Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge | Mike Powell

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Posts Tagged ‘Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge’

Heron wingspan

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, heron, heron takeoff, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 8, 2026| 2 Comments »

Some birds cooperate when I try to photograph them by posing, but often they fly away as soon as they detect my presence. Most often that results in a butt shot, which is not exactly the most flattering view of a bird (or a person for that matter).

Sometimes though, I get lucky and get an interesting shot of the bird as it is moving out of view. This past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I captured some shots of a departing Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that really showcased its impressively wide wingspan. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the wingspans of Great Blue Herons are about 5.5-6.6 feet (1.7-2.0 meters), an amazing size for a bird that weighs only about 5 pounds (2.3 kg).

I was zoomed in with my telephoto lens when the heron took off unexpectedly. As you can see in the first photo, I reacted a bit too slowly and was not quite ready when the heron extended its wings and jumped out of the water. The second shot shows the heron’s fully extended wings as it flew low over the pond before gaining some altitude (an I managed to capture the full wingspan). In the final shot, you can finally get a glimpse of the heron’s head and it has lifted its legs up against its body into more aerodynamic flight position.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First birds of 2026

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Carolina Wren, Melospiza melodia, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, song sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm, Thryothorus ludovicianus, Woodbridge VA on January 7, 2026| 5 Comments »

I photographed this little Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) and this spherical Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) yesterday during a lengthy trek through Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The weather yesterday was cold and overcast, which mean that the conditions were less than ideal, but I was feeling a bit of cabin fever and was happy to be outdoors for my first photo trek of the new year.

I could hear a lot of birds singing in the trees and rustling about in the underbrush, but did not get very many clear views of them. Still, I was happy with the results that I achieved. I snapped off the first photo when the wren momentarily hopped up from the leaves in which it had been foraging and looked in my direction.

The sparrow in the second photo was a bit more in the open, but its head was most often turned away from me. I really like the way that the bird’s markings were an almost perfect match for the colors and the patterns in the background.

It felt good to be out with my camera and to experience the tranquility of nature that so often soothes my soul.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Happy New Year 2026

Posted in Birds, cross stitch, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged @pigeoncoopdesigns.com, Bombycilla cedrorum, Canon 7D, Cedar Waxwing, Festive Cardinal, Max Pigeon, New Year 2026, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pigeon Coop Designs, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 2, 2026| 15 Comments »

It’s hard to believe that a new year has already started. Where did 2025 go? I had to really pay attention when I wrote the date on my first check of 2026 this morning—yes, I still write a few paper checks each month, though I am moving increasingly to paying most of my bills on line.

For a variety of reasons, I kind of backed off from photography a bit this past year. According to the stats portion of WordPress, I published 196 posts in 2025 for a total of over 34 thousand words. That may seem like a lot, but over the lifetime of this blog, I’ve probably averaged about 400 postings a year, with a high of 653 posts with a total of just under 100 thousand words in 2014. In case you are a stats nerd, my lifetime totals since my start in 2012 are 5502 postings with a total of 581988 views.

Strangely enough, the number of views in 2025 was an all-time high of over 89 thousand. Why? I think that the addition of an AI summary to Google searches may have brought forward a number of my posts to a broader audience and a sharp increase in the number of viewers from China (over 12 thousand views in 2025) may reflect the activity of bots or some other web tools.

I haven’t given up on wildlife photography, but during the second half of 2025 I averaged going out with my camera only about once a week. In late December I captured this image of a Cedar Waxwing bird (Bombycilla cedrorum) that was most hidden in the shadows. I was thrilled to be able to capture the distinctive crest of this really cool bird.

During this past year I have rediscovered my love of counted cross stitch and have devoted a substantial amount of my “extra” time to stitching. It’s a strange mix of hobbies to have one that is active and outdoors and another that is mostly sedentary. The second photo shows a recently completed project called Festive Cardinal, designed by Max Pigeon of Pigeon Coop Designs. I showed this project a while back when it was almost completed, but thought it would be fun to show it again in its finished form, because it shows the way that my photography interests and cross stitch interests overlap in terms of subject matter.

