Photographs by Frank

10 July 2014

Odes “Down Back”

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer,wildflowers — Tags: , , — Frank @ 11:00 AM

Yesterday afternoon, I donned my waders and spent a few hours at the beaver swamp “down back” on our property. I am always amazed how quickly time passes while I am out in the field. The old saying “time flies when you are having fun” is certainly true for me!

Darners have appeared out over the wet meadow since I last visited the swamp. You know…the ones that I have yet to figure out how to photograph! Their numbers are small right now but their arrival is, to me, a signal that summer is truly here.

Additionally,  male spangled skimmers and male frosted white faces were present in good numbers. Mating season for the bluets (which I can not identify exactly) was in full swing… I saw more pairs flying in tandem than I did individuals.

The most common damselfly present was the sphagnum sprite. I had forgotten how frustrating these are to photograph. They spend all of their time down low in the vegetation and are very small. One finds them by looking for the bright blue spot on the end of their abdomen. Then the challenge is to find a clear “window” through  the grasses and sedges in which to photograph them. All good fun!

The fragile forktail is quite rare here. The single individual I saw and photographed yesterday represents only the second time that I have observed one “down back”.

In the water at the edge of the pond, there were large numbers of  rose pogonias in bloom. I had not noticed them in years past. Their foliage is very inconspicuous and thus they are easily missed  if you do not catch them in bloom.

[scrollGallery id=287 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

 

19 June 2014

Connecticut River Odes… sort of!

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

Tuesday, Joan and her PCV colleagues decided to head back to Hinsdale for a re-survey… don’t ask! The weather was looking much better (sunny with a high around 80 deg. F) for odes than the last trip. I decided to tag along again.

I spent most of the day on the causeway at the Hinsdale setback, having a grand time photographing the odes. All but the last three photos were made there.

Early in the outward bound trip, I passed a pair of adult Canada Geese with a single gosling wandering down the roughly twelve foot wide causeway. Eventually they headed for the water with enough warning that I was able to remove the extension tube from the ode rig and make a couple of photos of them in nice morning light.

As I was finding and photographing odes, it slowly began to dawn on me that I was seeing things I was mostly familiar with and no “big river” species. The reason was also slow in coming, but it did eventually arrive… the portion of the river I was exploring is just up stream from the Vernon Dam. Thus, it is much more lake-like than riverine!

After mulling the situation over while eating my sandwich in a small patch of shade, I decided to head south. I had a vague memory that there was a boat launch on the river in Northfield, MA just south of the NH border. My memory served me well and I spent some time at the Pauchuag Brook boat launch. There is a nice stretch of  muddy river bank to walk here. I saw only two odes a large clubtail and a damselfly (the penultimate and third from last photos). The dragonfly sat still only long enough for me to get a single frame. The area has potential and I intend to return there at some point.

I was just getting back to the car when Joan phoned saying that she was done. The folks she was with were planning to head south (east?) on route 119, so we agreed to meet at the park along the Ashuelot River in “down town” Hinsdale.  While waiting for the group to arrive I, of course, explored the river. Being just below the dam, the river is fast moving here. I observed and photographed a single ebony jewelwing in the maybe ten minutes before Joan arrived.

[scrollGallery id=276 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

I need to finish identifying some of these critters, but have decided, in the interest of having a timely blog post, to put off this onerous chore!

18 June 2014

One Quarter Mile – Seven Species

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Spring,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:05 PM

It is about a quarter mile between our house and Gregg Lake. There is an old logging road that begins across from the end of our driveway and heads directly for the lake.  On Monday, I spend a few hours wandering this road photographing odes.

I was able to photograph seven species in this short distance. (There are eight photos because I got both sexes of the Aurora Damsel.)

[scrollGallery id=275 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

16 June 2014

Food & Sex

Filed under: Mammals,Monadnock Region,Odontates,Other Insects,Spring — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 10:00 AM

How is that for an attention-getting post title!

It might be attention-getting, but it is a good description of the ode activity in our yard yesterday.  There were dozens of whitefaces, at altitudes ranging from one to twelve feet constantly on the move and feeding.  There were also smaller numbers of other species both hunting and mating.

In addition to the odes there were also decent numbers of butterflies around… small orange butterflies down low in the vegetation, many swallowtails nectaring (especially on the blackberries) and a single black butterfly on the edge of the road looking for salt. (The last two butterfly photos as of the same individual.)

