Comments »

On Monday I captured this shot of a small white spider—I think it may be a White-banded Crab Spider (Misumenoides formosipes)—at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I really like the way that the coloration of the tips of the spider’s leg are an almost perfect match for the spiky thorns of the vegetation. In the second photo, the spider looks a lot like a crab in the way that it is shaped and was moving—it’s easy to see why it is called a “crab” spider.

White-banded Crab Spider

White-banded Crab Spider

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Changing season

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

At this time of the year we experience the change in seasons in many different ways. We feel the gradual cooling of the weather. We see the changing colors of the leaves on the trees. We hear (and see) the unmistakable sound of flocks of migrating Canada Geese (Branta canadensis).

Although we seem to have a resident population of Canada Geese in our area year-round, during the spring and summer large flocks of geese fly through our area and it is quite common to hear the loud honking of the geese as they fly overhead. Sometimes they fly in military precision in a v-formation, but more often than not they are in a looser formation, as was the case with these Canada Geese that I photographed last week while I was looking for dragonflies at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge in Northern Virginia.

Canada Geese

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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End of summer?

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 12, 2023| 4 Comments »

Wings are tattered. Flowers have faded. Summer is ending. (Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) photographed on 6 September at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.)

Blue Dasher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dragonfly and aster

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 12, 2023| 11 Comments »

I don’t often see dragonflies perch on flowers, so I was delighted when this female Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) decided to rest for a moment on an aster plant in bloom last week at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.

I decided not to crop this photo to show the dragonfly better, because I really like the sweep of bright color on the left side of the image and the more muted out-of-focus colors on the right side. I am growing to love this type of environmental portrait, which goes against my normal approach of trying to fill as much of the frame as possible with my primary subject.

Blue Dasher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Wild Turkey Wingspan

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

As I was observing some Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, one of them suddenly decided to stretch a bit and flapped his wings. In the past I have seen a turkey extend its wings like this only when running away from me. In this case, though, the turkey went back to pecking on the ground and either was not aware of my presence or was simply not bothered by it.

Perhaps he was just trying to cool off on what was a really hot, humid day.

Wild Turkey

 

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Monarch in September

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 10, 2023| 4 Comments »

Certain creatures, like Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), never fail to thrill my heart when I encounter them. I remember dire warnings from my youth of their threatened extension and I consider it a real blessing that they are still around. The Bald Eagle population has really rebounded, but it is my understanding that the survival of Monarchs is still at risk as a result of the loss of Monarch breeding habitats.

I did not see any Bald Eagles during my visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this past Thursday, but I was excited to spot this stunning Monarch butterfly. Its colors were bright and vibrant and it seemed to be in perfect condition. I suspect that this butterfly was preparing itself for its upcoming migration flight. According to an article by the National Wildlife Federation, “Beginning in late summer and continuing into early fall, monarchs that emerge from their chrysalides will be behaviorally and biologically different from generations that emerged earlier this year. Unlike their parents and grandparents, these late-season monarchs do not mate or lay eggs. Instead, the insects focus on feeding to fatten up for long migrations to their winter habitats: coastal California for monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains and central Mexico for those to the east.”

The Monarch butterfly was so focused on feeding that it did not fly away as I maneuvered into position to capture this image. I even had the luxury of attempting shots from several angles as the butterfly moved about from flower to flower.

Monarch butterfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Swift Setwing dragonfly in September

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 9, 2023| 5 Comments »

Do you prefer to live your life widely or deeply? That is a curious question, but it is one that affects the way that many of us approach our photography and our lives in general. Let me reframe the question. Are you always seeking to visit new places to see new things, i.e. living “widely”, or would you rather spend your time in familiar locations with familiar subjects, going back to the same places repeatedly, i.e. living “deeply?”

As you may have guessed, I tend to put myself in the second category. I like to observe the seasonal changes at a few local areas, watching for new species to arrive and to depart (or disappear), observing the changes in the flora and the fauna, and discovering favorite spots for my photography. I am not really consumed by a need or desire to add to my “life list” of birds or insects that I have seen, though I do enjoy visiting other locations.

