Posts in Category: damselflies
Maine! Wednesday Damsel
Swamp Spreadwing (?) doing calisthenics. Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains Nature Conservancy, York County, Maine, USA — the spreadwings seem very few in number this year, and very late. ?? I think this is a Swamp Spreadwing doing interesting things with its abdomen. OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications.
Maine! Ebony Jewelwing
Ebony Jewelwing: Branch Brook, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2023 — One of my favorite Odonata…the spreadwing damselfly Ebony Jewelwing. I generally go looking for them at Emmons Preserve along the Batson River in Arundel, but I found this one along the Branch Brook nearer to home. The body is metallic green in most lights and from most angles, but you can see here that it can also be a lovely metallic blue. OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 500 and 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.
Blue-winged Helicopter Damselfly
Blue-winged Helicopter Damselfly: Los Cosingos Santuary, Costa Rica, December 2022 — We were surprised to find this huge damselfly, the largest in the world, with a wingspan often over seven inches, flying through a clearing at Los Cosingos, just beyond the Alexander Skutch home. They are more common around wetlands and in the mangrove forests of Costa Rica and Central America than in the foothills…but there it was. The photo does not do it justice. You have to see one in flight with those four huge wings helicoptering above the body as it levitates along the forest edge. I tried for flight shots, but the group was more interested in moving on to the next bird and my time was limited. So you will just have to take my word for it…those wings are over three and half inches long! Sony Rx10iv at 447mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Azure Bluet
Azure Bluet: SMMC Kennebunk, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2022 — The grasses around the drainage pond at Southern Maine Medical Center in Kennebunk were full of Azure Bluets…probably more than a dozen visible in every square yard. What they lack in mass they make up in numbers 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Pond Damselflies of early June
Pond Damselflies at Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains in early June. Day Brook Pond is one of two ponds on Nature Conservancy and Maine Wildlife Management areas at the Kennebunk Plains (often referred to locally as the “blueberry plains”. It is a remnant sand plain habitat, home to several endangered plant species, one endangered reptile, and a few bird species at the limits of their range in New England. The pond itself is one of the cleanest and healthiest in southern Maine, and home to a wide variety of Odonata…many of which are just emerging now. What we have here is probably a Hagin’s Bluet, followed by two Northern Bluets, two Eastern Forktails, and two pairs of mating Aurora Damsels. All with the Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed (and enlarged) in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos.
Spotted Spreadwing
Spotted Spreadwing: SMHC drainage ponds, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Though we seemed to get off to a slow start, it has turned out to be a pretty good summer for Odonata. The little drainage pond at the end of the Southern Maine Health Care parking lot is always productive. There were quite a few Spotted Spreadwings in mating wheels around the pond and I managed to get shots of a few. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Program mode with some birds and wildlife tweaks. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f6.5 @ 1/125th. -.3 EV.
Azure Bluet
Azure Bluets: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Another pair of odos from the Southern Maine Health Care drainage ponds. Azure Bluets in a mating wheel. There were thousands of Azure Bluets around the ponds. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Shutter program at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Amber-winged Spreadwing
Amberwinged Spreadwing: Southern Maine Medical Center drainage ponds, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I have been watching for the Spreadwings to emerge. It seems late, but maybe that is just anticipation talking. Yesterday’s Spreadwing (Swamp) was from Massachusetts…today’s is from closer to home, here in Kennebunk. Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Shutter program at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Swamp Spreadwing
Swamp Spreadwing: Sturbridge, MA, USA — We had the morning free before the wedding yesterday so we found a place for a hike. Trek Sturbridge maintains an extensive trail network, and the parking for the Leadmine Mountain sector was near our hotel. Around the pond on the Arbutus Park Trail, we found a few dragon and damsel flies. This Swamp Spreadwing was displaying nicely. Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm (2x Clear Image Zoom). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 125 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Ebony Jewelwing
Ebony Jewelwing: Batson River at Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, USA — I rode my eTrike out to Emmon’s Preserve to see if I could find any dragonflies, and specifically to the check over the small tumble of falls on the Batson River for early Ebony Jewelwings. They will be more abundant in a few weeks, but there were a few pioneers flying over the rapids and rills. This one posed nicely on a leaf over the water, just at the close focus range of the Nikon B700’s 1440mm equivalent lens. Nikon’s Active-D Lighting does an excellent job of balancing highlights and shadows, which makes this kind of high contrast shot much more possible. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.