Those of you that are used to my posting mostly about birds might be forgiven for thinking that this post is about some exotic raptor... maybe.
No this week looks like it's going to be Odonate week here at the Picus Blog. Like many other birders, I am fascinated with other aspects of nature as well, and it is not uncommon to find me crawling on the ground to get a better look (or photo) of some insect. At this time of the year, by mid-morning it's getting to hot for most self-respecting New England birds to be singing, much less sitting out in the sun (shorebirds aside)- but that seems to be about the time that the dragonflies start becoming more active. Over the last several days I've been lucky enough to get a few more photos that I am happy with (and a few that I'm less than thrilled with too.)
So without any more blathering, allow me to present Mrs. Erythemis Simpliciollic.
Female Common PondhawkStay tuned - there are more dragonflies to come...
3 comments:
I have been fascinated with Dragonflies, especially the Amberwings. They are so tiny.
www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com
I decided to try my hand at identifying Dragonflies for the first time a few weeks ago.
Arriving pondside, I had some words with the Phoebe who'd been getting fat on odanate all summer. Having won the battle, I soon ID'd my first: a male Common Pondhawk.
Delighted, I turned to the nearby oviposting Dragonfly, which I assumed to be the female Pondhawk that the male was guarding. Within the first second of my getting the binoculars on the Dragonfly (yup, the female, alright), the Phoebe swooped in and nabbed it. I could hear it's thorax snap!
The Phoebe could have been feeding anywhere on the generously populated pond, but chose to be in my face. Chastened, I said aloud, "Well done," and continued on.
These pictures are absolutely stunning, Christopher. Great stuff. Common Ponhawk must be one of the prettiest N.American dragonflies. I'd love to go macro on that one day...!
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