All of these thoughts were percolating in my brain on Wednesday when I visited Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge to see which dragonflies were still present. I was particularly delighted to spot several Swift Setwing dragonflies (Dythemis velox). In June 2016 at this same refuge, I first photographed a Swift Setwing—a primarily southern species that had never before have been spotted in Fairfax County, the county where I live—and each year since I have eagerly returned to learn more about the species. For more details on my initial sighting, check out my 2016  blog posting Swift Setwing dragonfly.

It is always tough to frame shots of Swift Setwings, because they like to perch on vegetation that overhangs the water and they face the water. The sun was shining brightly and I was happy to capture a couple of images in which the dragonfly appears to be perching among the clouds. I did try to get down low, but I think the background is a reflection of the sky in the water of the pond and not the sky itself.

For the second image, I was far away from the dragonfly. I couldn’t get a clear shot of the Swift Setwing, so I chose to use some vegetation blocking my view as a framing element in the foreground. I like the way that the image turned out.

Swift Setwing

Swift Setwing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Viceroy in September

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 8, 2023| 4 Comments »

On Wednesday I spotted this beautiful Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) during a short visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. At one end of the refuge, there is a patch of wildflowers and I always make sure to check it out for birds, butterflies, and other insects. I am no expert on wildflowers, but I think the purple plant in the photo may be a variety of ironweed.

As you can probably tell, the Viceroy is considered to be a mimic of the somewhat larger Monarch butterfly. They are pretty easy to tell apart, however, because the Viceroy has a black line across the hind wings that is not found on the wings of Monarchs.

Viceroy

Viceroy

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Twelve-spotted Skimmer in September

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 7, 2023| 2 Comments »

From a distance, many dragonflies are hard to identify. However, the wing markings on a male Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula pulchella) are so distinctive that I could identify this dragonfly immediately when I spotted it yesterday in the marshland at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.

If you take the time to count all of the spots on the wings of the dragonfly, you come up with a number much higher than 12. Why then is it called a Twelve-spotted Skimmer? Someone decided that it was best to count only the dark spots, because only the males generally have the white spots. It is a rare case when gender equality seems to have factored into the name of a species—normally species’ names are based on the characteristics of the male.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Late Season Black Swallowtail

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 6, 2023| 4 Comments »

I am happy that I continue to see quite a few butterflies during my visits to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Summer is definitely not over yet—today’s high temperature is forecast to be 97 degrees (36 degrees C) with a heat index well above 1oo degrees (38 degrees C)—but increasingly I am seeing signs that the seasons are starting to change.

I spotted this Black Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) recently as it fed upon some kind of leafy plant. The butterfly’s “tails” were fully intact, but there seemed to be a little damage to its wings and the wings seemed to be strangely separated from its body in the first photo. I am not sure if this is normal or not.

I am trying to decide if I will venture out into the heat today, seeking some of the late season dragonflies, like the Blue-faced Meadowhawk and the Fine-lined Emerald, that emerge onto the scene in early September. If I do go out, I will be sure to bring lots of water and will stay in the shade as much as I can.

Black Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Biological imperative

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 5, 2023| 2 Comments »

The clock is ticking as we move towards the end of the dragonfly season and I see a lot of mating dragonflies that appear to be driven by the biological imperative of ensuring the perpetuation of their species. Late in August I observed this pair of Blue Dasher dragonflies (Pachydiplax longipennis) at Occoquan Regional Park in the mating position that is sometimes referred to as “the wheel.”

When mating is completed, the female, the lower dragonfly in the photo, will may lay 500 or more eggs by flying low over the water usually near a heavily vegetated pond edge and repeatedly tapping her abdomen to the surface. Once the eggs hatch, the life cycle of a dragonfly larva begins as a nymph that live underwater and eat smaller aquatic insects. The nymphs, also referred to as naiads, live underwater for up to two years and shed their exoskeletons six or more times.

