Photographs by Frank

21 July 2013

Along the Sweet Trail

Filed under: Odontates,Other Insects,Summer,wildflowers — Tags: , , — Frank @ 9:30 PM

Today, Joan had some botanizing to do over in Durham so I went along for the drive… err… to do the driving!

While she, and two partners, were  looking for plants that had not been seen since 1943*, I explored the Sweet Trail which runs for four miles starting in Durham and ending at Great Bay in Newmarket (or vice versa, I guess!).

I did not walk the whole trail. Rather, I explored only the southern most bit (from the Lubberland Creek trail head to the water) and the area around the Great Bay WMA trailhead in the middle.

At Lubberland Creek, there is a large meadow at the water’s edge that was filled with insects. There was also one very angry osprey circling overhead. Nearby, there was an nest on a platform at the waters edge with a second adult on it… I did not see any young birds, but I did not stay nearby for very long. Rather, I headed towards the upper edge of the meadow and stalked butterflies and dragonflies well away from the nest.

I managed only one butterfly photo as none of these critters would sit still long enough to for me to find them in the viewfinder. However, there were a number of seaside dragonlets and blue dashers about and I also spotted two male widow skimmers.

A short walk from the second trailhead brought me to a good sized pond. There, I happened upon a single female Common Pondhawk. There were also small numbers male blue dashers and meadowhawks (of both sexes, but unknown species) present as well. Out over the water, there were a number of large dragonflies (probably darners) that I could not see well, much less photograph.

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* This situation was unchanged by today’s activities!

20 July 2013

Flies… Butter and Dragon, No Damsel!

Filed under: Odontates,Other Insects,Summer,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , — Frank @ 2:00 PM

Since the weather was not quite as oppressive as it has been the past few days, I braved the heat and humidity and headed outside this morning. I wandered the yard with camera in hand for about forty five minutes and almost filled a memory card.

There was much going on. There were many different insects nectaring on the flowers Joan’ garden. There were also a number of different dragonflies going about their business, including a couple exhibiting oblisking behavior.

Oblisking is when an individual points its abdomen more-or-less straight up in the air. This behavior is thought to be involved in thermoregulation. By minimizing the surface exposed to the sun, an individual will stay a bit cooler that it would otherwise.

When I got too hot, I headed into the house for a drink of iced tea and to process these photographs!

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7 July 2013

A Trip (Partly) Up Cannon Mountain

Filed under: Landscapes,Summer,the White Mountains — Tags: — Frank @ 12:00 PM

On Friday (5 Jul) we took a trip to Franconia Notch, Joan had some botanizing she wanted to do and I went along for the ride. Our goal was the bottom of the cliffs on the east face of Cannon Mountain (these are seen prominently as the west side of the notch).

The climb up was not too bad, one follows the bike path from the south end of Profile Lake for a short while before turning on to an unmarked trail that climbers use to access the cliffs. Eventually this trail emerges onto the boulder field at the base of the cliffs. From there it is about a 400-500 vertical foot scramble (in about 0.1 miles) to the base of the cliffs. The total elevation gain from the Lake to the base of the cliffs is about 800 feet in 0.4 miles.

As I said, going up wasn’t too bad, but coming down is another story. There were a couple of brief showers just after we started down… nothing quite like walking on wet rocks! My quadriceps are still recovering as I write this two days later. The seat of the pants I wore will never recover… nylon is no match for NH granite!

Anyway… I got a few nice photos from an unusual vantage point. One climber we talked with said that he had never seen a hiker (i.e. someone without climbing gear) up there before… I guess we are a bit crazy!

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Fourth of July Odes

Filed under: "Camp",Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer — Tags: , — Frank @ 10:00 AM

After a lunchtime barbeque with Joan’s cousins to celebrate the holiday, Joan and I spent the rest of afternoon and early evening at camp. Joan headed out for a sail and I headed out around the edge of the lake to see what odes were about.

Eventually we both settled in our chairs with the books we had brought; a nice way to relax on a hot and humid Independence Day.

The most abundant ode were male bluets (which I have not identified further), there were smaller numbers of variable dancers (including at least two pairs flying in tandem) and a few clubtails as well.

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20 June 2013

A Fabulous Day for Odes

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Nature Conservancy properties,Odontates,Other Insects,Summer — Tags: , , — Frank @ 8:05 AM

Yesterday was a spectacular day weather-wise… bright and sunny with the temperature in around 70. A perfect day to be outside!

I headed out late morning with three sites in mind to visit… the Powdermill Pond WMA, the Contoocook River near the paper mill in Bennington and the Lovern’s Mill White Cedar Swamp. I actually stopped at only the first and the last… the river by the paper mill  looked way too high to wade. Even so, I did not get back home until after four.

