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Posts Tagged ‘Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge’

Insect Olympics

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Olympics, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 30, 2024| 1 Comment »

Inspired perhaps by the Summer Olympics in Paris, this female Halloween Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina) was practicing her acrobatic moves last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Yesterday I watched coverage of some of the men’s gymnastics competition and I was in awe of the ease with which the athletes were able to do handstands in the air on rings, on parallel bars, and on the ground. I have always been in awe of the combination of strength and balance of both human and insect gymnasts.

I’d give this dragonfly a perfect 10.0 as a score.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Active osprey nest

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 29, 2024| 3 Comments »

There was a lot of activity at one of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nests last Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. When I first noticed the nest, there were a several Osprey sitting in the nest—initially I thought there were only two in the nest, but when I looked more carefully, I could see that there were at least three osprey there.

As I watched, another osprey flew into the nest as you can see in the first photo below. The nest does not appear to very large, so the the birds had to rearrange themselves a bit to accommodate the new arrival. In the second photo, one of the osprey seemed to be expressing its displeasure with the need to move a bit.

I think this may be a family unit, though I can’t be absolutely sure of that. When I look closely at the eyes of the osprey, some of them appear to be orangish in color, unlike the paler eyes of adults.

I especially love the body language in the second photo. It’s fun to imagine the conversation that is taking place. Perhaps, for example, the osprey with the flapping wings is complaining that the newly arrived osprey did not have a fish in its talons to share with the rest of the family. What do you think?

Osprey

Osprey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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In the clouds

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Halloween Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis eponina) perch so high in the vegetation that it sometimes seems like they are perching amidst the clouds, like this one that I spotted a week ago at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. One of the advantages of this species’ perching preference is that it is often easy to get an uncluttered background. In addition, I frequently can get a shot like this one in which the light shines through the cells of the wings, illuminating them like a stained glass window.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spooky morning

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 26, 2024| 5 Comments »

This Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) took a long look at me last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge before deciding that I was not dead, though I was moving quite slowly because of the heat and the humidity. Most of the vultures that I see in my area are Turkey Vultures, which have red, featherless heads, but, as you can in the photo, we also have Black Vultures.

I readily acknowledge that vultures play an important role in our ecosystems by eating dead animal carcasses and preventing the spread of diseases that could affect local food webs and human health. However, I admit that I, like most people, find these amazing birds a little creepy. Perhaps it is the result of watching countless Westerns on television as a child, movies in which circling vultures were always seen as a foreboding sign of death.

I like the way that this stark, naked tree enhances the spookiness of the vulture. One of my Facebook friends suggested that this would make a good Halloween image. For now, the image serves to remind us that life is ephemeral, tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Black Vulture

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Needham’s Skimmer (male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Immature male Needham’s Skimmer (Libellula needhami) dragonflies are yellow and black in color, like the females of the species, but gradually turn into a wonderful shade of reddish-orange as the season progresses. I was delighted to spot this mature male Needham’s Skimmer last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and captured this image as he perched on a stalk of what appears to be Eastern Gamagrass.

Needham's Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Tight squeeze

Posted in Bees, Birds, Flowers, Insects, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 24, 2024| 2 Comments »

The entrance to a partially-open flower on a trumpet vine was so narrow that a bumblebee really struggled to gain access to the sweet goodness inside last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Eventually the bee was able to wiggle its way inside and add to the pollen baskets on its hind legs.

I could not help but recall how much easier it is for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) to access the nectar in trumpet vine flowers using their long, slender bills. I have not yet been able to photograph any hummingbirds this season, but thought that I would reprise a photo from an August 2015 blog posting entitled “Hummingbird and trumpet vine.” Click on the link to see some additional photos of hummingbirds feeding on trumpet vines and learn more about my encounter that day.

bumblebee

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Quixotic quest

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2024| 2 Comments »

I do not tilt at windmills, but often find myself engaged in my personal quixotic quest of trying to photograph dragonflies in flight. It is such a challenging task that I titled a video that I posted on YouTube, “Impossible Shots? Dragonflies in flight.” Despite the almost overwhelming odds of getting a good shot of one of these aerial acrobats in flight, I feel irresistibly drawn to trying over and over again whenever I see a dragonfly in the air.

I spotted this Black Saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata) patrolling over the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last Thursday and was thrilled to capture this shot of the dragonfly as it flew past me.Black Saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata). I love the way that you can see how the dragonfly had enhanced its aerodynamic profile by folding up its legs under its thorax, a bit like the way aircraft retract their landing gear after taking off.