According to an article in Cambridge Day, “When a naiad is ready to metamorphose into an adult dragonfly, it swims to the surface at night. There, it lifts its head out of the water as its body adapts to breathing air, then climbs a plant stem out of the water, where its skin splits behind its head and the adult dragonfly emerges. The adult swallows air to plump up its body and pumps hemolymph, the bloodlike substance of insects, into its wings.”

For more information about the life cycle of Blue Dasher dragonflies, check out these postings at Life on CSG Pond and at Cambridge Day.

Blue Dasher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Surprise catch

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2023| 4 Comments »

The vegetation seemed so thick in the marshland at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge that I was surprised that a Great Egret (Ardea alba) was able to spot and catch a fish there last Monday. I have not seen many egrets this year, so I was shocked to see five of them that day.

Great Egrets leave our area and head to warmer locations when the weather begins to turn cooler, while their “cousins,” the Great Blue Herons, stay with us throughout the entire year.

Great Egret

Great Egret

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Tattered skimmer

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 3, 2023| 4 Comments »

As we flip the pages of our monthly calendars from August to September, it is not unusual for me to encounter dragonflies with tattered wings. For many of these dragonflies, it has been a long, tough summer and they will only be with us for a few more weeks or perhaps a month or two. Despite the damage to their wings, the dragonflies appear to be fully capable of flight—somehow they are able to compensate for their infirmities.

I spotted this Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) this past Monday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. It is a little tough to tell in this image, but several of the wings showed wear-and-tear. The shredded appearance of the vegetation is a perfect complement to this late season dragonfly—they both speak to me of the inexorable passage of time and the inevitable changes in our appearance and capabilities brought on the aging process.

Great Blue Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Carolina Saddlebags finally perched

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 2, 2023| 1 Comment »

I do not see Carolina Saddlebags dragonflies (Tramea carolina) very often and when I am lucky enough to spot one, it is usually in flight. According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, “Carolina Saddlebags appear to stick to shallow, thickly vegetated ponds and marshlands,” which is a pretty good description of the place where I spotted this one last Saturday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The same website described the Carolina Saddlebag’s flight tendencies as “Strong flier, often high, rarely perches.”

I had been watching several Calico Pennant dragonflies, another species that is red and has patterned wings, as they flew around over the pond when suddenly a somewhat larger red dragonfly flew into view—Calico Pennants are approximately 1.3 inches (33 mm) in length, while Carolina Saddlebags are 2.0 inches (51 mm). I visually tracked the Carolina Saddlebags and was able to follow it as it perched high on a stalk of vegetation in an adjacent field.

I moved slowly and stealthily, but did not have room for maneuver to compose a few shots. The lighting was best when from the angle at which I captured the first shot and you can see some of the details and markings on the dragonfly’s body. In the second image, you get a better look at the “saddlebags,” the reddish-brown patches on the rear wings, but most of the body is silhouetted.

For the third shot, I changed the height of my shooting angle to make the background a bit more interesting than the sky. The blurry greenish background in the image was some distant trees. As you may have noticed, the dragonfly’s position in the second and third images is almost the same

Carolina Sadddlebags

Carolina Sadddlebags

Carolina Sadddlebags

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dragonfly Pole Vaulter

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 29, 2023| 7 Comments »

Calico Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis elisa) often remind me of pole vaulters. They hold on to a long, narrow “pole” at the very end and flex it, as though they were trying to propel themselves over a bar. I spotted this handsome male Calico Pennant last Saturday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, one of the few local spots where I encounter this spectacular species.

This will probably be my last blog posting this week. I will be driving from Virginia to Massachusetts later today to deal with some family issues and will return home this coming weekend, when I hope to resume my habit of posting nature and wildlife photos almost daily.

Calico Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Male Widow Skimmer in late August

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 28, 2023| 6 Comments »

I spotted this handsome male Widow Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula luctuosa) this past Saturday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Only the males of this species have white patches on their wings—the females have only the dark patches.

