Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Libellula incesta, male Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 18-400mm on October 6, 2025| 4 Comments »
Its wings are a bit tattered and its colors have faded, but this male Slaty Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula incesta) was still hanging in there at the end of September, when I spotted it at Jackson Miles Wetland Refuge at nearby Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The nights have become considerably cooler the past week and I am anxious to get out in the wild with my camera to see which hardy surviving dragonflies are still flying.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 7D, Libellula incesta, male Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 18-400mm, Wickford Park on June 14, 2025| 5 Comments »
On Wednesday I visited Wickford Park, a small suburban park a few miles from where I live that has a creek that flows through it. In the past I have spotted a variety of dragonflies and damselflies at this location and once again I was rewarded with some new sightings.
I was pleasantly surprised to spot a male Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta), the first one that I have seen this year. During the summer, Slaty Skimmers are quite common at a number of the locations that I visit. The dark slate blue of the mature males of this species and their brown eyes make this species pretty easy to identify.
I thought about cropping this image closer to give a better look at the dragonfly, but decided that I really liked the twisting vegetation on which the dragonfly was perched and ultimately decided to keep the crop loose. What do you think?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alphonse de Lamartine, Canon 7D, Le Lac, Libellula incesta, male Slaty Skimmer, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on September 4, 2024| 1 Comment »
The countdown begins. Now that we are into September, the number of dragonfly species is beginning to drop and many of the remaining ones are looking a little tattered. They seem to adapt and compensate for their disabilities while moving, perhaps, a bit more slowly.
Yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife I photographed a number of male Slaty Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula incesta). Their dark bodies and eyes make them pretty easy to identify. Some of them appeared to be in pretty good condition, like the one in the first photo, while others, like the one in the second photo, are showing the signs of a tough summer.
Aging in all species is inevitable. No matter how much we complain about it, we are fortunate if we are able to slow its effects—we cannot stop it. The 19th century French romantic poet Alphonse de Lamartine wrote about the passage of time in a famous poem called Le Lac (The Lake) that included these words:
“Just a few more moments, I ask — in vain, for time
Eludes me and takes flight.
I tell the night to pass more slowly, and dawn comes
To chase away the night.
“Then let us love! Then let us fill each fleeting hour
With joy and ecstasy!
Man does not have a port; time does not have a shore.
It passes, and so do we.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Libellula incesta, Lorton VA, male Slaty Skimmer, Occoquan Regional Park, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 18-400mm on August 1, 2024| 1 Comment »
I am always looking for cool perches when I spot dragonflies. Sometimes I will try to communicate telepathically with the dragonflies to prompt them to move to photogenic perches, but, alas, I am rarely successful—I guess that my telepathic powers are weak.
I was delighted on Monday at Occoquan Regional Park when this dark male Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta) voluntarily perched on the flowering stalk of a beautiful dark red plant. I have no idea what kind of plant it is, but I really like the color combination of this dragonfly and the the vegetation. The twisting pattern of the flowers on the stalk were a nice bonus and add a bit of additional visual interest to the image.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
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.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Libellula incesta, male Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm on July 5, 2022| 1 Comment »
I sometimes feel like male Slaty Skimmer dragonflies are checking me out—they often seem to hover and look right at me when I encounter them. Perhaps it is is a sign of curiosity or maybe one of territoriality. Whatever the case, I love their dark, good looks, like those of these Slaty Skimmers (Libellula incesta) that I encountered last Wednesday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.
The first image is a traditional shot of a perching Slaty Skimmer. In the second shot, I attempt to capture an image of a Slaty Skimmer as he zoomed on past me. I like the feel of the shot, even though I was a little slow in pressing the shutter and caught him as he was flying away. As many of you know, I love to try to photograph dragonflies while they are flying. It is possible to do so, but the degree of difficulty is pretty high.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Libellula incesta, male Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm on August 23, 2019| 5 Comments »
As many of you know, I love trying to capture images of dragonflies in flight. This Slaty Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula incesta) cooperated by periodically hovering a bit during a recent trip that I made to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. The first two images show you some of the details of the dragonfly’s body, including the way it tucks in its legs when in flight, and the final image gives you a wider view of the environment in which I was shooting.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Libellula incesta, male Slaty Skimmer, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on July 29, 2018| 13 Comments »
I love the dark, slate-blue tones of the male Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta), one of the most common dragonflies in our area. The beauty of this handsome Slaty Skimmer was further enhanced by the colorful backdrop that I managed to capture this past Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
It is hard to come up with a composition that is more basic—beauty can often be found in simplicity.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 