Photographs by Frank

22 June 2016

Down Back to Photograph for the First Time This Ode Season

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer — Tags: , — Frank @ 7:00 PM

Yesterday afternoon I made my first trip of the season “down back”* to see what was up ode-wise.

The weather was near perfect… sunny and warm (low 70’s F). There was a gusty breeze which made the photography a bit difficult at times.

The numbers of chalk-fronted corporals and calico pennants in the yard have started to drop… the corporals are nearly absent, although the pennants are still the most abundant ode in the yard.  I now know why… both species are moving back to the water.

Chalk-fronted corporals were by far the most common dragonfly “down back” yesterday; there were dozens flying over the open water of the beaver pond. There were also many calico pennants flying over the marsh. Most were yellow (females or immature males) but there were a few red ones (mature males) and couple of orange ones mixed in. Third in abundance were frosted whitefaces, including the only mating wheel I saw in the two and a half hours I was out.

I also saw small number of damselflies (bluets and sedge sprites), a couple of four-spotter skimmers and a lone lancet clubtail. The last being quite uncommon “down back” but very common at the lake (about a half mile away).

 

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* The back of our property contains a beaver-made wet land complex consisting of a small stream, a beaver pond and a marsh. It is a wonderful place to spend time observing and photographing.

 

Weekend Odes at the Lake

Filed under: "Camp",Monadnock Region,Odontates,Spring — Tags: , — Frank @ 6:30 PM

The weather was hot (for NH) and humid last weekend (18 and 19 Jun). We headed down to the lake and our camp for both afternoons. I spent most of the time we were there odeing.

Both days there was lots of evidence of damselfly emergence… teneral bluets were the most common ode I encountered and I even found a few damselfly exuvia.

Interestingly, on Saturday, there were many lancet clubtails present. However, on Sunday, I saw very few despite the conditions and the time of day begin similar. I have no idea why.

Photos from Saturday

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Photos from Sunday

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16 June 2016

Inundation of Calico Pennants

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer,The Yard — Tags: — Frank @ 12:00 PM

The last few days has seen our yard inundated with calico pennants. They spend most of their time down low in the grassy parts of the yard. One can often see a dozen or more in one field of view.

They are all yellow right now…meaning that they are either immature males or females. Some will be changing to the orange-red of mature males over the next week or so. Then they will disappear… back to the water to mate and oviposit.

In addition to the calico pennants, in the past couple of days, I have seen (and photographed) chalk-fronted corporals (very common), American emeralds (a couple of individuals), a single delta-spotted spiketail and lancet clubtails (common). I have also seen (but have not photographed) small numbers of frosted whitefaces.

Damselflies are also present in small numbers but I have not been paying too much attention to them given all of the dragonflies… I guess that I should though!

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5 June 2016

Backyard Odes – 4 June 2016

Filed under: Odontates,Summer,The Yard — Tags: — Frank @ 11:00 AM

Yesterday (4 June), while we were eating lunch, I noticed a ode (probably a Hudsonian Whiteface) hunting from a perch at the edge of the deck. After we finished eating, I picked up the camera and headed out to see if I could make a photograph of the “lunch-time ode”.

I did not find our lunch companion. However, two hours later I headed back to the house looking for a drink! I never  left our yard.

In that interval, I saw (and photographed) six species of dragonflies: four-spotted skimmer, spangled skimmer, American emerald, lancet clubtail, chalk-fronted corporal, and Hudsonian whiteface. The first three of these were my first observation of those species for the season.

Oddly, I saw no damselflies while I was out.

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1 June 2016

Memorial Day Odes

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Other Insects,Summer,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , , — Frank @ 4:00 PM

In the afternoon, on Monday (30 May, Memorial Day), I spent about three hours (about 1:45 to 4:45) hunting odes. I never got beyond maybe three hundred feet from the yard and was able to photograph nine different species of dragonflies and damselflies… and one grasshopper!

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30 May 2016

Lakeshore Odes

Filed under: "Camp",Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer — Tags: — Frank @ 1:00 PM

We had a sneak preview of summer on Saturday. The temperature hit 90 deg. F, the sun was unrelenting and the humidity around 70%. Ugh!

Mid-afternoon, found us in the kayaks and headed to camp. There were two species of dragonflies (a clubtail, probably the lancet clubtail, and a darner) on the wing and patrolling the lake shore. Not once did I observe any of these individuals perched… thus I have not photos!

