Photographs by Frank

14 September 2012

Three from Yesterday

Filed under: Garden Flowers,Odontates,Other Insects — Tags: , , — Frank @ 12:00 PM

Yesterday was a perfect mid-September day weather-wise. Thus, when I got home from work, the urge to meander the neighborhood was irresistible.

There were not many odes about. I saw a couple of spreadwings, a couple of darners and a half a dozen or so Autumn Meadowhawks while meandering.

I also encountered three or four very small (thumbnail-size) toads or frogs. Fun to watch but impossible to photograph well… I tried without success.  These critters are rarely in the open, preferring instead to hide in the grass or under small pieces of wood. They are very wary. Once you have located one, you can easily watch one for minutes… if you stand very still. However, any small movement and they take one or two hops which leaves you search again  for a very well hidden amphibian on the forest floor. I know… excuses, excuses!

There were, however, dozens of wasps on the goldenrod and eight or ten monarchs on the flowers around the perimeter of Joan’s vegetable garden. None of these seemed to mind my making photographs while they went about their business.

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10 September 2012

Opportunity Caught!

Filed under: Landscapes,Odontates,Other Insects — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 6:00 AM

Today was a beautiful early fall day and I could not resist the urge to wander down to “our” beaver swamp late this afternoon.

Noticing all of the nice clouds, I tossed my wide angle lens and polarizing filter in my pocket as I headed out the door. Thus, I can actually show those who have not (yet) been here a photo of the place where I have whiled away many enjoyable hours in pursuit of odes over  the past two summers.

The ode season is definitely winding down here. There were a dozen or so large odes (darners, most likely) aloft out over the meadow and I watched a couple of female darners ovipositing at the edge of the pond.  I noted two or three spreadwings along the edge of the woods and that was about it… except for one rare opportunity that I caught!

Darners are large, spectacular dragonflies that are frustrating to photograph… they rarely perch! However, every once in a great awhile one finds them perched and you get an opportunity!

I was wandering slowly along the edge of the meadow when I flushed a darner mating wheel  out of the grass. This is a fairly rare, maybe two or three times a summer, event in itself. Usually the pair flies off and that’s it. You loose track of them, they land high up in a tree or you flush them a second time trying to get a good angle photographically, et cetera, et cetera. Or as Joan would say… “excuses, excuses”!

This time the mating pair landed about ten feet up on the trunk of a nearby tree; a little high to be ideal but one takes what nature provides. I took the extension tube off the 70-300 mm lens and was able photograph them for twenty-five minutes (according to the meta-data). The show ended when the couple parted ways; presumably she headed to the pond to begin ovipositing. They are either Canada Darners or Green-striped Darners… I can’t decide. [UPDATE: Thanks to my friend Kevin and the helpful folks on the Northeast Odonates mailing list (who all agree), we can say that these are Canada Darners.]

I wandered for another hour or so before the sun dipped below the ridge and I headed home. In that interval, I saw a couple more spreadwings ,always at the edge of the woods, and a few grasshoppers among the marsh grasses.

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9 September 2012

Missed Opportunities

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

Thursday, Joan and I took the kayaks down to the lake for a quick paddle on a nice quiet evening. I headed under the bridge to the swampy northern section just to see what I could find.

Not more than a minute after I got the camera ready, I spied a pair of spreadwings flying in tandem. I watched as they landed on the stem of an isolated aquatic plant in good evening light. I quickly moved in and positioned myself to get a clear shot with a an uncluttered background; all the while thinking what a great shot this was going to be. I tripped the shutter a single time and off they flew never to be seen again. Total time from first seeing them until losing them… two minutes at the absolute most. And the photo? It was out of focus. Missed opportunities, a common theme in the life of a wildlife photographer!

I paddled along the edge of the lake staying to the ever changing patches of “good light” as the sun dipped lower with each passing minute. There were a number of green frogs taking advantage of the warm sun. There were small numbers of spreadwings and Eastern Forktails present as well.

