Correction: I had identified this as a Blue Dasher Dragonfly. See fellow blogger Mike Powell’s comment below about the ID as a Eastern Pondhawk and its ground behavior. Thanks Mike!
I am seeing dragonflies in all sorts of colors on our treks and even in our back yard. This one was on a berm near a small pond.
It surprised me he was more interested in the dry leaves and pine needles than in hanging out over the water.
Nice shots of a beautiful dragonfly, Ellen. I think the reason why this dragonfly prefers to perch on the ground rather than over the water is that it is an Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) not a Blue Dasher. The male Eastern Pondhawk has a green face, while the male Blue Dasher has a white face. Eastern Pondhawks, in my experience, tend to perch on the ground, which makes them tougher to photograph. Blue Dashers seem to like to perch on the tips of stalks and vegetations.
Thanks, Mike, and thanks for the ID correction. I don’t think the Eastern Pondhawk even came up as a possibility when I was searching for an ID. I’ll use a different resource next time.
I encourage you to double check my identification. There are so many different dragonflies, many of which look pretty similar in terms of coloration.
There sure is an amazing diversity in dragonflies, and a lot of blue ones. I find them to be more confusing that the warblers!