Photographs by Frank

18 August 2013

Experiments in Video

Filed under: Odontates,Summer,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , — Frank @ 6:00 PM

Yesterday evening a feeding swarm of dragonflies (large darners) formed in our yard. This is a regular late summer happening. Usually I simply watch in awe when this happens as there is no way to capture this spectacle with still photography.

There were literally hundreds of five or six inch dragonflies flying about, seemingly at random, preying on insects too small for me to see. (Hopefully some were the mosquitoes that eventually found me while I was making these videos!)

Remembering that my little Nikon 1 V1 could do video (including slow motion), I set the camera up on a tripod and experimented with video.

This unedited clip is in real time:

Here is an unedited clip in slow motion (5 seconds of real time):

One more edited clip in slow motion (about 2.5 seconds of real time):

None of the dragonflies are in focus… I am not sure how one could get them in focus as they are moving very fast and randomly. I hope that one gets a sense of this interesting behavior anyway. However, it is no substitute for seeing it live.

I think that I will stick to photography in the main!

15 August 2013

A Week Off (from Photographing)

Filed under: Odontates,Other Insects,Summer,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , , — Frank @ 5:00 PM

Looking at the calendar, I realize that it has been a week since my last post; this after a string of daily posts the week before.

All I can say is that I have been busy. This photo explains much of that busyness:

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We had six cords of fire wood delivered in the late afternoon last Saturday. I had it all stacked before lunchtime yesterday (i.e. Wednesday). The stack is roughly eighteen feet by eighteen feet by four and a half feet… about eight cords total.

Every time I went out to work on the stack, I had to ignore the many odes, mainly meadowhawks of both sexes, that were around the yard. After finishing yesterday, we ate lunch on the deck and as soon as we finished eating, I picked up the camera. I made all of these photos within about twenty five feet of the deck. The band-winded meadowhawk is another new species for me.

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8 August 2013

More Time “Down Back”

Filed under: Odontates,Summer,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , — Frank @ 11:55 PM

Yesterday afternoon, I spent another couple of hours “down back” at “our” beaver-made wetland. Joan came along to do some botanizing, but we quickly went our own ways.

I started out in my usual spot along the edges of the open water at the beaver pond where there was much activity among the emergent vegetation. The spreadwings seemed to be just “hanging out” and feeding. However,  the sphagnum sprites were busy reproducing. I saw (and photographed) two mating wheels and multiple pairs ovipositing.

After a bit, I decided to see what was happening in other ecological niches and wandered “up stream” through the waist-high sedges and grasses.

There were numerous bright red male meadowhawks down in the grasses. I flushed a number of them as I moved. A close look revealed that many were immature. This could be discerned because many of them were still in the process of turning red (see the seventh photo if this series). Male meadowhawks are yellow (and thus look like females) when they are newly emerged.

I eventually found my way to a small, grassy pool that sits between the end of the woodland stream flowing in from the upper beaver swamp and the narrow channel of open water that meanders thought the wet meadow to the beaver pond. This pool is roughly six feet across by 18 feet long and is surrounded by shrubs and tall grasses; it is therefore quite shaded.

A large darner made numerous patrols of the perimeter of the pool in the forty five minutes or so I spent sitting in the edge of this pool. (Waders are wonderful!) This darner never stopped moving while it was in my sight.

Additionally there were three or four spreadwings of two species that I do not commonly see: the slender spreadwing and what I think is a amber-winged spreadwing (another new species for me, if my ID is correct).

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7 August 2013

A Visit to Rye Pond

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer,wildflowers — Tags: , , — Frank @ 12:13 PM

Yesterday afternoon, Joan and I put our kayaks in the water at Rye Pond (situated at the juncture of Stoddard, Antrim and Nelson).

This wetland is part of the Virginia Baker Natural Area of the Harris Center. With long frontage on Route 123, it is not the quietest of spots but it definitely worth repeated visits. We try to get there at least one or two times a year during ode season. The pond is quite shallow and contains a significant amount of floating bog that supports numerous pitcher plants and sundew. However, we were too late this year for the peak of the pitcher plant flowering.

There are also generally numerous odes and we were not disappointed this trip.

The most numerous species of ode present were the swamp spreadwings and the slaty skimmers. We saw numerous ovipositing pairs of both species. The spreadwings oviposit in tandem, with the male still grasping the female. The slaty skimmers oviposit with the male hovering near by while the female repeatedly dips her abdomen in the water. Both strategies are intended to  keep other males from usurping the already-mated female.

The real highlight of the afternoon were the numerous scarlet bluets out on the lily pads, well away from the shore. The large majority were male but I did see two (and manage to photograph one) female. This is the only place that I have seen this species.

I also saw one or two male orange bluets. The photo of this species I present is not perfect (the individual is facing away from the camera and I would have liked a bit more  depth of field). However, some times one just has to make do with less than perfect.

I show this photo because of the mass of mites on the abdomen. Mites (small, red ones) are fairly common on adult odes and are particularly abundant on odes (of many species) in Rye Pond. The large purplish mites on this individual are a first for me.

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4 August 2013

Another New Species for Me

Filed under: Odontates,Summer,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , — Frank @ 11:00 PM

This afternoon I took a stroll up the road to an old log yard I have visited many times before. This was my first visit in the current “ode season”. The old log yard is quite a bit more overgrown that in years past and the blackberries are just starting to ripen… not that I sampled any!

The temperature was in the low 70’s and it was partly cloudy. We had a brief thunderstorm after I got back to the house.