There were often groups of three or four swallowtails doing their in flight dances… is this mating behavior or is it about territory? More stuff to learn!

Through it all, the chipmunks living in our stone walls would chatter at me. I guess that they want the yard to themselves.

[scrollGallery id=274 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

10 June 2014

Willard Pond & Loverens Mill Cedar Swamp

Filed under: Audubon Sanctuaries,Monadnock Region,Nature Conservancy properties,Odontates,Spring — Tags: , , — Frank @ 11:00 AM

I am just a little behind in my blogging…

Last Friday, I headed out to see what was up ode-wise at two different habitats.

My first stop was the Audubon Sanctuary at Willard Pond. I was specifically interested in seeing what was up at the Mill Pond there. In the past, I have observed the Kennedy’s Emerald there.

On this trip, I did see a few dragonflies in flight over the pond that may have been emeralds but none perched so I did not get any photos. of them.

I did spend some time in the woods along the Mill Pond trail photographing wild flowers… there were literately many dozens of lady slippers along the beginning section of the trail. I also photographed odes in a number of small clearings. (All of the photos below, except for the last one, were made at Willard Pond.)

My second stop was the Nature Conservancy’s Loverens Mill property*. The rare cedar swamp at this site often has some unique odes, but this trip was earlier in the season than I have been in previous years.  I did observe small numbers of dragonflies in constant flight as well as small numbers of jewelwings, mostly river jewelwings; it is early in the season.

[scrollGallery id=269 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

* Joan’s father donated a parcel of land which is incorporated into this preserve. Her family calls it the “Windsor Bog”.

 

4 June 2014

Bradford Bog

Filed under: Odontates,Spring,wildflowers — Tags: , , — Frank @ 11:00 AM

On Monday, I spent a few hours exploring the Bradford Bog. I parked the truck at the Bradford Springs site* and began my exploration by walking up the road of the adjacent tree farm. This road skirts the edge of the bog and then gently rises into the uplands surrounding the bog.

There were small numbers of odes present along the road. Most common were baskettails (either beaverpond or spiny). Each individual was patrolling a section of road and hunting. Most never paused in their flight, but every once in a while one would perch briefly allowing for a “photo op”. Along the open patches of water in the bog, were a few teneral individuals of a dragonfly that I have not identified yet.

Although the walk along the road was not long (maybe half a mile one way), it was  hot and dusty.  I was glad to get back to the truck for some water and a snack before heading off towards the boardwalk into the bog proper. I saw exactly zero odes along the boardwalk and at the observation tower. However, I did find some nice wildflowers to photograph instead!

[scrollGallery id=268 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

* I was interested to learn from the sign here, that the Bradford Springs Hotel which once stood at this site was moved to Antrim where is is known as the Maplehurst Inn!

1 June 2014

Athol Bird & Nature Club — Ode Institute

Filed under: Birds,Odontates,Spring,wildflowers — Tags: , , — Frank @ 10:00 PM

Some months ago Dave Small, the president of the Athol Bird and Nature Club , put out call on the NEODES email list looking for folks to present at the group’s 2014 Dragonfly Institute.

After a bit of back-and-forth by email, Dave & I agreed to display my “Life Cycle of Dragonflies and Damselflies”  exhibit for the duration of the institute and that I would present a session on “ode photography” (scheduled for 12 July).

Last Wednesday, I made the drive to Athol and with the help of Dave and three volunteers (whose names I am unable to remember at this juncture… sorry!), we had the exhibit hung in short order.

Yesterday, I again made the trip to Athol, to attend the inaugural session of the Institute. Dave gave an introductory lecture and then the group headed out to the nearby Tom Bog (located within the Harvard Forest) for some field work. The weather was iffy for odes (the temperature was around 60 F and the skies kept changing from bright sun to light sprinkles). We struck out as far as odes went! However, we had a nice walk, had fun looking at birds and plants and ended up at the Petersham General Store for lunch.

When I got back home Joan was in the garden. There, within minutes of arriving home, I was able to photograph both a male Eastern Forktail, the first of the year, on the asparagus in the garden! Moments later, a yellow-bellied sapsucker appeared in one of the oak trees along the road. I certainly don’t need to go far for wildlife!