In case you are curious, Black Saddlebags are only about 2 inches (52 mm) in length, so I have to be paying attention in order to even spot one. After years of pursuing my quest, though, my eyes are now calibrated to recognize the shape of a dragonfly pretty quickly and my hand-to-eye coordination has improved with practice, so that I am able to track these a lot better than when I started.

Black Saddlebags

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Impressive Wingspan

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 22, 2024| 2 Comments »

I love to look closely at dragonfly wings. I have a mental picture of the cells of a dragonfly wing as being made up of regularly-shaped squares, like those on a page of graph paper. When I examine them in real life, though, I am always delighted to see all of the different shapes and sizes of these tiny cells in intricate patterns that rival those of massive stained-glass windows.

I photographed this male Widow Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula luctuosa) last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I love to see dragonflies with patterned wings and the males of this species have the added bonus of having both brown and white patterns on each wing.

This dragonfly was relatively cooperative and did not fly away as I moved slowly into a position that gave me a good view of the wings. I had to bend and crouch a little to get this shot that emphasizes the impressive wingspan of this handsome little dragonfly.

Widow Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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What is the main subject?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on July 20, 2024| 5 Comments »

The main subject of one of my photos is usually pretty clear—I try to fill as much of the frame as possible with the insect or bird on which I am focusing at that moment with a telephoto or macro lens. Of course, it is often impossible to “fill the frame,” because my wildlife subjects frequently are skittish and are likely to depart if I move too suddenly or get too close to them.

As I was reviewing my photos from a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last week, I came across this shot of a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus). The wren was pretty far away and had its back to me. The only thing that saved this from being another “butt shot” was the slight turn of the wren’s head that provided me with a chance to get a profile shot.

The shot of the wren is ok, but it was the amazing background that took my breath away. I dabble with watercolor painting and I would be absolutely thrilled to be able to paint a background like this, with all of those different shades of green and the deliciously soft “bokeh ball.” Wow!

I decided that the main subject of the photo that I wanted to show you all was actually the background, not the Carolina Wren. Consequently I did not crop very tightly and left it to the viewers to focus their attention on the linear structure of the branches and on the wonderful background. I am not sure that a thumbnail view of the image will grab folks’ attention, but I am ok with that—the photos in my blog are intended to provide an interesting view of some aspect of the beauty of nature and not serve as click-bait to maximize the number of views.

Carolina Wren

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Osprey in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 19, 2024| 2 Comments »

Earlier in the season, when the trees were bare, it was very easy to spot Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) when they returned to our area from their wintering grounds. Now, though, the trees are covered in leaves and Ospreys are increasingly hard to see as they perch among the leaves, especially if they remain silent.

I was delighted to spot this vigilant osprey last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. He was alert and focused—he seemed to be paying attention to something, though I am not sure of the subject of his surveillance.

The winds were kicking up periodically, causing a cowlick of feathers to stand up in the back of the osprey’s head. When I was a child, I had a similar problem and had to use a bit of Brylcreem to keep the unruly hair in place. (My Mom used to be able to accomplish the same thing with my hair using only a bit of her saliva and her fingers.)

Osprey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Toothy grin

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2024| 2 Comments »

On occasion I have noticed a dragonfly that seemed to be smiling a little at me. Last week, though, I encountered a female Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge that seemed to have an exceptionally toothy grin—she seemed delighted to pose for me. I love the way that the background blurred out, allowing viewers to focus on the details of this smiling dragonfly and hopefully producing smiles on their faces in response.

Widow Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mating Calico Pennant Dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 17, 2024| 1 Comment »

When dragonflies mate, they usually assume a “wheel” position, in which the male grasps the female by the back of her head and she bends her abdomen towards his thorax. The position appears to be both awkward and acrobatic, but amazingly the dragonflies are able to fly while in this position.

I was searching for dragonflies last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge when a pair of mating Calico Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis elisa) flew by me and landed in some nearby vegetation. Calico Pennants are some of the most spectacular dragonflies in our area, with bright colors and distinctive patches on their wings.

Feeling a bit like a voyeur, I moved a little closer to them and slowly crouched a bit to get a better angle for my shot. In the image below, you can see how the female grasps the abdomen of the male during this process.

I was happy to be able to get most of the two dragonflies in focus, which is always a challenge in situations like this.

Calico Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Trying to stay cool

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 16, 2024| 2 Comments »

The entire East Coast of the United States is in the midst of a heat wave. Yesterday here in the Washington D.C. area we had a record high temperature for 15 July of 102 degrees (39 degrees C) with the heat index even higher. Yikes.

