A Common Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius) was perched on a tree, approximately one-to-two feet above the ground. My good friend Mike Powell spotted this beautiful specimen while we were hunting for Harlequin Darner alongside Wildlife Loop trail at the North Tract of Patuxent Research Refuge (PRR), Laurel, Maryland USA.
This individual is a female, as indicated by her terminal appendages. Sexing Common Green Darner dragonflies is a photo-illustrated field guide that describes field marks that can be used to differentiate female and male Common Green Darners.
It’s worth noting that both photos featured in this blog post are uncropped, that is, full resolution for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 superzoom bridge camera (4,000 x 3,000 pixels).
The following photo is one of my “record shots” for this subject. Whenever I see a dragonfly perched on a tree, I always try to refine the shot until the tree in the background fills the entire frame. If you compare/contrast the two photos, then I think you will agree with me that the composition of the first photo is much better than the second.
Related Resources
- Common Green Darner on a tree – a blog post by Mike Powell
- Sexing Common Green Darner dragonflies – a photo-illustrated field guide by Walter Sanford
Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Anax junius, Common Green Darner dragonfly, Family Aeshnidae (Darners), female, Patuxent Research Refuge, terminal appendages
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