So what will 2026 hold for me? I really don’t do new year’s resolutions and am not much for planning—I came across a joke yesterday that new year’s resolutions are things that go in one year and out the other. Sorry. I’m hoping that I’ll achieve a better balance between these two primary hobbies, but I may go off on tangents with watercolor painting, knitting, or even sewing—maybe I’ll finally learn to use the sewing machine that a friend gave to me. I guess that the one thing that ties all of these interests together is a sense of wonder and curiosity and a desire to tap into a sense of creativity that was mostly suppressed during my working career.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year. Technically I am also wishing those of you who celebrate Christmas a Merry Christmas, because today is only the ninth day of Christmas (on which the well-known song indicates that my true love gave me nine ladies dancing).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Yellow-rumped Warbler in December

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga coronata, Tamron 150-600mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-rumped Warbler on December 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Many different warblers pass through my area during the spring and the autumn, but the Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) is one of the few species that remains here for most of the winter. Their colors are pretty subdued during the winter season, but they do have small patches of bright yellow on their sides and on their rump. It is always a delight to spot their flashes of yellow as they forage in the trees.

I captured this shot of a Yellow-rumped Warbler in mid-December as it was peeking out from behind a tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Red-bellied Woodpecker in December

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Melanerpes carolinus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Woodbridge VA, woodpecker on December 27, 2025| 8 Comments »

When I am out in the wild with my camera, most of my senses are fully engaged. I am listening intently and scanning constantly, seeking audio or visual clues of the presence of potential subjects. During much of the year, sounds don’t help much, because the leaves on the trees hide the sources of the sounds. I marvel at the ability of some folks to identify birds by their calls, but I can do that with only a handful of species. So most of the time I rely on movement and to a lesser extent on color for me to acquire a target—if a bird (or insect) remains still, it often will remain invisible to me.

Last week when I was walking about at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I heard the gentle tapping sounds of a woodpecker. I looked in the general direction of the sounds and saw a distant snag, but did not see the woodpecker. Did I have the right tree identified? As I was focusing on the tree, a Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) poked its head out from behind the tree and I quickly snapped off a couple of photos before the bird disappeared again from view.

The woodpecker was pretty far away, even for my telephoto zoom lens, so I knew that I did not get the kind of close-up detailed image that I usually like to capture. However, when I was reviewing the photos on my computer, I found myself drawn to this profile shot of the woodpecker, surrounded by the wonderful texture of the lichen-covered bark of the tree. The image has a bit of an artsy, minimalist feel that I really like.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Last eagles of 2025?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle takeoff, Canon 7D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 26, 2025| 4 Comments »

When the leaves are gone from the trees, it’s a little easier to spot perched Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), like this one that I photographed last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I am blessed to live in an area where there are enough bald eagles that it is not uncommon for me to spot one. However, the eagles have much more developed senses that I do, so often my first indication of their presence is when they are flying away from me, as you can see in the first photo below.

In the case of the second photo, there was a good deal of vegetation between me and the eagle that partially hid my presence. I was able to manually focus my lens on the perched eagle through the vegetation and get a relatively clear shot of the eagle, which took off almost immediately after I had snapped a couple of photos.

I am not certain if I will be able to get out with my camera during the few remaining days of 2025, so these photos may well be my last shots of the year of these majestic birds.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Robin bath

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged American robin, bathing robin, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, robin, Tamron 150-600mm, Turdus migratorius, Woodbridge VA on December 24, 2025| 3 Comments »

Last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I spotted a small group of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) clustered around a large puddle. Some of the birds took their turns drinking from the puddle, while others took advantage of the opportunity to take a bath. Some of the birds merely flapped about a bit in the water, but the robin in the photo below seemed to enjoy soaking in the cold water.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Winter snack

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron fishing, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 22, 2025| 2 Comments »

Some birds, like Great Egrets and Green Herons, leave our area during the cold months to overwinter in warmer places. Great Blue Herons, however, remain with us throughout the year. I imagine that it is tough for them to find food, especially when the small ponds where I often spot them are frozen over.

I was happy last week to spot this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. There was ice on parts of the pond where the heron was standing, but there were still some open areas. I watched as the heron patiently scanned the water for potential prey and captured this shot as the heron was pulling a small fish out of the water.

It’s a really small fish and I encourage you to click on the image to enlarge it and get a better look at the fish. For the heron, the fish is probably only an appetizer, but at this time of year, food is scarce, so even tiny bits are undoubtedly welcome.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Field Sparrow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Field Sparrow, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, sparrow, Spizella pusilla, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 20, 2025| 6 Comments »

I was thrilled on 18 December to capture this shot of a beautiful little Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I initially heard this bird as it was foraging in the underbrush and was searching for it when it unexpectedly hopped up onto a fallen branch. The little sparrow posed momentarily for me and I was able to capture this cool little portrait of it. Even though the background is pretty cluttered, the sparrow really stands out in the shot.

