I borrowed Ted’s Tamron 18-400 MM lens this morning and put the range flexibility to good use when I spotted an Eastern Pondhawk on a Lily Pad.
I got a decent closer image of the dragonfly and his shadow.
And a nice view of the scene without changing lenses or cameras.
These two dragonfly perches, one a random piece of rebar and one a dead branch, are just a few feet from each other in the corner of a local pond.
I took these three images within a couple of minutes while several dragonflies chased each other off these coveted spots.
I took this final picture at a 90 degree angle from the one just above, capturing a completely different background.
I didn’t have a clear view of the iris at the edge of this swampy area but a dragonfly dropped in to rest a few moments.
May 6, 2021
A dragonfly flew by in an awkward position, sort of tipped to his side, and I thought he must be wounded.
No, he was just weighted down by his lunch, I’d say a skipper moth.
Dried leaves made a nice ground perch for an Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly.
I changed my angle, getting more of the green vegetation behind the dragonfly.
One more shift of my feet and a more interesting view of the curled leaf perch was revealed.
April 2, 2021
Charleston, SC
I took these two images on different days, but not far from each other in June of 2019.
Both dragonflies lined up with the leaf to land, but the second one seems more at rest, with his whole body settled.
Some dappled sunlight was filtering down onto the wooded path I was exploring and amazingly this dragonfly landed in the light.
He paused a minute on a blade of grass giving me a very good view.
When he moved he stopped right at my feet, landing on my shoe, before selecting a vegetation perch.
I have seen dragonflies much earlier this year than the last few. Last year’s post Dragonfly, First of the Season was May 9th. In the comments of that post fellow blogger and dragonfly enthusiast Mike Powell (https://michaelqpowell.com/) thought that insect “looks to be a female Eastern Pondhawk ” and I am thinking this one might be also.
Several of them were flitting ahead of me on a wooded path and I was pleased to get the image of this one hanging onto a blade of grass.
Boynton Trail, Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
March 26, 2020
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.
