Carolina Saddlebags!

Carolina Saddlebags: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I stopped by the drainage ponds at Southern Maine Health Care on my way to the grocery store on my recumbent eTrike, just to see what was happening. I have not seen so many odonata of so many different kinds in one spot in a long time, if ever. Many Twelve-spotted and Widow Skimmers, large numbers of Blue Dashers, at least 2 mating wheels of Green Darner, an Eastern Amberwing, Amberwing and Spotted Spreadwing, many Eastern Pondhawks, a Unicorn Clubtail, and thousands of Azure Bluets. And I am probably forgetting some. But best of all there were Saddlebags. At least two Black Saddlebags which, in line with all my pervious experience, would not perch, and at least 2 “red” saddlebags, one of which was guarding a perch right at eye-level on a tall reed. I took a lot of photos, but the angle was not great for an identification, and I never did catch it from the back…still, I am petty confident it is a Carolina Saddlbags…especially since according to the Maine Damselfly and Dragonfly Survey, we do not get Red Saddlebags in Maine 🙂 Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Shutter program at 1/400th. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

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