When I took the photo, I was not able to identify the sparrow species. However, the rust colored crown, orange-pink bill, and white eye ring as quite distinctive, so I was able to find the Field Sparrow in my identification guide. Still I was not absolutely certain of my identification, so I posted a photo to a Facebook birding group and several experts there confirmed that it was indeed a Field Sparrow.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Frozen waters in December

Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged frozen water, ice, iPhone 11, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Woodbridge VA on December 19, 2025| 1 Comment »

Although the weather was a bit warmer yesterday (18 December), there was still plenty of ice in the frigid waters off of the shores of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. For many of us here in the United States, winter does not officially begin until this Sunday, the 21st of December, but we have already had two snow storms with measurable accumulation and some periods of sub-freezing temperatures.

With rain in the forecast for the following couple of days, I ventured out yesterday to my favorite local wildlife refuge with my camera, looking primarily for birds.I did not have a huge amount of success in capturing images of these birds, but it was enjoyable nonetheless to be outdoors in the relatively comfortable temperatures of a beautiful December day.

I was happy that I remembered to take some landscape style shots with my iPhone to document the day—when I am carrying around my camera with a long telephoto zoom lens, I often forget to take some wide-angle shots like these ones.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Song Sparrow in December

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Melospiza melodia, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, song sparrow, sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Woodbridge VA on December 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Now that I am focusing mostly on photographing birds rather than dragonflies or butterflies, I am having to reacquaint myself with my long telephoto lens (Tamron 150-600mm) and with the related differences in shooting techniques. During the warmer months, I spend most of my time looking downwards and scanning an area no more than 10 feet (3 meters) in front of me. When it comes to the colder months, I spend much more time looking upwards for bird activity, although some of the remaining birds forage on the ground, so I can’t totally forget to look down. I also scan areas that are much farther away from me, particularly because my long lens cannot focus on anything that is closer than 9 feet (2.7 meters) from me.

Last week I was delighted to spot this beautiful Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I am gradually learning the differences in coloration in the various sparrows in our area, though I must confess that sparrow identification is an ongoing challenge for me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Carolina Chickadee in December

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Carolina Chickadee, chickadee, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Poecile carolinensis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 9, 2025| 7 Comments »

During the wintertime, when the leaves are gone from the trees, I have a better chance of spotting tiny birds, like this Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) that I photographed last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It was sunny but cold when I photographed the chickadee. Like most birds that I encounter during the winter months, this chickadee looked almost round, having fluffed up its feathers in order to retain its body heat. I have the same body shape when I bundle up in my cold weather clothes and increasingly even without them.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dragonfly in December

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 7D, male Autumn Meadowhawk, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 5, 2025| 7 Comments »

I was delighted to spot this Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum) on Wednesday, 3 December, at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Despite our recent cold nights, many of which have dipped below the freezing level, this hardy dragonfly managed to survive.

It is snowing out right this moment, so I am not sure how much longer I will be seeing these beautiful little creatures, but I’ll almost certainly be out with my camera next week to see what I can find.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Thanksgiving 2025

Posted in Birds, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, Thanksgiving, wildlife, tagged attitude of gratitude, Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, Canon 7D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, thanks, Thanksgiving 2025, Woodbridge VA on November 27, 2025| 4 Comments »

Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating this American holiday. Whether we are soaring high or resting at water’s edge, like this Bald Eagle couple (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), we are all blessed.

The Scriptures tell us we should “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” A recent sermon reminded me that we are called to give thanks “in” all circumstances, even when it may not be possible to feel thankful “for” all of them. It’s a matter of having what some have called an “attitude of gratitude.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Last dragonflies of the year?

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Autumn 2025, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I haven’t yet checked this week, but these Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum vicinum) that I spotted on 17 November at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge are likely to be among the last dragonflies that I see this season.

Autumn Meadowhawks frequently perch flat on the ground or on dried leaves on the ground. I was delighted when a male Autumn Meadowhawk perched almost vertically on a colorful fallen leaf and I was able to capture the first image below. By contrast, the female in the second photo chose a less interesting drab leaf on which to perch.

