I spotted these Dragonflies over a week ago, perching on the edge of a pond, then taking forays out over the water and returning.
The weather has taken a much cooler turn in the last few days and we’ll be flirting with frost at the end of the week. These may have been the last of the season.
A walk around Magnolia Cemetery fills the senses with textures and colors and small views are sometimes the best.
Shadows and lines surround family plots.
Insects go about their business; this dragonfly was sunning on a deteriorating fence post.
September 26, 2019, Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC
On our photography tour at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center I saw a few dragonflies, that mostly eluded me as they fed at high speed.
This one took a rest on a nicely placed reed. Just as I was getting in place with a good angle for the background I felt a sharp bite on my leg. Ants! Needless to say that was the end of those pictures as I spent five minutes getting the little buggers off me and out of my shoes.
Capturing Dragonflies in flight is not easy. Their small size and erratic flight path is hard to follow. For some reason this one was hovering for an extended period of time just over the edge of the pond.
I was able to get decent focus and a photobomber.
There is a small patch of Canna Lilies at the edge of the big field at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. It’s a wet spot and the lilies and cattails seem pretty happy there.
This dragonfly found an unfurled blossom a nice place to perch on a hot day. True to form he lifted off just as I was ready to shoot then returned to the exact same spot,
The orange and yellow combination of the flowers is quite attractive, shouting out “summer!”
This rather large dragonfly was looking for a spot to land and finally settled on this pretty lichen covered branch. In the first image he was hanging on to a bit of Spanish Moss.
He then got a better grip on the branch and stayed put. I did not see any insects for him to prey on. It was almost 100 F (37 C) and I wondered if he was looking for some shade. I don’t know what is going on with his tail–it looks like some plant debris was hitching a ride.
05/29/2019
The combination of the sun light and the distance from the perches to the background shows off this dragonfly’s striped wings quite nicely.
I don’t remember seeing this type of dragonfly before; but recognize the “return to the same spot” behavior I’ve seen in others.
He left and re-lit on this grain stalk multiple times while I watched.
5/19/2019 Mepkin Abbey
First decent photograph, that is. It seems like all of the dragonflies I’ve encountered this spring have been frantic, with none of that rhythmic pause, fly off and return to the same spot routine I got used to last year.
I liked the first image as much for the seed heads as the insect. The second image is the same dragonfly, on another nice piece of foliage.
I’m still occasionally seeing dragonflies, capturing these on Sunday as he investigated a manicured shrub hedge.
Look closely through his wing below and you’ll spot another thorn pointing away from his body.
An un-obscured head shot proved elusive and the direction of his position may have been due to the stiff breeze we had that day. These were taken in an area that is often overrun with mosquitoes so I was happy to have the air movement.
Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC 11/04/2018
It’s always interesting to note the objects dragonflies choose to land on. When available they often select stationery man-made objects over natural options. Could it be they prefer not to bounce in the breeze while on a reed or limb? This one certainly had an unobstructed view of any potential prey.
This pole is part of a rusting fence that is around a plot at Magnolia Cemetery.