The Latin name for this species includes the word “luctuosa,” which means “sorrowful” or “mournful.” Apparently someone thought that the dark patches on the wings of dragonflies of this species looked like the kind of mourning crepe veils that traditionally widows were supposed to wear up to four years to show their grief.

I think that I have been reading too many warnings about people taking advantage of older people, because the name “Widow Skimmer” initially conjured up visions of young gigolos chasing after rich old ladies in Florida who have lost their husbands.

Widow Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Blue Heron in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 27, 2023| 7 Comments »

I inadvertently spooked a Great Blue Heron (Aredea herodias) on Wednesday at Occoquan Regional Park and captured this first image as it flew up to a perch high in a nearby tree. It was really cool to see the heron’s impressive wingspan as it came in for a landing in the tree. The second image shows the Great Blue Heron as it surveyed its surroundings from its new perch.

When I was just starting out in wildlife photography, I remember being shocked the first time that I saw a Great Blue Heron in a tree. I somehow had assumed that they spent all of their time in the shallow water or at the edge of ponds. Little did I know at that time that Great Blue Herons build their nests in the trees and often spend their nights roosting in trees to protect themselves from potential predators.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Halloween Pennant on gamagrass

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 26, 2023| 2 Comments »

Last Monday I spotted this striking female Halloween Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina) perched high in the eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It was somewhat unusual for me to have a chance to photograph a dragonfly above eye level and I did my best to isolate the subject against the pale blue sky.

I really like the minimalism of this composition.  The color and texture of the gamagrass add some visual interest to the image without distracting the viewer from the primary subject.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 25, 2023| 4 Comments »

I was excited to spot this beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most years I spot lots of these butterflies, but for some reason I have not seen one in quite some time this summer.

I love the beautiful coloration of this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and believe that it is a female. Males of this species are almost exclusively yellow and black, while females are more vividly colored, with strongly pronounced cells of orange and a greater degree of iridescent blue on the lower wings.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Which photo is best?

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 24, 2023| 9 Comments »

When I am writing a blog posting with multiple photos, I will usually lead with the “best” photo. Most of the time I have a clear favorite image, but today I struggled a bit in trying to decide which image of a Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa) was the “best” one. I was delighted on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to have multiple opportunities to photograph male Calico Pennants, which are among the most striking dragonflies that I encounter, thanks to their bold coloration and wonderfully patterned wings.

From a technical perspective, the first image could be considered the “best.” The background is pleasantly blurred and virtually all of the dragonfly’s features are in sharp focus. Graphically this image stands out, even when viewed as a thumbnail on a cell phone.

The background in the second image is considerably more cluttered than in the first image. However, I think the color contrast between the bright red of the dragonfly and the pinkish-purple colors in the background makes it easy to see the primary subject. The vegetation helps to provide the viewer with a sense of the environment in which I photographed the dragonfly.

The third image was the most challenging to capture. Several Calico Pennants were flying around over the waters of a pond and I was thrilled to capture this in-flight shot, my first such photo of this species. Most of the other dragonflies that I have photographed as they were flying were considerably larger—a Calico Pennant is only about 1.3 inches (33 mm) in length—and it took a lot of persistence and concentration to get this shot.

The final shot was a lucky one. I was focused on the perched dragonfly and reacted quickly when it took off. From an artistic perspective, I really like this image. The mottled colors of the pond works well as a backdrop for the action and the contrast between the muddy brown and the bright red of the dragonfly makes the subject “pop.” I love the texture of the branch and the branch helps to lead the viewer’s eyes to the dragonfly. Finally, the dragonfly’s wing patterns are displayed beautifully as I managed to capture a moment when they were fully extended.

I don’t know if it is possible for me to state definitively which one of these images is the “best”—I like each of them for different reasons. Is there one that stands out to you more than the others? I’d welcome your views on this question.

Calico Pennant

Calico Pennant

Calico Pennant

Calico Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Black Vultures

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 23, 2023| 7 Comments »

The gloomy feel of this photo seems perfect for these two Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) that I spotted in a dead tree on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Many people find vultures to be creepy, probably because they feed on the carcasses of dead animals. I remember too watching cowboy movies when I was growing up in which vultures would be circling overhead, waiting for people to die in the desert wastelands.