At one point, I flushed a great blue heron from the edge of the marsh. I was barely fifty feet away when she/he took off and I was glad that she/he was not directly over me when they lightened their load shortly after takeoff! Since the camera was rigged with an extension tube for closeup work (and thus only focuses to about six feet) I could only watch the magnificent sight… another missed opportunity!

Eventually the sun dipped below the ridge and I headed back to the boat launch. Upon my arrival there I noticed the rapidly changing patterns in the clouds. Photographing the clouds kept me fully entertained while waiting for Joan to return.

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31 August 2012

Another Afternoon at the Beaver Swamp

Filed under: Amphibians,Odontates,Other Insects,wildflowers — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 6:00 PM

As summer draws rapidly to a close, I feel the urge to wander in wetlands more strongly than earlier in the season. Yesterday Joan and I both headed down to the beaver swamp. She to work on her skills at identifying and documenting wildflowers and I to do my usual thing!

Joan is on a hunt for New England Asters… don’t ask why! Thus far I have lead her to White Wood Asters (a few days ago) and New York Asters (yesterday)… so the hunt continues!

We headed out a bit earlier that I usually do (around 2:30 instead of more toward 4:00). I was hoping that maybe there would be a bit more activity earlier in the afternoon than there had been on my previous excursions. I was willing to sacrifice good light for photographic opportunity. I was not disappointed! Of course we’ll never know if it was the hour or the luck of the draw!

The green frog was sitting in the middle of the beaver pond maybe five or six feet from where I sat on the bank when I noticed it; I had been sitting in the same spot for five or ten minutes when I noticed it. I do not know if had been there all of the time or if had appeared just before I saw it…. so much for the observant nature photographer! Any way, wWe watched each other for fifteen or twenty minutes. It was very unconcerned about my presence.

Presumably, it was hoping to catch a passing insect. Of course, I was hoping to photograph it catching an insect. It was much more patient that I as it was still sitting there when I arose and moved on.

The toad on the other hand was rather jumpy! It is quite amazing that a 1.5 inch long creature can end up two or three feet away in a single bound. I stalked this “fellow” for a couple of leaps, at which point it must have decided to try relying on its camouflage. When I finally found it again, it kept still and I was able to shoot a number of frames.

The highlight of the afternoon was a very brief glimpse  of a large darner ovipositing. Dragonflies are very wary when laying eggs. After I spied this individual, I turned slowly and carefully to get the two frames I did. As soon as I made a larger movement in an attempt to get a better angle off she went! The same was true for the tandem pair of meadow hawks… I made just two exposures before they were off again.

Hunting meadowhawks are another story… both of these females kept making brief hunting forays returning to the same perch after each foray. As usual they were very unconcerned by my presence and I was able to slowly move closer and get the best angle possible. Whatever they were hunting must have been small as I never either of them with prey… or maybe they were not very successful hunters!

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30 August 2012

A Quick Visit to the Beaver Swamp

Filed under: Odontates,Other Insects,wildflowers — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 12:00 PM

Yesterday, I spent about 90 minutes in the late afternoon down in the swamp at the back of our property. I went specifically to look for the male spreadwings that would “match” the females which have been common in the woods for the past few weeks.

Often, the males of a species will head back to the water (where mating and ovipositing will take place) earlier than the females. Thus, having seen only females in the woods, I thought that maybe the males would be at the pond in the swamp. I  thought incorrectly since there were no spreadwings at all and essentially no damsels of any kind. I photographed one male damsel and caught a glimpse of a second; that was it.

There were small numbers of large dragonflies (darners of some sort) cruising their territories above the pond and the meadow. However, as usual, I saw none perched.

Along the margins of the swamp (where meadow meets woods) I found a number (may a dozen total) of  autumn meadowhawks of both sexes.

In between odes, I discovered (and photographed) two different types of grasshoppers.

Lastly, I found two groups of asters in bloom… a sure sign that fall is on the way.

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Variable Darner

Filed under: Odontates — Tags: — Frank @ 9:00 AM

Every evening for a month or more we have had large darners cruising the yard. On some warm evenings a few weeks ago there were feeding swarms consisting of dozens to hundreds of individuals flying at top speed mainly within a few feet of the ground. As August has progressed the feeding swarms have disappeared but most evenings there are still always a few large dragonflies around dusk.

