Photographs by Frank

26 August 2013

Saturday’s Crop (of Photos)

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):

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7 July 2013

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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23 June 2013

Another Two Days of Odeing

I seem to be getting behind in my posting… or maybe I am spending too much time odeing… nah!!!

Identifying the subjects is definitely the slow step.

Anyway… Joan and I spent Thursday afternoon at camp. We got the sailboat in the water and then “played”.

I wandered the shore of the cove,  with these results:

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On Friday afternoon, I got distracted by all of the odes in the yard and spent a short time (a half hour from the first of these photos to the last, according to the metadata) wandering the yard with camera in hand.

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26 October 2012

The Last of the Foliage

Filed under: "Camp",Autumn,Landscapes,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , — Frank @ 2:00 PM

Last weekend, I found a bit of time on both Saturday and Sunday to wander the neighborhood and photograph the last of the foliage. The bright reds of the swamp maples are long gone. However the forest canopies (of mostly oak, birch and beech, with a few maples) were still a mix of browns and yellows. The understory (a mix of many species) was just about at its yellowy peak.

As I write,  the show is pretty much over for the year. The oaks and the beeches will hang on to their brown leaves much of the winter. But for the next few weeks… until we get some snow… the landscape will be drab and grey. Here is hoping for an early snow!

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A four frame panorama, looking across at “our” side of the lake. Our camp is visible in the full-sized image but I can’t make it out in this web-sized version.

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10 October 2011

Lakeshore Fall Foliage

Filed under: "Camp",Autumn — Frank @ 12:00 PM

Yesterday was an archetype of an autumn day… blue skies, temperature in the 70’s and the colors near their peak.  Joan and I spent the afternoon at camp.  Joan took the sailboat for one last spin before we took it out of the water. I roamed the lakeside photographing the foliage.  A pleasant day was had by all!

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23 August 2011

Sunday Afternoon

Filed under: "Camp",Odontates,Other Insects,Wildlife — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:00 PM

Sunday afternoon we decided to put the canoe in the water and head down to camp. Just as we arrived at the public beach we heard the first thunder!

We pressed on anyway and made it about half way down the lake before we decided that we had better sit things out on the shore. We spent a half hour or so under a hemlock on the shore watching and listening to the storm which was mostly to the west of us. There was only a couple of brief sprinkles where we were sitting and we barely got wet sitting snug under our hemlock.

When the storm had passed we continued on down the lake which we now had to ourselves… literally!

Joan headed out for a paddle in the kayak and I headed out to stalk odes along the lake shore in nice light. The only odes about were variable (or violet) dancers which are very common along the lake  for most of the summer.

At one point my “spotter-in-chief” (i.e. Joan), who was a bit farther down the lake than I had made it, called out that there was a damselfly in a spider web. I headed on over to said location post haste.

Upon my arrival I found two variable dancers (a male and female) entangled in the web. The spider  (a comb-clawed spider, I think) was making quick work of the male but photography was impossible as the gyrations of the female were causing the entire web to move violently.

I watched as the spider moved to the female and, I assume, bit her. It took maybe a minute for the spider venom to work and the web became still. The spider went back to trussing up the male and then returned to the female to do likewise.

At this point the spider retreated to a hiding spot in a nearby, curled up leaf. I waited ten minutes or so hoping that the spider would make a reappearance but the wait was in vain.

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29 July 2011

July Odes

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

Between the recent heat wave and a hectic life, I have not done much photography (or blogging) in the past few weeks.

The first set of photos were taken the weekend of 16 and 17 July. I took a very hot and buggy hike at the McCabe Forest on Saturday. On Sunday, I took a kayak out and spent the afternoon at camp.

Just back in the woods, along the Contoocook River at McCabe Forest, there were many female ebony jewelwings feasting away on the abundant mosquitoes. I did not see a single male anywhere. Along the lake at camp there was quite a variety of odes with  variable dancers seemingly the most abundant.

Here are the photos:

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Yesterday evening Joan and I took a canoe ride over to camp. I was probably too late in the day for good ode watching but I did manage to find and photograph two different species of clubtails.