There were lots of vultures circling overhead on Monday and in situations like that, I jokingly tell people that I try to move about a lot, lest the vultures mistake me for a potential meal.  In my area, we have both turkey vultures and black vultures. They are pretty easy to tell apart, because turkey vultures have very distinctive red heads and black vultures have black heads. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Whereas Turkey Vultures are lanky birds with teetering flight, Black Vultures are compact birds with broad wings, short tails, and powerful wingbeats. The two species often associate: the Black Vulture makes up for its poor sense of smell by following Turkey Vultures to carcasses.”

The light was coming mostly from behind the two birds, which created the silhouette-like effect that you see in the image below. I lightened the shadows a little, but I like the starkness of the almost monochromatic view of these birds in which most of their details are suggested, but hidden. I think it works well with the simple structure of the branches of the dead tree. Unlike most of my images that concentrate on detailed views of my subjects, this image is more about mood and shapes.

Black Vultures

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Big Bluet damselfly

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 22, 2023| 8 Comments »

Yesterday it was hot and humid and there was an air quality alert because of smoke from the Canadian wildfires. I was therefore not too surprised when I pulled into the parking lot at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to see that I was the only car there. As I have mentioned previously, I prefer to enjoy nature alone whenever possible, so I was quite pleased that I had the refuge to myself.

It was about midday, so I knew that the birds would not be very active—they tend to be more active in the early morning and later afternoon—but I knew that many insects prefer the warmest periods of the day. I saw quite a few Big Bluet damselflies (Enallagma durum) in the vegetation near the water. As its name suggests, this damselfly is quite large—up to 1.7 inches (43 mm)—and is primarily a coastal species.

This was my favorite shot of the day of a Big Bluet. I like the overall cool tones of the image and the way that the vegetation fades into background, allowing the viewer to focus on the wonderful details of this beautiful Big Bluet.

Big Bluet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Hover fly and Susan

Posted in Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2023| 2 Comments »

When I first started taking nature photos more than ten years ago, I probably would have assumed that this yellow and black insect was a bee. With the benefit of accumulate experience, I can identify it as some kind of Hover Fly. Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, are quite common—according to Wikipedia there are about 6000 species of hover flies worldwide, so I don’t feel bad that I cannot identify the species of this one.

I spotted the hover fly during a recent visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge as it was feeding on a Black-eyed Susan flower (Rudbeckia hirta). Both the insect and the flower are made up of varying shades of yellow and brown and they seem to complement each other pretty well. I also like the way that the lines on the petals of the flower mirror the marking on the insect’s body.

hover fly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Almost hidden

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 20, 2023| 1 Comment »

Female Eastern Pondhawk dragonflies (Erythemis simplicicollis) are quite easy to spot when they are out in the open—they are bright emerald green in color and have distinctive black stripes on their abdomens. When they land in a grassy area, however, they virtually disappear from sight, thanks to their almost perfect camouflage.

During a recent visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, I spotted this Eastern Pondhawk while it was flying and watch it land on this fallen branch. If I had not seen the dragonfly land and it had remained still on its perch, I doubt that I would have detected its presence.

Eastern Pondhawk

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Slaty Skimmers

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 16, 2023| 2 Comments »

One of the most common dragonflies that I see at this time of the year is the Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta). Male Slaty Skimmers have dark bodies and dark eyes and are pretty easy to identify. Slaty Skimmers tend to perch on bare stalks and one of my challenges in photographing them is to try to frame my shots so that the background is interesting.

Here are three images in which I tried to use a bit of my creativity in the way that I composed the shots by including some of the vegetation, as in the first and second shots, or by focusing on lines and angles, as in the final photo.

I am making another trip this week to Massachusetts and Maine to deal with some family issues, so this may be my last blog post of the week. I am planning to return on Saturday, so perhaps there will be a new posting on Sunday morning.

Slaty Skimmer

Slaty Skimmer

Slaty Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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