Exploring the vegetation along the shore was more productive. In a span of roughly 300 feet of shoreline, I found six dragonflies entangled in spider webs and three exuvia (all looking to my un-expert eye) like the same species).

The exuvia are not unexpected this time of year. However, the density of entangled dragonflies is exceptional. Odes entangled in spider webs are not rare, but the usual density (during the peak of the summer) is closer to one in five hundred feet

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2016 Ode Season Begins

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

Small numbers (one or two at a time) of odes have been appearing in the yard for the past couple of week. In the last three or four days the numbers have jumped.

Yesterday afternoon (with the weather overcast and the temperature not reaching 70 deg F) found about a dozen dragonflies (a mix of Hudsonian Whitefaces and Chalk-fronted Corporals) perched on our deck while trying to stay warm.

All of these photos were made within a hundred yards of the house and in the past five days.

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30 March 2016

Spring Break Road Trip, Part 3

Filed under: Birds,National Wildlife Refuges,Odontates,Spring,Wildlife — Frank @ 4:00 PM

On the 2oth, we pointed the car north and headed for Georgia, specifically the Stephen Foster State Park within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Arriving in the late afternoon, we were treated to hordes of dragonflies in and around the campground. We had seen small numbers of odes here-and-there in Florida, but they were out in full force in Georgia.

The next morning, we took the boat tour out into the swamp offered by the park. They have kayaks for rent, which we would have done except that Joan’s shoulder was bothering her enough that she was taking regular doses of ibuprofen. Thus, we decided on the boat tour.

We spent the rest of the day out on the boardwalk entertained by all of the widllife.

Okefenokee NWR —

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Okefenokee Odes —

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We continued north on the 22nd, headed to Assateague National Seashore in Maryland, and camping enroute for a night in North Carolina. We spent the afternoon of the 23rd at the Virginia section of the National Seashore before heading to the campground in the Maryland section.

We spent the late afternoon/early evening of the 23rd as well as most of the day on the 24th exploring the various parts of Assateague before heading toward Lewes, Delaware where we were expected for dinner at our friend Sally’s house.

Assateague National Seashore —

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Sally and her boyfriend David showed us around the Lewes area, including stops at Cape Henlopen State Park and Prime Hook NWR.

Lewes, DE area —

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Sunday (the 27th) morning we headed home, arriving about 8 PM; just as it was getting dark.

We were glad to have made the trip and glad to be home!

Photo note: I made roughly 2500 photographs during the trip. I processed about ten percent of them and have presented 111 photos (approximately five percent) in the three blog posts. The large majority of the photographs were made with “Big Bertha” (i.e. my 600 mm lens); my 300 mm lens was used for a small minority. I think that I broke out a shorter lens only once… I guess that I was not “thinking” landscapes this trip!

 

Spring Break Road Trip, Part 1

Filed under: Birds,Odontates,Spring,Wildlife — Frank @ 1:30 PM

Joan and I just returned from a “spring break” road trip. We left the day after town meeting (i.e. Friday, 11 March) and arrived home on Sunday evening having driven 2840 miles all told.

After spending a couple of days in the Washington, DC area (visiting Katrina, my sister Cyndi and my parents) we hie-tailed it south and arrived on Sanibel Island (in southwest Florida) in time for an evening swim on 15 March.

On the morning of the 16th we headed into Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and spent the day driving the wildlife loop. Late afternoon found us driving to the north end of Captiva Island. While Joan went for a swim, I photographed the peeps foraging on the beach and one half of a nesting pair of osprey that was perched in a palm tree near the nest.

Ding Darling, Day 1 —

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Captiva Beach —

(Peeps to be identified, but in the interest of timely posting, I’ve put this off.)

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On the 17th, we drove the wildlife loop in the refuge a second time and then walked a section of the Indigo Trail.

Ding Darling, Day 2 —

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More to come…

7 September 2015

Brimstone Corner Road

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer,wildflowers — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:30 PM

Yesterday afternoon, I made a right at the bottom of our driveway and headed out on a short stroll on the unmaintained section of Brimstone Corner Road. I was expecting to find both meadowhawks and asters. I was not disappointed.

I saw about six meadowhawks in total, including a single red (i.e. male) individual. The others were yellow… i.e. either females or immature males and hard to tell apart without netting them. My guess is that they were autumn meadowhawks but, again without netting them, it is hard to be certain. These were the only odes I saw.

There were many asters along the roadside; mostly the small white type that grows in large clusters. However, there were scattered larger, more deeply colored types mixed in here and there.

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