Following recommendations of doctors and weather forecasters, I stayed indoors for most of the day and worked on a few images that I captured last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, including this shot of a Halloween Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina).

Many dragonflies perch with their wings held stationary, but Halloween Pennants seem to move their wings about quite a bit to maintain their balance as they perch precariously on the very tips of tall stalks of vegetation. It is very easy to isolate the dragonfly from the background, because they are perched above all of the ground clutter, but it is a bit of a challenge to focus on the dragonfly as it is buffeted to and fro by even the slightest of breezes.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Red-winged Blackbirds in July

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 15, 2024| 5 Comments »

I was delighted to see some Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In the first photo, a male  Red-winged Blackbird seemed to be showing off for me as he balanced himself on a single leg, glanced in my direction, and seemed to smile. Eventually he climbed to the tip of the small branch and appeared to be complaining about something that he observed.

A short distance away I captured the final image of a female Red-winged Blackbird. As you can she, she is not black nor does she have any red on her wings, so it feels a little strange to call her a Red-winged Blackbird. Although I was not able to get very close to her, I really like the overall composition of the image and the moment of action that I was able to capture as she called out.

Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 13, 2024| 1 Comment »

We have a number of different dark swallowtail butterfly species in our area and sometimes I have trouble telling them apart. Recently I have seen Black Swallowtails fairly frequently and occasionally I will see a Pipevine Swallowtail. I know that there is also a dark morph version of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and a Red-spotted Purple butterfly sometimes looks almost like a swallowtail.

Are you confused yet? When I spotted this cool-looking butterfly on Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I was not sure what it was. Rather than endlessly speculating while in the field, I follow what I call the “Law of the Wild West”—shoot first and ask questions later—and wait to identify my subjects until after I have loaded my images onto my computer.

I have grown accustomed to using a blog posting by the Louisiana Naturalist to help identify dark swallowtails—it provides side-by-side photos of four different species. On the basis of that posting and some other research, I have concluded that “my” butterfly is probably a Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) butterfly, a species that I don’t recall seeing the past few years.

The background of the photo is not particularly interesting, but I was patient enough to wait for the butterfly to open its wings, so you get a good look at the wonderful markings of this Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly.

Spicebush Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagle tries to steal fish from Osprey

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2024| 5 Comments »

On Wednesday I watched as a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) chased an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) high in the sky above the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in a vain attempt to steal its freshly caught fish. I captured the second shot when the eagle flew past me after giving up on its chase.
It has been several months since I last photographed a Bald Eagle, so I was thrilled to capture these images. As most of you know, I concentrate most of my photographic attention on dragonflies and other insects during the warmer months. However, I am always alert to the possibility of photographing birds when I manage to spot them.
During the winter months I generally use a 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens that gives me a long reach, but in the summer I tend to rely on a 180mm macro lens or the 18-400mm zoom lens that I used for these shots. This lens gives me a good deal of versatility, allowing me to capture my close-in tiny subjects and some longer distance ones like these raptors in flight.
Eagle and Osprey
Bald Eagle
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Green Heron in July

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on July 11, 2024| 7 Comments »

I was a little shocked yesterday to see a Green Heron (Butorides virescens) while I was searching for dragonflies at a small pond at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In the past I have seen Green Herons at other locations at the refuge, but never before at this pond. Green Herons are smaller and squatter than the Great Blue Herons that I am more accustomed to seeing.

When I initially spooked the Green Heron, it flew to a mucky, shallow end of the pond, where I was able to capture the first two images. I am always amazed at the length of the neck of a Green Heron when it extends it fully—it looks so much taller and slimmer in the second shot. I also really like the floppy head feathers that sometime look like a Mohawk hairstyle.

The Green Heron eventually sensed my presence and flew to a nearby tree. The heron was partially hidden by the abundant foliage, but eventually I was able to capture the final image of it among the leaves.

It was hot and humid yesterday, so I limited my trekking to a couple of hours and drank plenty of water. Still, it was nice to get out in the wild with my camera after a week of spending most of my time indoors.

Green Heron

Green Heron

Green Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Smiling dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 3, 2024| 3 Comments »

Can dragonflies smile? Although I realize that it is probably an anatomical impossibility, this female Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) sure did look like she was smiling at me when she posed for this little portrait last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Great Blue Skimmers are quite common in our area during the summer and are relatively easy to identify because of their white faces.

