The other day I detailed the Black-shouldered Spinylegs I found when I went to Old Falls Pond on the Mousam River looking for American Ruby-spots. The BsSl was not the only interesting Dragonfly I found. This Canada Darner, one of the large Mosaic Darners, was hung up on a small tree on my second visit to the marsh where the trail down from the road meets the pond. As it happens, this is my second encounter with a Canada. The first was a female depositing eggs at Factory Pasture Pond in mid July.

These are big, bright Dragons…the kind that can make Odonata watchers of almost anyone.

The side shot here is for identification purposes. The Mosaic Darners can be, mostly, identified on the basis of the stripes along the side of a thorax.

And this is pretty much ideal Canada Darner habitat. Old Falls Pond.

Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1240mm equivalent field of view for the Dragons…840mm optical plus 1.5x digital tel-converter (except the female at 1680mm). The pond at 24mm. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.