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Birding

Good Photo or not?

Birding

End of June Dragonflies and Damselflies

Birding

Common Baskettail Dragonfly, Epitheca cynosura

Halloween Pennant
Nature, Odonate

Creating a Wetland

Over fifteen years ago, we built a large catfish pond. One end was kept shallow–about 20′ x 40′–with the thought that it would naturalize on its own. Sadly, it never did. So we put in a few waterlilies from a local area. Then they took over the pond, and we had to rip them out. Now what? I still wanted a natural wetland area, especially after I found a Coryphaeschna ingens, or Regal Darner exuvia on one of the sticks protruding from the water in the shallow end. An ...
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Birding, Nature, Odonate, Photography

Good Photo or not?

I’ve been working on improving my photography skills and had one of those lightbulb moments. I’m really not interested in “artistic” and my photos aren’t artistic. I want clarity and the ability to identify what I’m photographing. And perhaps maybe something interesting or even cute. It’s not just my photographs, either. I’ve realized that I actually don’t like artistic photos. Many times when I see before and after photos where the ...
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Nature, Odonate, Photography

Moth Week 2023

National Moth Week 2023 is over, actually has been over for a while, and although I didn’t see a lot of showy moths, I did see a nice sampling. The technique I used was a lightsheet and a few wine ropes (rags). That setup is a white sheet hung between trees with UV lights aimed towards the sheet. It was an interesting learning experience and one I plan to repeat despite moth week being over. Things I discovered… So what kinds of moths did I see? Below are some of my observations ...
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Nature, Odonate, Photography

Needham’s Skimmer and Golden-winged Skimmer

Two of the most beautiful dragonflies in my area are Needham’s Skimmer, Libellula needhami, and the Golden-winged Skimmer, Libellula auripennis. Unfortunately, they are easy to confuse as both may be present in coastal areas. This is where the “wolf’s head” pattern of light color on the thorax can come in really handy. Below is a photo showing where the wolf’s head pattern can be found on a Great Blue Skimmer. Some of the skimmers have an even better ...
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Nature, Odonate, Photography

Skimmer Dragonfly Season

It’s Skimmer season! Around here, the dragonflies that are the most common at this point in the summer are the skimmers (Libellula). Identifying them can sometimes be a little challenging, especially the females, so I’ve done another set of comparison charts for these three: Bar-winged Skimmer (Libellula axilena), Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta), and the Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans). The males are relatively easy to identify but the females can be tricky to identify. ...
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