I have not figured out how to photograph or even identify these critters… they move very fast and never seem to perch.

I got my opportunity to do both on Sunday evening when Joan noticed a large dragonfly upside down on the top of the camper. Seeing a photo op, I quickly scooped it up and discovered that it was not quite dead as it moved very weakly in my hand.

After I made my photographs, I left the container in which I had placed the insect open outside on the deck table just in case it might recover. However, in the morning, it was still exactly where I had left it and now completely inert.

I am pretty sure that this is a male variable darner. I am not sure that this is the species that was swarming earlier in the summer, but it might well be.

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28 August 2012

Around the Garden Over the Weekend

Filed under: Amphibians,Odontates,Other Insects,Wildlife — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 8:34 AM

Both kids were here for a visit over the weekend; a rare treat for us. Thus, I did not get  time for any photographic “expeditions”. There were, however,  a number of interesting visitors to Joan’s garden and its immediate surroundings which I did manage to photograph.

The black swallowtail caterpillars (there are three or four of them) have been hanging around the garden for a week or more. They have more-or-less wiped out the dill (apparently well known as a favorite of theirs) and have moved on to the parsley.

The painted ladies were abundant on Saturday; sometimes I could see five or six from a single vantage point. They were actively nectaring on the flowers that encircle the garden.

The gray tree frog, which was sitting on the Swiss chard,  is a rare visitor; neither Joan nor I had ever seen one before. Apparently they are not particularly rare; see: http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Nongame/frogs/frog_graytreefrog.htm.

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Note the new method of displaying photographs in this post. Any opinions on this “style” compared to the usual one?

23 August 2012

One Image

Filed under: Odontates,Wildlife — Tags: — Frank @ 10:00 PM

I got a couple of hours “in the field” both Tuesday afternoon and this afternoon. The light has been good starting at about four and it has been lasting until roughly six.

Over the two afternoons, I got about a dozen “keepers” that I would usually show here; mostly odes, but a few other subjects as well.

However, sometimes one frame just stands out from the rest.

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21 August 2012

Odes and Other Insects

Filed under: Odontates,Other Insects — Tags: , , — Frank @ 8:00 AM

On the weekend, I grabbed a bit of time to photograph; both around the yard and by the lake at camp. The number and variety of odes seemed small but they were around.

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Yesterday morning the neighborhood kids arrived carrying a small stick bearing an interesting story… I guess that we have developed a reputation!!

While I was photographing (see the first image below), Joan was Googling and discovered that what the kids had discovered was a hornworm bearing cocoons of a braconid wasp. We all learned something!

Later in the day, I spent a couple of hours down at the beaver swamp at the back of our property; I had not been down there for more than a month.

Again, it seemed that the number and variety of odes were small. There were a few large darners cruising the meadow and small numbers of female spreadwings at the edge of the pond. The most common odes were meadowhawks at the margins of the swamp.

However, there were still  some interesting stories to capture and I came home wet and happy!

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18 August 2012

Around the Garden

Filed under: Garden Flowers,Odontates — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:00 PM

Last Sunday, I took the camera and wandered Joan’s garden in search of flowers and odes. Yesterday, I finally got around to processing the photos I took… its a long story. Suffice to say that the delay involved a round-trip drive (about 2000 miles total) to Louisville, KY. The first five photos below are the result.

The last two photos were taken yesterday morning. Joan came in from a morning stroll in the garden and announce that there was a dragonfly caught in a web just outside the breezeway door. Of course, I went and got the camera!

When I arrived on the scene, I found this “fellow” hanging by a single thread and gyrating wildly.  He/she spent intervals attempting to get loose interspersed with rests in which the wind took over and blew him about. In other words, conditions were not good for close up photographs; I tried anyway! Most of the frames were out of focus or poorly framed but I did get a couple that were adequate.

After a bit, I took pity on the critter and when I cut him loose he landed on the arbor just below. He was there long enough that I could switch to the macro lens and get a few really close shots before he flew away.

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