I’ll try to go out later this week to see if I can find some late season survivors, but it is becoming clear to me that this year’s dragonfly season is nearly over.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Bluebirds in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged bluebird, Canon 7D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 19, 2025| 5 Comments »

As I was walking along the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Monday, I spotted a small flock of birds foraging high in the trees. When I zoomed in with my telephoto lens, I was delighted to see that they were Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis). It may be a bit trite and a bit of a cliché, but I really do love bluebirds—they make me happy.

As you can see from the photos, Eastern Bluebirds have a substantial amount of orange plumage in addition to their blue feathers. Years ago, one of my youngest viewers, Benjamin, suggested that they should be known as Orange Bluebirds and I chuckle as I remember that comment every time that I spot a bluebird.

It was a bit of a challenge capturing shots of these hyperactive little birds as they moved about in the colorful foliage, but I managed to get a few relatively decent shots. Ideally I would have liked for the bluebirds to have been at eye level, but I try to do my best with the conditions that I am given. That is the typical fate of a wildlife photographer.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Chickadee and sweetgum

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Autumn Bird, Canon 7D, Carolina Chickadee, chickadee, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Poecile carolinensis, spiky gumballs, Sweet Gum, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 18, 2025| 10 Comments »

As we approach winter, birds in the wild have to work hard to find food. Yesterday I photographed this tiny Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, my local wildlife refuge as it worked to extract seeds from the spiky seed pods of a sweetgum tree.

Now that most of the insects are gone for the season, I have switched lenses on my camera. Although I usually have some additional lenses in my backpack when I am on my little photography expeditions, I generally tend to stick with the lens that is on my camera, During warmer months that tends to be a Tamron 18-400mm lens that has the flexibility to get wide angle shots in addition to close-up shots of insects, particularly dragonflies.

During the cold months, I use my Tamron 150-600mm lens, a longer telephoto zoom lens that gives me greater reach. This lens is quite heavy to hold for extended periods of time, so I normally use it with a monopod, as I was doing yesterday, to give me greater stability and hopefully sharper photos.

I am always amazed when I see chickadees hanging from these spiky seed balls. I realize that these birds don’t weigh much, but it’s hard to believe that they can hang from the same seed pod that they are working on.

I was thrilled to be able to capture this cool image of the chickadee in action, with the colorful foliage in the background giving it a real autumn vibe.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Goldfinch and Orange-crowned Warbler

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged American Goldfinch, Canon 7D, Leiothlypis celata, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Orange-crowned Warbler, Spinus tristis, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on November 14, 2025| 3 Comments »

As I was walking along one of the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this past Monday (10 November) I saw and heard a group of small birds moving about in the vegetation. Many of them flew away immediately, but a few of them remained in place a little while longer. I thought I recognized the prominent pattern as belonging to an American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis). I tracked one of the birds and captured the second shot, which confirmed my initial identification.

When I started to review my photos on my computer, I noticed that there was a second bird in the first photo below that I had not noticed when I took the photo. I naively assumed it must be another goldfinch. I posted the photo to a Facebook birding group and one of the more experienced birders there pointed out that the bill on the bird on the right was completely different. He identified the bird as an Orange-crowned Warbler (Leiothlypis celata), a species that he noted was “hard to find.” After reading that comment, I looked over my photos once again and decided to post the final photo of the warbler in a slightly different pose.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn Meadowhawks in November

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Autumn 2025, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on November 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I think that we may well be down to our last surviving dragonfly species. On 10 November I ventured out to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to look for any remaining dragonflies or butterflies. I did not find any butterflies, but was delighted to spot close to a dozen Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum vicinum).

Our temperatures this past week have dropped down close to the freezing level, which most dragonflies cannot tolerate. Autumn Meadowhawks, however, are hardy enough to survive a few light frosts as long as daytime temperatures remain relatively warm and sunny. Once we start receiving a few heavy frosts the remaining population starts to die off.

I was happy to capture some photos of Autumn Meadowhawks as they perched on the colorful leaves that litter many of the trails at the wildlife refuge. The dragonflies appeared to be content to remain in place soaking up the warmth of the sun as I approached and some even posed for me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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White-throated Sparrow in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, sparrow, Tamron 18-400mm, white-throated sparrow, Woodbridge VA, Zonotrichia albicollis on November 12, 2025| 1 Comment »

This past Monday (10 November) I was delighted to spot my first White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) of the season. White-throated Sparrows overwinter in my area of Northern Virginia and seem to have arrived fairly recently.

