More TI dragonflies and other things

Try getting a decent photo of a tiny, finicky black dragonfly in bright sunlight.  It's difficult.  Over the course of three days I worked hard to get the photos below.  It looks like a meadowhawk.  It acted like a meadowhawk.  But Black Meadowhawk (Sympetrum danae) is a northern fresh water species.  Definitely not where I was on this trip.  

A little out-of-focus.

Pretty beat up.

Above and two below:  my best attempts.

Abdomen looking a little clubby.

Maybe my best shot.  So what is it?

It's the female of the species that made this dragonfly identifiable.

Much more cooperative, easier to photograph in the bright sun and a real beauty.

Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice).  So common in all the locations I visited.

Above and below:  Holy cow, what is this beat-up old dragon?  Believe it or not, I am going to make a guess - Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans) - going further, possibly female.  I'll submit to Odonata Central to see if the regional expert will concur.  It was a large dragonfly and the behavior and habitat are suited to the ID.  Curiously, it was the photo in the tiny beginner's Stokes guide that clued me in to consider GBS.

*Addendum added 07/30/2018:  My ID of this dragonfly confirmed by Michael Boatwright of Odonata Central with the following decision note:  Very mature female.     

I've seen Great Blue Skimmer once before and they are beautiful dragonflies especially, I think, the female.  Poor thing.  Certainly on her last legs.  It's kind of an honor to have seen her at this stage of life and to have gotten a couple of photos.

Several fresh Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) butterflies were around but were perching with wings closed.  Underwing pattern nothing like upper wing, but still attractive.

Above and below: male Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera) perched in obelisking position.

Above and two below:  the female version of either Golden-winged (L. auripennis) vs. Needham's (L.  needhami) skimmer.*  I sent my photos of the presumed male Golden-winged Skimmer to Odonata Central. The photos, write-up and location were acknowledged but the identification could not be confirmed (see prior blog entry).  The only thing confirmed was my over confidence in making my identification.  I have submitted two of these photos to see if the female of the species may give new ID hints.

*Addendum added 07/31/2018:  Needham's Skimmer confirmed by Odonata Central reviewer Mike Moore with the following decision note:  Submitted as GW Skimmer. Dark proximal costa contrasting with bright distal costa and tan legs indicate Needham's Skimmer.

I wonder if this female Needham's Skimmer confirms that the males I saw were also Needham's Skimmers.  Made me also wonder if, with the geographical and habitat overlap, there might be a lot of hybridization between the Libellula species Golden-winged and Needham's.

The photo above was taken at the Harriet Tubman Museum and State Park just outside Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County.  It's a terrible photo for sure.  I was shooting up - never good for a dragonfly photo (and no, not that kind of shooting up) - but I took the photo because I wanted to confirm that it was a Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina).  It was.  Outside of the museum, there were so many dragonflies flying around that I could have been occupied for a couple of hours taking photos. But I was with friends who have no interest such things, so this quick photo was an indulgence.

I got one shot of this bluet damselfly.  The bluets are beautiful and common, but nearly impossible to identify from photos.  Having acknowledged this, I found this damsel in a marshy area - as many areas are on Tilghman Island.  Could this be a Marsh Bluet (Enallagma ebrium)?*  Curiously, the 2011 Paulson's book does not show the Marsh Bluet extending into Maryland's eastern shore. However, the 2002 tiny Stokes guide does.  I submitted this to Odonata Central as an Unknown Damselfly.

*Addendum added 07/31/2018:  Confirmed by Mike Moore of Odonata Central with the following decision note:  Pale stripe on carina and points to all black marks are key field marks for Big Bluet.  

Marsh Bluet may not have been a bad guess, but the Big Bluet (Enallagma durum) is truly a coastal species.

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) in shallow, tidal water.  Also numerous this trip and a pleasure to see.

Dun Skipper (Euphyes vestris)?  Just a guess.  Dun Skipper is our most widespread, plain brown skipper.

Above and below:  Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea).  This was the only time I saw the Spot-winged.  A first for me and exciting to find. All week long I saw many Wandering Gliders (P. flavescens), but I never considered seeing the equally widespread and, I think, very different Spot-winged.

Maryland crab boat plying the waters off the tip of Tilghman Island.

Unusual to see perched, but if I have to guess it would be Wandering Glider (P. flavescens).  What else could it be?  They were so numerous all four days that it stands to reason one would be seen perched sooner or later.  Incidentally, Wandering Glider is a truly worldwide species.  

The brightest and most beautifully marked female* (see below) Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) I have ever seen.  So much so that initially I thought I was seeing a new species for me.  I was disappointed when I realized it was not but just goes to show, with dragonflies as with anything else in life, how important it is to pay attention.  

Addendum added 07/30/2018:  My species ID of this dragonfly confirmed by Michael Boatwright of Odonata Central with the following decision note:  Immature male. 

Go figure!

I think this may be Hibiscus lasiocarpos, known as the hairy-fruited hibiscus or rose-mallow, a self-compatible herbaceous perennial native to fresh and brackish marshes of the southern and eastern United States.

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Postscript:  For readers at all interested in dragonflies and damselflies, I highly recommend the Princeton Field Guide Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East by Dennis Paulson, copyright 2011 by Princeton University Press.  If you live in the west, Paulson also published a completely separate West edition of this guide.  Secondary to the nature of odonata the book is not an identification gimme, say such as a bird field guide might be.  But, the challenge of identifying odonata is completely absorbing and Paulson's book goes a long way to help.  

There is a paradox when looking for odonata.  Unless one is going to net a specimen and send the voucher to a natural history museum collection or such (I don't do this), one must have a decent camera, i.e. not an iPhone.  A good point and shoot with built in zoom, as I have, will serve you well.  The paradox is that many dragonflies or damselflies cannot be identified by photo alone.  This is endorsed by my photos of male Golden-winged vs. Needham's skimmer identification. 

Finally, I have been using Odonatacentral.org for posting my sightings since September, 2016 when I posted three photos of a Shadow Darner photographed in northern Idaho.  After this trip, it's my new favorite website.  For my questionable IDs, both regional experts, Mike Moore and Michael Boatwright, added decision notes that I have included as addendums on this blog.  So helpful.

And so much fun!