Great Blue Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Carolina Saddlebags dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 2, 2024| 1 Comment »

I do not see Carolina Saddlebags dragonflies (Tramea carolina) very often and when I am lucky enough to spot one, it is almost always 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 Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The same website described the Carolina Saddlebag’s flight tendencies as “Strong flier, often high, rarely perches.”

I spent some time that day watching several male Calico Pennant dragonflies, which are red and has patterned wings, as they flew around over the pond—check out yesterday’s posting to see a photo of a perched male Calico Pennant.  Suddenly a 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 for a while and was able to follow it as it perched high on a stalk of vegetation in an adjacent field.

I was shooting into the light and at a sharp upward angle, which meant that I risked creating a silhouetted image of the back side of the dragonfly. I crouched a little to create a sky/trees background and waited for the dragonfly to give me a profile view. For a brief moment, my wishes came true and I captured the image below.

The image is far from perfect, but I like the way that it turned out. The focus on the dragonfly is a little soft, but I think it works well with the blurred background, creating an aesthetically pleasing little image.

Carolina Saddlebags

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male Calico Pennant Dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 1, 2024| 5 Comments »

When male Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa) dragonflies are immature, they have yellow markings on their bodies similar to those of the females. As the males mature, those markings turn bright red. I was thrilled to spot several mature male Calico Pennants last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife, the first adult males of this species that I have encountered this year.

The bright body markings and the prominent wing patches really make this dragonfly stand out, although they are quite small, about 1.2 inches (30 mm) in length.

Calico Pennant

Calico Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Zebra Swallowtail and Milkweed

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , on June 30, 2024| 9 Comments »

I spotted quite a few beautiful Zebra Swallowtail butterflies this past Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The all seemed to be in constant motion, rarely perching for more than a split second and flying in unpredictable patterns.

Eventually I was able to capture a shot of a distant Zebra Swallowtail when it stopped to sip from a milkweed plant. I really like the composition of the photo, despite the fact that the main subject occupies only a small portion of the frame.

I could not help but notice that the butterfly is looking a bit tattered, with its long swallowtails already gone. Later in the season, I am sure that I will see many more butterflies and dragonflies with damage to their wings from the wear-and-tear of daily life. I am always amazed by the way that they are able to compensate and continue to survive. As I get older and slow down a bit, I try to remind myself to focus on those things that I can do and not on the ones that may be becoming increasingly challenging for me.

Zebra Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Needham’s Skimmer (female)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 29, 2024| 2 Comments »

There has been a recent explosion of dragonflies at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, my favorite location for photographing these beautiful aerial acrobats. I spotted hundreds and hundreds of dragonflies this past Tuesday as I explored the trails at the refuge.

One of the species that I encountered most frequently that day was the Needham’s Skimmer (Libellula needhami). The Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website provided a wonderful description of the Needham’s Skimmer. “This dashing summer dragonfly, a member of the king skimmer genus, makes quite a splash at the shallow, marshy wetlands it prefers. Relatively skittish, it spends more time on the wing and less time perching than other king skimmers.”

At this time of the year the males and females have a similar coloration, but as they mature the males will turn reddish-orange. The dragonfly in this photo is a female—it is easy to tell from the terminal appendages at the end of the abdomen. I love the bright yellow vein on the wings of this dragonfly, a feature that is shared by the males as well as the females of the species.

Needham's Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Living on the edge

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 28, 2024| 9 Comments »

The breeze was kicking up a bit and this Halloween Pennant dragonfly seemed to be holding on for dear life when I spotted in on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It seems to be that it would be safer and more secure to grasp the stalk a bit lower, but, like other members of the pennant family of dragonflies, this Halloween Pennant is a bit of a thrill seeker.

As the old adage, often attributed to John A. Shedd, states, “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” Sometimes, I think, it is good for us to step out of our comfort zones, which can turn into ruts if we are not careful, and take a risk by living life on the edge, like this Halloween Pennant dragonfly.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Female Unicorn Clubtail

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 27, 2024| 1 Comment »

I was excited to spot this female Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes) on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay Wildlife Refuge, one of the few times that I have seen a female of this species. I am not sure if the females hang out in different areas from the males, which perch prominently on low vegetation or logs at water’s edge, or if, like some human females, they are simply playing “hard to get” and wait to meet the males on their own terms.

As noted on the excellent Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, Unicorn Clubtails are “the only clubtail in Northern VA that prefers ponds and marshes, over streams and rivers…our only clubtail that can be found in completely still, stagnant water.” I know that is true for the males that I have featured already a couple of time this season on this blog, but is it also true for female Unicorn Clubtails?

How do you explain the behavior of females? It is one of the mysteries of life.