I was a little surprised at the lack of vesper bluets which, I think, were beginning to appear by late July in years past.  I guess that I’ll just have to go back again!

The frog (an immature bullfrog, I think) in the first photo was on the beach as we arrived.

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12 September 2010

Caterpillars

Filed under: "Camp",Other Insects,The Yard,Wildlife — Tags: — Frank @ 10:31 AM

And now for something completely somewhat just a little different…

Twice over the past week, Joan alerted me to the presence of interesting caterpillars in the neighborhood.

Of course, as a husband photographer who wants to keep on the good side of my wife chief wildlife spotter, I came promptly with my camera sporting a 90 mm macro lens with a 32 mm extension tube in both cases. Off camera flash was also used in both cases, flash with softbox, set to 1-2 stops under ambient, and lying on the ground nearby.

Both of these “fellows” were found literally with in feet of our front doors… the brown furry “guy” at our “camp” in NH over Labor Day weekend and the multicolored “guy” at the house yesterday.

I have no idea on their identities, but here are the photos:

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24 August 2010

Dana’s Vist to Camp

Filed under: "Camp",Amphibians,Odontates — Tags: , , — Frank @ 7:47 AM

My friend (and fellow photographer) Dana Lipp came to camp for a day trip about a week ago.

As we usually do when we get together, we chat about many things, even photography on occasion. We also often find time to make some photographs.

This day we haunted, as is my habit, the lake shore near camp. The lake as been dropping all summer and so by mid-August there was a bit of dry(ish) land all along the shore. Thus Dana did not get the “full effect” but I am sure that he’ll agree he got the essential felling of the experience!

It was very interesting to see Dana’s photographic take on an area where I have spent an extensive amount of time; he saw subjects that I have overlooked for months and made some very nice photographs. Dana posts his photos on Flicker and so I will just link to his “Antrim Camp” set there.

And here are a few of the photos I took that day:

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30 July 2010

Late July’s Crop (of Photographs)

Filed under: "Camp",Odontates — Tags: , , — Frank @ 3:30 PM

The corn is in a Tenney’s farm stand, so it must be late July!

We’re back in Bridgewater — briefly — Katrina spent the past week with us up at camp and need to get to the airport early this morning. Thus, here are a dozen and a half images from the past couple of weeks.

The first two photos — of “damsels in distress” — were taken the same afternoon within about 50 yards of each other. Some days you just get lucky… unless you were one of the odontates!!!

The first two frog photos were taken on the beach just outside of the cabin… I got very wet getting the one of the bullfrog.

Joan spotted the wood frog while we were walking the road up on Patten Hill. I stayed behind to make photographs while Joan wandered ahead. After a bit I wander off in the direction that she had gone but Joan had wandered into the woods and I went past her. When she reemerged she headed back to where the frog had been. She could tell the exact spot even though neither the frog or I were there as there was a large patch of flattened ferns… I can’t imagine how such a small frog flattened so so many ferns!

Anyway, she eventually caught up to me and as we were walking near the top of the hill, I stopped to stalk a dragonfly… I watched it take a couple of hunting forays from a perch as I tried to get near enough for a photo… just as I was getting ready to take a photo it took off on another hunt — nothing unusual there — but instead of going back to it regular perch, it alit right on the top of my lens… with a big old horsefly in its mouth!!! Needless to say I did not get a photograph as it fly off to parts unknown as Joan approached to get a look!

The reminder of the photos were taken down in the beaver swamp near the public beach. Upon my arrival, I stepped onto the bog mat at the edge and scared a big bullfrog into the water. After sometime, I was crouched down stalking odonates when I noticed the frog reappear. I got  a couple of photographs and then I spooked him again. Off he took with a great leap and I could not find him among the grass and reeds. I went back to the odontates and some minutes later I spotted the frog again… just his eye!

Along a stretch of bog shore not more that 20 feet long, I got some nice shots of a number of species that do not hang out on the more open lake shore. Different environments (ecological niches) = different species… basic biology. Note to self:  stray away from the lake shore more often!

Here are the images:

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