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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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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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?

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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25 June 2012

Along the Contoocook

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Other Insects — Tags: , — Frank @ 1:00 PM

Yesterday afternoon was sunny with the temperature in the mid-70’s… perfect weather for odes.  Looking to explore a ecological niche different from the lake or beaver swamp that I usually haunt,  I headed for the Contoocook River to “hunt”.

My first stop was the Powder Mill Pond WMA in Greenfield; this site is above the dam but at the far end of the “pond”,  just where the water narrows back down  The water level was very low.

The variety of  species in a very small area was quite remarkable.

Along the river banks (the first three photos were taken here), there were numerous chalk-fronted corporals cruising the area. There were also many skimming bluets right at the waters edge.

I saw a single twelve-spotted skimmer. I stalked it for quite some time but I did not get a photograph because I never saw  it come lower than about eight feet off the ground. It was perched on a pine bough maybe twenty five feet up the last time I saw it.

A short (maybe 500 feet) walk from the river is a meadow off the parking lot where the next three photos were taken. While I was concentrating on the lancet clubtail, I noticed some movement off to the side. I turned to see a male widow skimmer (which I had never seen before) perched on a stalk of grass. I was able to grab a single frame before it flew off. Alas, I was too close (within the close focus distance of my lens + extension tube) and  the photo was not sharp. I guess that I’ll need to head back there again soon and continue the hunt!

The last four photos were taken at my second stop, a slow moving part of the river below the dam at the paper mill in Bennington. The stream bluets were fairly common and there were small numbers of  female river jewelwings; I did not see any males.  I also saw (but did not photograph) a few dragonflies (probably slaty skimmers) along the edge of the paper mills’ lawn.

On the way home I stopped by the Tenney’s Farm for what are probably the last of the strawberries for the season. We had them for dessert over vanilla ice cream after dinner. Yum!

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18 June 2012

A Stretch of Perfect Days

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

Today dawned overcast, but the past few days have been sunny and right around seventy degrees… perfect weather for odonates!

I was able to get out and hunt odes for four days straight. Thursday, I headed for the Contoocook River and the Lovern’s Mill cedar swamp. I was almost shut out… I finally saw a few odes (the third and fourth photos) in the small meadow next to the road where I had parked the truck at Lovern’s Mill.

All of the rest of the photos were taken within a short walk of the house or at camp. The butterfly visited the flower box hanging from the deck railing while I was eating lunch on Thursday. I am learning to keep the camera ready at all times!

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13 June 2012

Around the Yard on a Monday Afternoon

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

After being away for a week, I should have been mowing the lawn. Instead, I was prowling the periphery for odes with camera in hand!

In addition to odes there was a pair of swallowtails taking advantage of the wildflowers growing in an area that I do not mow until the wild strawberries have ripened.

The lawn is still not mowed!

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11 September 2011

Lunchtime Visitors

Filed under: Odontates,Other Insects,The "New" Yard & Environs,Wildlife — Frank @ 11:00 AM

Yesterday, as I sat down to lunch on the deck I noticed a darner alight on the flowers in one of Joan’s planters hanging on the deck rail. Lunch was delayed while I went at got the camera from the house. I got a few shots through the foliage with an unusual (for darners) lateral/ventral view. As I went to move around to see if I could also get a dorsal view she (I think!) took off; such is my luck with darners.

As I headed back to the table I noticed that a grasshopper had landed on the table, so lunch was further delayed! I took a few shots with the “ode rig” (32 mm extension tube on the 70-300 mm lens) but decided that I needed more magnification and added the other two extension tubes in the set. This set up is nearly impossible to use! The range over which one can focus is very small. And even with the camera sitting on the table most of the frames were not critically sharp. Even with all of that magnification, the shot shown is only about half a frame.

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