I love the distinctive markings of these little birds, with their white “beards” that remind me of Santa Claus and their bright yellow lores, i.e. the region between the eye and the bill. They are the only species of sparrows that I can reliably identify—for other sparrows I have to look closely at guide books in order to guess their species.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Golden-crowned Kinglet

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Golden-crowned Kinglet, kinglet, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Regulus satrapa, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on November 11, 2025| 2 Comments »

Sometimes it pays to be lucky (and persistent). Yesterday I visited Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge for this first time in over a week. It was cool (about 45 degrees (7 degrees C) and breezy, so I knew that my focus would be primarily on birds rather than insects.

Midway through the morning, I spotted a bird moving about high in the trees and I tried to track it. Eventually I realized that it was a Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa), one of the smallest birds in our area at only about 3-4 inches in length (8-11 cm). Golden-crowned Kinglets are skittish and do not stay still for very long, so I frantically tried to track this bird as it moved from branch to branch.

I took lots of photos, but in many of them the kinglet was partially hidden by the branches or was out of the frame. My favorite photo of the kinglet is the first one below. The kinglet paused for a moment and lifted it head, allowing me to get a little eye contact with the bird. As I was focusing in on the kinglet’s perch, the kinglet took off and I captured the second photo, a lucky midair shot. The final photo shows the kinglet in one of its many acrobatic poses that it used as it foraged for food.

In case some of you are curious, I did find a few dragonflies yesterday, but I’ll leave those photos for another blog post.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Another Blue-faced Meadowhawk

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Autumn 2025, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on November 9, 2025| 2 Comments »

For a variety of reasons I did not manage to go out with my camera this past week, so I went through my photos from the previous week and was delighted to find this photo of a Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum). As I have noted in previous postings, Blue-faced Meadowhawks have such a wonderful combination of colors that make them one of my favorite dragonfly species.

I was quite fortunate that this particular individual landed on some leaves right next to one of my feet, so I was able to capture this cool image by shooting almost directly downwards. In fact, I had to digitally remove a bit of the boot I was wearing from the lower left edge of the photo to keep the viewer from getting distracted.

Several days ago we had some frost warnings, so I fear that more of the dragonflies will have disappeared for the season. Still, I hope to return to my local wildlife refuge in the next few days to see what I can find.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn colors

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Autumn 2025, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on November 6, 2025| 4 Comments »

It’s always fun to try to capture a shot of an Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum) with beautiful fall colors in the background, as I did last Friday (31 October) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Autumn Meadowhawks are invariably the last surviving species of the dragonfly season. In past years I have spotted them as late as the middle of December, and fellow dragonfly enthusiasts have reportedly seen them in our area in early January.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Cabbage White in late October

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, wildlife, tagged Cabbage White, Cabbage White butterfly, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pieris rapae, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on November 4, 2025| 2 Comments »

I spotted this pretty little Cabbage White butterfly (Pieris rapae) on 31 October at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This is a relatively common butterfly that has a natural range across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. According to Wikipedia, it was accidentally introduced to Quebec, Canada, around 1860 and spread rapidly throughout North America.

Most of the time Cabbage Whites flit about so much as they forage that it is hard to get a good photo of one. This Cabbage White, however, paused for a moment to feed on a flowering plant and I was able to capture an action shot. If you click on the image, you can get even see the extended proboscis that the tiny butterfly was using to suck nectar from the center of the flower.

Cabbage Whites are one of the earliest butterflies to appear in the spring and generally are still in flight in the fall until we have a hard freeze. The weather has cooled considerably, but so far the temperatures have not fallen below the freezing level.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Halloween Day Dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 7D, Halloween, halloween 2025, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on November 3, 2025| 7 Comments »

I was delighted to spot this stunning Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum ambiguum) on Halloween Day at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. We have had a series of cool, damp days recently, so when I saw the weather was forecast to be sunny, I went out to see if I could find any dragonflies. As I suspected, most of the dragonflies are now gone, but I was delighted to find a couple of Blue-faced Meadowhawks, one of my favorite species, and also a few Autumn Meadowhawks. The dragonfly season is not over yet.

