Widow Skimmer

Widow Skimmer

Two views of the Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa). The widow skimmer is the first I have seen of this particular species this summer. These are two individual males. The top one (color photograph) was camping out on the same plants that the twelve-spotted skimmer I posted earlier was using. The whitetails seem to be diminished in number, but far from gone. I also noted an eastern pond hawk. A huge green darner still constantly patrols the edges. I’ve seen a green darner here on duty since April, but I’m still waiting for a chance to photograph him. Meanwhile, I saw no bluets today. Camera was a Nikon D90; the lens was a Nikkor 70-300mm AF-S ED VR. Images are cropped moderately. Post-processed in Aperture. I was unable to avoid all the foreground vegetation in the color image. I attempted to clone out a bit of plant. A green shadow from a foreground plant I did not attempt to fix.

Widow Skimmer Black and White

Widow Skimmer