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Gathering pollen

Posted in Bees, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2024| 3 Comments »

This bumble bee was busily filling its pollen sacs and sucking up nectar when I spotted it recently during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I cannot identify the plant on which the bee was feeding, but I love its beautiful colors and the blurry bokeh balls that were created in the out-of-focus areas of the plant.

As many of you know, when you move in close to a subject, the depth of field becomes really narrow, which means that only certain elements will be in sharp focus. My goal as a photographer is to try to make sure that the most critical areas, which usually include the eyes of the subject, are in focus. In this case, I was delighted that both the eye and the extended proboscis are relatively sharp.

bumble bee

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Perching lightly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on May 28, 2024| 3 Comments »

I love the light and delicate pose of this handsome male Calico Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis elisa) that I spotted during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Pennant dragonflies, like the Calico Pennant, usually perch on the very tips of vegetation where they sway in the slightest breeze—like a pennant.

The red of the dragonfly’s body and the green of the vegetation help the dragonfly to “pop,” because red and green are complementary colors, i.e. they are directly opposite each other on the traditional color wheel that artists use.

Callico Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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First Viceroy of 2024

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 26, 2024| 2 Comments »

I haven’t seen any Monarch butterflies yet this season, but I did spot this similar-looking Viceroy butterfly last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Viceroy butterflies are generally much smaller than Monarchs, so I can often tell them apart from a distance. When I get closer though, the most obvious distinguishing feature is that Viceroys nave a thin black line across their hind wings that Monarchs do not have.

Viceroy butterfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Black Swallowtail in May

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 23, 2024| 3 Comments »

I spotted this beautiful Black Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The orange circle with the black dot in between the wings helps to distinguish this species from several similar-looking dark butterflies in our area.

I chased this butterfly around for quite some time before it finally stopped for a moment on this vegetation—I often get a good workout when photographing butterflies. I am quite happy with the way that I was able to capture the varying shades of green surrounding the butterfly that add a lot of visual interest to this simple composition.

Black Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Bright red birds

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 22, 2024| 7 Comments »

The bright red color of this male House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) really caught my eye last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. For a split second I thought it was a cardinal until I looked more closely at the bird, it was clear that it was a different species.

Later that same day I spotted an equally bright red male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) that seemed quite pleased with whatever treat it had found. I think it may be plant material, but I can’t exclude the possibility that it is some kind of insect.

From a photography perspective, it is really helpful when a bird is this boldly colored and makes no effort to blend in with its surroundings, especially at this time of the year when there are so many leaves on the trees.

House Finch

Northern Cardinal

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Southeastern Mud Turtle

Posted in Nature, Photography, spring, turtle, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 21, 2024| 3 Comments »

I love the sweet little face on this Southeastern Mud Turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum) that I spotted last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the turtles that I encounter are Red-eared Sliders or Painted Turtles and they generally are in the water or perched on logs floating in the water. Occasionally I will spot a box turtle or a snapping turtle. When it comes to mud turtles, however, I normally see only one or two a year.

According to the Virginia Herpetological Society, “Kinosternon subrubrum occupies a wide variety of aquatic habitats, including ponds, lakes, creeks, swamps, freshwater and brackish marshes, ditches, and boggy areas. They avoid large, deep bodies of water and fast-moving water. Preferred habitat is shallow, slow-moving water, with aquatic or emergent vegetation and a soft organic substrate. This turtle is often seen on land, especially after rainstorms. Mud Turtles may spend a considerable portion of the year on land and often overwinter in shallow burrows.”

mud turtle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Ovipositing Swamp Darner

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 14, 2024| 2 Comments »

Last week I photographed a female Swamp Darner dragonfly (Epiaeschna heros) depositing some eggs into a rotten log at the edge of a small pond at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Some dragonflies deposit a large number of eggs into the water or floating vegetation by tapping their abdomens rapidly and repeatedly at different locations, while others, like this Swamp Darner, deposit their larger eggs more slowly and deliberately by making a slit and inserting the eggs directly into wet wood and other debris with their blade-like ovipositors.

Swamp Darners are one of the largest dragonflies in our area, with a body length of about 3.4 inches (86 mm) in length. I love the description of this species on the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, “I often tell people on dragonfly walks that if they see a rhino with wings, it’s a swamp darner. Slight exaggeration, perhaps, but they are pretty impressive.” Some dragonflies are so nimble and acrobatic in their flight that they remind me of fighter aircraft, but the bulky size of the Swamp Darner makes me think more of bomber aircraft.

Swamp Darner

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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