I was surprised by the lack of ode activity this visit. In years past this site was always abuzz with ode activity… but not today.

I saw no damselflies. I did see maybe a dozen female meadowhawks over the 90 or so minutes I spent there. Presumably, these individuals are spending time away from the water feeding and maturing and will head back to the water to mate in due time.

Other than that, I saw only two other individuals: a male black-shouldered spinyleg and a female common whitetail. The black-shouldered spinyleg was a new species for me. That makes two new species in two consecutive days!

The spinyleg came out of nowhere and alit on a leaf near where I was standing. I instantly knew this was not a species I commonly see… it was too big and it had a rather well developed “club” at the end of its abdomen.

I made a few exposures of its dorsal side. It then moved  a few feet away and I was able to get a more lateral view after shifting my position carefully. After three or four more exposures he took off and disappeared into the woods as quickly as he arrived. The total time between first and last exposure… two minutes and three seconds according to the exif data.

When I got back home, I noticed that the purple cone flowers along the wall at the driveway were covered with bees. I spent some minutes making many exposures of the half dozen or so bees present… I’ll only show one photo so as not to bore you!

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“Down Back”, Yesterday Afternoon

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

About three yesterday afternoon, I donned waders and headed out “down back” to “our” beaver swamp. To me, there is nothing more enjoyable than spending a few hours outside watching (and photographing) the world.

One can tell that August is here because there the meadowhawks appear to great you as you get to the wetland. Meadowhawks spend most of their time at the margin of the beaver meadow. They often perch on the shrubs found there. Yesterday was typical, meadowhawks were the first and last odes I saw.

Out in the meadow proper, I was surprised at the small numbers of darners that were present… maybe it is still a bit early. I think of them as “late season” species… we’ll have to keep looking!

Of course, there was much else going on if one looks carefully.

There were more damselflies out and about than there were dragonflies. Perhaps the most common species present were sphagnum sprites; I saw a number of pairs flying in tandem and ovipositing.

Photographing ovipositing pairs of damselflies is very frustrating. Usually the male is sort of free standing and therefore he is constantly “vibrating”. This makes for “fuzzy” if not downright blurry males. One rare occasions the male finds something solid to grab onto which makes for better photographs (as is the case in the eighth photo shown here).

All of the books about odes make mention that ovipositing puts these critters at risk of predation. This unlucky pair is an example. As I was watching them through the viewfinder a spider came literally from nowhere  and pounced on the pair capturing the female. The actual attack took only a few tenths of a second and my reflexes are not that good! Thus, I only have photos of the aftermath (see the ninth photo in this series). I searched for the spider in all of the frames I shot of the pair and can not find it!

There were also fair numbers of eastern forktails, mainly older females, about. Female eastern forktails start out bright orange and turn a dull gray with age. It is hard to believe that they are the same species much less the same individuals they look so different.

I also saw (and photographed) for the first time a lone fragile forktail; it was about two feet from all of the “spider drama”.

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The First Two Days of August

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

These photos were made around the yard on Thursday. It was quite unusual to see large darners hanging around the yard.

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On Friday evening we put the kayaks in Gregg Lake and explored the wetlands at the north end.

Joan dragged her boat over the beaver dam and explored a bit on the upper side. The water on the upper side is roughly two feet higher than the lower side. On the return trip Joan fell in while trying to get back into her boat! I found enough to photograph without getting out of my kayak.

It was rather late in the day for odes, so I did not take the “ode rig”. Rather I took the little V1 and looked for other subjects.

There were a lot of vesper bluets out and about, so I’ll have to head out again soon with the ode rig. I did not even try photographing them with the V1 as it simply does not have anywhere near the magnification needed.

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28 July 2013

One Extraordinary July Afternoon in the Beaver Meadow

Filed under: Odontates,Other Insects,Summer — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 3:25 PM

Yesterday afternoon, I headed down to the wetland behind our house. I had not been down there for a couple of weeks… first it was too hot for me, more recently it has been too cool and gray for much ode activity.

Yesterday the conditions were ideal for both human and ode… the temperature was in the mid-70’s and it was mostly sunny.

On my way down through the woods, I noticed three or four very small (pinky nail-sized) light brown frogs… probably wood frogs. I did not get any photos, they were very skittish and the ode rig would not have provided enough magnification anyway.

A little further along I noticed another bit of movement on the forest floor… it took me about five minutes of searching, but I finally noticed the critter…a small, well camouflaged moth (see the first photo).

As I reached the beaver meadow, I saw a few early bright red male meadow hawks in the shrubs along the margin and a number of large dragonflies (darners) out over meadow. I did not stop to photograph the meadow hawks (there will be plenty more to come).

Rather headed out to the edges of the open water. As expected, there was much activity here. A number of different species of both dragonflies and damselflies going about their business, mostly feeding, but also mating and ovipositing.

As I was watching and photographing the damselflies among the grasses and sedges along a small spot of open water, I turned to my right and noticed the extraordinary scene shown in the second photograph. I don’t know the details of the story, but visually it is quite a story… the title might be “How Did the Darner Lose Its Abdomen?”! I am unsure if the exuvia in the background is part of the story or not.

When I stood up from photographing this scene, I noticed a bit of movement a few feet away. The source of this movement is shown in the two photos made less than a meter from the half-darner. It took me a while to sort out what was going on in my viewfinder… it is very rare to see one damselfly preying on another. I see dragonflies preying on damsels infrequently but regularly. I do not remember ever seeing one damselfly eating another before.

Along with these unusual events, I made photos of the more typical events… these was much mating and ovipositing going on!

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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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