The first photo (below)  of the calico pennant was made in the yard as I was taking my gear out to the truck. The last four photos were made at the Cedar Swamp. The rest at Powdermill Pond, mostly in the uplands area as the river was too deep to wade safely.

There were surprisingly few odes out and about in general.

At the Powdermill Pond WMA there were decent numbers of Eastern Forktails mainly in the grassy areas back from the river and a few clubtails cruising the river bank.

At the Lovern’s Mill Swamp, I saw exactly three odes… but took good advantage of them! On my way in to the swamp, I saw, but did not get a chance to photograph, a single ebony jewelwing along the trail just before getting to the swamp proper.

While on the boardwalk in the swamp, I saw exactly two Harlequin Darners.

I watched one individual for some time, he kept hovering at about chest height in the vegetation just off the boardwalk and would occasionally land on the trunk of a nearby white cedar. At one point he chased off another dragonfly. (I assume another Harlequin Darner).

Since he was spending long (for a dragonfly) periods hovering in one spot, I tried my hand at capturing him flight. This is not something I try to do regularly as it is a low yield endeavor. The photo shown is the best, by far, of more than a dozen total.

Eventually the darner flew off and I headed back up the trail towards the car.

Maybe fifty feet back up the trail from the boardwalk, I encountered another (maybe the same individual as before; it was the same general area) ebony jewelwing. This time he was most accommodating in terms of photography. He was actively feeding on the insects along the trail. He spent most of his time perched on the trail-side  vegetation either waiting to pounce or eating. He was quite successful at hunting, returning to a perch with prey every second or third foray.

I may have contributed a bit to his success as a large cloud of mosquitoes quickly enveloped me when I stopped to photograph him. I believe that this was a symbiotic relationship… beneficial to at least two of the parties involved. I got photos, the damselfly got fed and the mosquitoes… well they got eaten!

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18 June 2013

One Foggy Evening

Filed under: Landscapes,Summer — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:00 PM

Late yesterday afternoon a band of thunderstorms passed through the area… the temperature went from the upper seventies to the upper sixties in a manner of minutes. Several hours later, as the sun began to set and the temperature dropped further, all the moisture in the air began condensing out.

I saw the “show” at the north end of the lake begin to develop as I was out on the lake.  Sunset yesterday was at about 8:30 PM. However, the sun had already dipped below the ridge to the west when I made these exposures at about 8 PM.

[singlepic id=1395 w=1000 h=289 float=] A three frame panorama, it would print at about 11″ x 40″.

[singlepic id=1394 w=600 h=480 float=] A detail.

16 June 2013

Two Days of Ode-ing

Filed under: Amphibians,Odontates,Other Insects,Summer,wildflowers — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 11:00 PM

Today was not a particular good day for ode-ing… it was overcast and cool.

Not that I minded… I spent four or five hours over the previous two days swamp stomping  in my new summer-weight (i.e. non-neoprene) waders. Previously, I had made do with “green wellies” which often got flooded if I ventured a little too deep or if I squatted down in the water. Chest-waders have neither problem and therefore make the life of a swamp stomper much nicer!

Here are the results (including a few “non-ode” species):

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10 June 2013

Backyard Ode-ing

Filed under: Odontates,Summer,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:00 PM

Yesterday afternoon, I got distracted by the profusion (both in terms of number of species and number of individuals) of odes present in the yard.

I spent about an hour and a half  hunting odes and making photos…  much more fun that identifying odes from previous trips and household chores.

I count seven species of odes… and how did that bumble bee sneak in?!

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9 June 2013

Migratory Dragonfly Workshop

Filed under: Odontates,Summer — Tags: , — Frank @ 9:00 PM

Yesterday, Joan and I spent an enjoyable day at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies in White River Junction, Vermont. We attended, with about three dozen other folks, a workshop about the  Migratory Dragonfly Project presented by Celeste M. of the Xerces Society,

Most of the day was spent inside learning about migratory dragonflies and how to be part of this citizen science project. The presentations were informative and lively.

After the presentations we explored two ponds in the VCE’s immediate neighborhood. Fortunately the weather, which started cool and rainy in the morning, had improved significantly and there were significant odes to be captured and studied… or… in my case, photographed.

Here are the results:

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Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge — Part 2, Odonates

Filed under: National Wildlife Refuges,Odontates,Summer — Tags: , — Frank @ 7:24 PM

Well… At the rate I am working it might take years to get these critters identified. This is clearly not my strong point!

Thus, I am just going to post the photos… check back at some point if you really care about the names.

UPDATE: Last evening, Joan spent some time with Paulson’s book and Odonata Central.  She has IDs for all of the photos… blame her if they are wrong!!! 😉

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