My Random Thoughts – Page 2 – My random thoughts on gardening, roses, bird watching, and other things involving photography, the outdoors, and writing.

Skimmer Dragonfly Season

By: Amy
July 19, 2023

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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Nature, Odonate, Photography

Attenuated Bluet and Pale Bluet

By: Amy
July 6, 2023

My last post also included the table I’m going to show below, but I wanted to do a post with my comparison table and photos to actually show the Attenuated Bluet (Enallagma daeckii) and the Pale Bluet (Enallagma pallidum). In the photos, the length and thinness of the Attenuated Bluet is fairly obvious in comparison to the Pale Bluet. The amount of black on the thorax is also fairly visible. Below are the two females side-by-side. You’ll see how the tan median line on the thorax ...

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Birding, Nature, Odonate, Photography

End of June Dragonflies and Damselflies

By: Amy
June 30, 2023

It’s the end of June (actually the very last day of June) and I’ve been frantic to see the Enallagma, Bluets, genus of damselflies before they disappear for the season. Sure, a lot of them have flight times well into the fall, but they become increasingly hard to find as the summer season progresses. If they are seen, it’s “onsie-twosies” versus five or six (or more) and those few are very difficult to find: it depends more on luck than anything. But members of ...

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Nature, Odonate, Photography

Dragonflies and Damselflies

By: Amy
June 25, 2023

I’ve been trying to observe and learn about Odonata, that is, Dragonflies and Damselflies, and I’ve made slow progress but some progress. Seems like every time I observe and identify a new species, I mess up on the identification of other species that I’ve observed in the past and should know. But I’ve been working on identification and thought I would mention a few tricks. These learning tricks work for me but everyone is different. For me, I can only pick up so ...

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Birding, Nature, Odonate, Photography, Roses

Common Baskettail Dragonfly, Epitheca cynosura

By: Amy
March 20, 2023

On March 19, 2023 I finally got to see my first Common Baskettail dragonfly, Epitheca cynosura, as well as my first Blue Corporal, Ladona deplanata. To be honest, I’ve probably seen them in the past but simply hadn’t been able to identify them. So I’m really thrilled to see them. Spring is certainly here, that’s for sure. Everything is just covered with pollen, including the dragonflies and damselflies as well as every surface including inside my house. The daffodils ...

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