Ebony Jewelwing, Emmon’s Preserve, Kennbunkport ME

It is an odd year (so far) for Jewelwings at Emmon’s Preserve along the Batson River. I only found one River Jewelwing when they should have been out, and now the Ebony Jewelwings are way early…but I have yet to find one by the little falls in the river where they usually congregate. So far I have only seen them deep in the woods. In fact, I walked a loop of trail I had not been planning on to find this one…a loop that runs through the forest far from the steam. There was only intermittent sun anyway, and under the big pines there was none…so this is what an Ebony Jewelwing looks like in the shade. Without direct sun, you don’t see the brilliant emerald green metallic sheen of the thorax and abdomen. There is a hint here, but mostly you see the basic blue.

Sony RX10iii at 1100mm equivalent field of view (in-camera crop to 5mp). 1/250th @ ISO 500 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.