Much of the edge of the big pond at Donnelley WMA is lined with marsh grasses that make nice perches for dragonflies. A few species were taking advantage between hunting forays, including these Four-spotted Pennants.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
July 21, 2024
These Pennants were perching at or slightly above my eye level, making nice subjects on swamp reeds.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
September 14, 2022
Chinese Tallow, also known as Popcorn Tree, is an invasive species that crowds out native vegetation and is notoriously hard to get rid of. These trees have been treated but you can see from the sprouting vegetation are not dead.
These dragonflies found the “popcorn” seeds to be good perches.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
September 19, 2022
Pennant dragonflies are known for perching on the tips of vegetation. This one was swaying on a blade of grass at the edge of the Ashley River.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
September 12, 2022
Who could resist three dragonflies lined up in a row?
So these are just a duo as the third fellow took off for a minute.
One of the others gathered some snacks…
Showed off some flight skills…
Then returned to his perch.
These were all taken at 1/1000 sec with the Tamron 180mm prime macro lens.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
September 5, 2021
Who could resist three dragonflies lined up in a row?
Some more experimenting with distance and f-stops. A bunch of reeds kept me from the best placement to have all three dragonflies equidistant from me, and we were at the edge of a pond so I had to stay on this side.
And them some distraction with choosing different perches.
And with the dragonfly on the right adjusting his position.
There was also a little breeze, good for keeping bugs off me, not so good for my experiment as the reeds swayed.
These were all taken at 1/1000 sec with the Tamron 180mm prime macro lens.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
September 5, 2021
Who could resist three dragonflies lined up in a row?
These dragonflies, which I believe are all Four-spotted Pennants, were quite cooperative as I took this opportunity to experiment with different f-stops to see what ranges might be in focus.
These were all taken at 1/1000 sec with the Tamron 180mm prime macro lens.
I was about three feet (100cm) from the closest one, on the right in first image. Their perches were about 12 inches (30cm) apart left to right and a bit closer than that in their distance from each other front to back.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
September 5, 2021
Pennant dragonflies are known for perching at the tips of twigs and stems. This Four-spotted Pennant chose a very arty looking piece of vegetation to show off his spots.
