Great Blue Skimmers have returned to my back yard this year. My patio flowers aren’t nearly as plentiful or colorful as what I had for last year’s visitors.
The dragonflies like to perch on dried stalks and plant stakes.
This one let me maneuver around until I had him lined up with a tiny bloom of a purple salvia that provided a bit of accent in the background.
July 2, 2022
Here we are staring at the door of September and I have dragonfly images left from early July. Time to move them on!
Fence pickets make great perches and are at a great height for photography.
On the other side of that fence a piece of rebar attracted a Roseate Skimmer.
A slope down into a pond was covered with little flowers and and grass seed heads for perches.
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
July 7, 2021
Edit:
I had incorrectly identified this male Blue Dasher as a Great Blue Skimmer. Thank you Mike Powell for the ID info!
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
August 19, 2021
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.
A piece of bamboo stuck in a plant pot has become a regular perch for dragonflies on my patio this summer.
This Great Blue Skimmer was very tolerant of me walking around him to get different flowers in the background.
He did lift off a few times, but came right back.
A dragonfly, resting on a dried twig in front of now forgotten orange vegetation.
Taken at the Okefenokee Swamp back in April, I hadn’t published this post as I work on learning more about dragonfly ID. Cleaning up my drafts today, and I think this is a female Great Blue Skimmer.
A number of dragonflies used the fence protecting the flower garden at Middleton Place as a resting spot.
July 7, 2021
I spent much of yesterday afternoon photographing dragonflies on my back patio.
This particular dragonfly, identifiable by the missing section of his right hindwing, landed on several plant stakes but kept coming back to a Melissa Balm flower head.
I was able to move around the plant, effectively changing the background.
And I got a head nod.
Correction: thanks to Mike Powell for IDing this as a Great Blue Skimmer:
“I am almost certain that your dragonfly is a Great Blue Skimmer rather than a Blue Dasher, Blue Dashers have striped thoraxes (the “chest” area), while Great Blue Skimmers have whitish thoraxes, like the one in your images. Blue Dashers are also quite a bit smaller than Great Blue Skimmers, whose bodies seem more elongated. “
I now have two Canon 7D Mark II camera bodies and went out with them both this week to a preserve circled with old rice fields.
I spotted this Blue Dasher eating some kind of a bee/flying insect and he stuck around long enough for me to get some shots with both sets of gear. The Canon 100-400mm lens takes wonderful closeups, especially when the light is good, although I try not to go to the full 400mm as it tends to go a bit soft. This time I forgot.
As is often the case in South Carolina swamp areas, I was limited in distance and angle for safety reasons. In addition to the usual snakes and alligators to watch for this dike was riddled with ant hills. I just assume they bite and try to stay clear.
After a few shots I was able to get a bit closer with the 100mm lens while there was still some lunch remaining.
Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel, SC
June 23, 2021
After photographing the dragonfly for my post Dragonfly, Yellowish Abdomen that was perched on a branch I was surprised to spot a couple on the ground. So much for dragonflies sticking to one behavior!
This was on a short side trail off the mowed grass trail that was strewn with leaves and sticks.
The dragonfly flew to my other side, nicely perching on a dried seed head of some kind.
Fellow blogger Mike Powell (MichaelQPowell.com/) thinks my first post was of a juvenile female Great Blue Skimmer. I’ve just bought Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East and am on my way to learning more about the dragonfly and damselfly worlds; at more than 500 pages there is a lot to know.