[scrollGallery id=266 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

26 August 2013

Saturday’s Crop (of Photos)

Filed under: "Camp",Odontates,Other Insects,Summer,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , , — Frank @ 8:00 PM

After I finished “Big Red” on Saturday morning, I spent some time poking around the yard with the camera. There were many darners about and they would infrequently perch in one of our apple trees, usually too high up for a good photograph. These darn darners are always an exercise in photographic frustration. They are, however, fun to watch! I did get one decent darner photo.

There have been small numbers of autumn meadowhawks (of both sexes) in the yard over the past few days. One  female allowed me to make exactly three frames of her  obelisking before she went on her way.

Another unusual sight in the yard was a mating pair of Eastern Forktails. This seems a little late in the season for mating behavior in this species. More unusual was to find them mating in our yard which is a quarter mile from water (the beaver swamp in one direction and the lake in the opposite direction).

In the afternoon on Saturday, I headed over to camp with Joan, Katrina and Joan’s cousins Suzy and Lyle. While they swam and chatted, I cruised, with camera in hand, the lake shore near camp.  The slatey skimmer was very cooperative and posed for me until I decided that I was done. I can not say the same for the clubtail (which allowed me only the one frame) and the orange bluet (two frames) before they flew off. I had never seen an orange bluet on Gregg Lake before.

I ended the day with the vesper bluets under close to ideal conditions (calm and in good light). This species prefers to alight on lily pads and other vegetation in water that is too deep to wade, thus one needs the kayak. They also, as the “vesper” in their name suggests, only come out at the end of the day; as the light starts to wane.

For most of the time I was out, there were no vesper bluets around. However, as the shadows grew longer more and more appeared, seemingly out of “thin air”.  There were mostly males about; I would estimate 10-20 males for every female.  The few females I observed were already paired up and either flying in tandem or in a mating wheel. I saw no ovipositing behavior while I was out… it was probably too early in the evening.

Single male vesper bluets very aggressively attack paired females trying to get them to un-pair from their chosen mate.  This behavior is difficult to photograph but great fun to watch live.

Here are the photographs (the first four from the morning and the second four from the afternoon):

[scrollGallery id=221 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

19 August 2013

Another Trip “Down Back”

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

About 4 this afternoon, I donned my waders and spent about an hour and three quarters near the beaver pond “down back”.

I was surprised by the lack of meadowhawks… I saw only two or three along the margin of the beaver swamp. There were small numbers of darners out of the meadow… I saw maybe a dozen total while I was out. I also saw a single sedge sprite.  The most numerous ode present were the spreadwings (I don’t know what species). I saw roughly three dozen.

When I arrived at the edge of the beaver pond I found a convenient spot of open water and knelt down keeping the sun off my shoulder. I was happily watching and photographing spreadwings when I noticed a small (first joint of the thumb-sized) frog not more than I foot from my knee. I don’t know if he was there when I knelt down or if he appeared after I settled in. He was too close to photograph with the ode rig, so I backed up slowly. He was completely unconcerned and I was able to photograph him (see Green Frog #1).

A short while later I noticed two more similar sized frogs near by. One was too close to photograph and partly covered by some grass. The other made for a nice photograph (see Green Frog #2). I decided to try a different angle on the second frog and, as I went to move my position, I almost put my knee on a much larger (fist-sized) green frog. I was able to back off without disturbing him and made Green Frog #3. The big guy was more wary than the smaller fellows and fairly quickly jumped out of sight. I went back to photographing the second frog head on (see Green Frog #4; note the blood-sucking flies, one on each eye!).

The sedge sprite made a brief  appearance while I was photographing the frogs and I was able to get two frames before it disappeared again.

Eventually, I stood up and moved off a short distance. While I was moving I found the orange butterfly and was able to get a clear view for just a single frame.

I was entertaining myself with the spreadwings at the second spot when I heard the clatter of dragonfly wings. The sound of dragonfly wings hitting vegetation or each other is quite unmistakable.

I quickly located the source, a female darner down low in the grasses ovipositing. I was able to get two frames before she moved off to another spot without a clear line of sight. After short interval she moved again, this time to a spot about a foot in front of me but she only stayed for a second or two before flying off out of sight. I went back to photographing spreadwings.

After a few more minutes, I decided that it was time to make supper so I headed back up the hill to the house.

That’s my story for today and I am sticking to it!

[scrollGallery id=219 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

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).

[scrollGallery id=215 autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress