4 Spotted Skimmer, Quest Ponds, Kennebunk ME

The 4 Spotted Skimmer is not the most beautiful of dragonflies…in fact it is not beautiful at all to those who are not fascinated with Odonata, and even then it would probably not make anyone’s list of favorite bugs. It’s main claim to fame is that it is one of the first large dragons to fly around our northern ponds and marshes. I was actually very surprised yesterday, on my first intentional Odonata outing of the season, to find how many dragonflies were already flying. I have been traveling a lot this spring, which has limited my access to the ponds and pools, and I assumed the very late spring we are having would have retarded the emergence. There were hundreds of Dot-tailed Whitefaces (without a doubt our most abundant and longest season dragon), a good number of Green Darners (probably migrating back as adults from further south…but already in mating wheels here in Southern Maine), at least one Chalk-fronted Corporal (another early bug), and something that was probably a Painted Skimmer too far and too fast to id for sure. There might have been at least one other large darner way out over the pond, maybe Canada, but it was too far to see. Not bad, and that was only the 3 inland ponds I patrol. Today I will get down to the fresh water pools along the river near the ocean, and check the beach for Green Darners and Black-Saddlebags coming ashore off the water. 🙂

Nikon P900 at 2800mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ f6.5 @ ISO 400. Processed in Topaz Denoise and Lightroom.