I absolutely love the striking coloration of the male Blue-faced Meadowhawks, like the one in the photo below. Their turquoise faces, blue eyes, and bright red abdomens are incredibly beautiful. On a day when many children would be focusing on their “trick or treat” adventures, I felt like I received my “treat” a little early.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Orange Bluet damselfly

Posted in Autumn, damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Enallagma signatum, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Orange Bluet, Orange Bluet damselfly, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on November 1, 2025| 2 Comments »

When I spotted this damselfly on 17 October at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I initially couldn’t figure out what species it was. I asked for help in a dragonfly/damselfly group in Facebook and was informed that it was an Orange Bluet damselfly (Enallagma signatum).

The name Orange Bluet seems to be an oxymoron. As the name “bluet” suggests, most of the 35 members of the genus American Bluet (Enallagma), the largest damselfly genus in North America, are blue. However, certain species come in other colors including red, orange, and green and the Rainbow Bluet combines red, yellow, and green.

I have actually photographed Orange Bluets before, but they have been a much brighter orange in color, as you can see in the second photo below from July 2022. The damselfly in the first photo was much duller in color, which may well be the reason for my uncertainty. However, it seems to be a perfect visual representation of the current autumn season.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Pondhawk in late October

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, female eastern pondhawk, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on October 27, 2025| 5 Comments »

There are only a few remaining dragonflies as we move deeper into the autumn season. I was therefore delighted to spot this female Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Eastern Pondhawks appear in early May and generally hang around until the end of October.

The females of this species are quite distinctive in their appearance, with their brilliant green color and striped abdomens, so they are relatively easy to identify. Immature males, however, have the same coloration when young, so I usually check the terminal appendages before making a call on the gender of an Eastern Pondhawk.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn spider

Posted in Arachnids, Nature, Photography, spiders, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Halloween, halloween 2025, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, spider, Tamron 18-400mm, wolf spider, Woodbridge VA on October 25, 2025| 9 Comments »

As I was hunting for dragonflies last week, I was surprised to come across this wonderfully patterned spider at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I had figured that spiders were gone for the season, so I was not expecting to see on crawling across a fallen log.

I realize that spiders are a divisive subject for photography—some people love and admire then, while others fear and hate them. As you might suspect, I am in the former camp. Although I had a 18-400mm zoom lens on my camera, I was able to capture quite a few details of this spider and encourage you to click on the image.

I am not really sure of the species of this spider, but suspect that it might be a wolf spider.

Somehow this spider gives off a Halloween vibe to me. Happy Halloween in advance to those of you who celebrate thing creepy and spooky on that day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Autumn 2025, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on October 22, 2025| 2 Comments »

We have now reached a point in the dragonfly season where Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum) are the dragonfly species that I see most frequently. Most other species have gradually disappeared and I seen only occasional survivors that are still hanging on. There is something about the physiology of Autumn Meadowhawks that allows them to tolerate the cold better than other dragonflies and in past years I have seen them as late as the middle of December.

Last Friday I spotted over a dozen Autumn Meadowhawks at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and was able to capture photos of several of them. Autumn Meadowhawks tend to perch flat on the ground, so it can be a bit difficult to spot them, especially when they choose to land on fallen leaves that camouflage them almost perfectly.

Female Autumn Meadowhawks are a mixture of red and brown colors, as you can see in the first photo below, while the males of the species are bright red, as you can see in the final photo. Both genders have beautiful brown eyes.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 7D, female Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on October 20, 2025| 2 Comments »

The Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) is a late-season dragonfly that is somewhat similar in appearance to the more common Autumn Meadowhawk—males of both species have bright red bodies, but Autumn Meadowhawks have brown eyes.

The females of both species are more muted in their coloration than their male counterparts, as is often the case with many dragonflies and birds, so they have more natural camouflage and are frequently more difficult to find. I was therefore delighted to spot this female Blue-faced Meadowhawk last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, my first sighting of the species this season.

I am hopeful that I will spot the more colorful male Blue-faced Meadowhawk before this dragonfly season comes to an end.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Common Buckeye in October

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Common Buckeye, Common Buckeye butterfly, Junonia coenia, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on October 14, 2025| 7 Comments »

During transitional periods throughout the year, I like to capture images that include elements of the season that is ending and of the season that is beginning. Last Friday I took this photo of a Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) that has some foliage in the background that was in the process of changing colors. Though the leaves on which the butterfly is perched are still green, the reds and oranges of the background provide a foretaste of the future, a foreshadowing sign of what is yet to come.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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