Ebony Jewelwing
July 28th, 2011
Sugarbush Loop is becoming one of my favorite hiking spots. Foremost of the reasons for this is its population of Ebony Jewelwings, a magnificent odonate. When you first see one fluttering around, it looks like a dark butterfly. Then it perches, revealing its vivid metallic blue-green body and its eponymous delicate ebony wings. Jewelwings prefer wooded streams and creeks, which is perhaps why they're not a common sight in Ottawa--our greenspace has a lot more marsh and pond than it does fast-flowing water. But in appropriate habitat, they occur in good numbers.
I was delighted to find one hunting for food on Chelsea Creek. He perched on grasses leaning over the water, and periodically sallied forth to snap up insects from the surface. He had a habit of returning to exactly the same position on exactly the same perch after one of his sallies, which was fortunate for me! Once I'd set the focus on my lens, it stayed good for some time.
1680x1050 wallpaper
1680x1050 wallpaper
The females and juveniles are duller-colored, and have pale spots on the tips of their wings. My favorite female picture of the day is this rather startling flight shot.
July 28th, 2011
Sugarbush Loop is becoming one of my favorite hiking spots. Foremost of the reasons for this is its population of Ebony Jewelwings, a magnificent odonate. When you first see one fluttering around, it looks like a dark butterfly. Then it perches, revealing its vivid metallic blue-green body and its eponymous delicate ebony wings. Jewelwings prefer wooded streams and creeks, which is perhaps why they're not a common sight in Ottawa--our greenspace has a lot more marsh and pond than it does fast-flowing water. But in appropriate habitat, they occur in good numbers.
I was delighted to find one hunting for food on Chelsea Creek. He perched on grasses leaning over the water, and periodically sallied forth to snap up insects from the surface. He had a habit of returning to exactly the same position on exactly the same perch after one of his sallies, which was fortunate for me! Once I'd set the focus on my lens, it stayed good for some time.
1680x1050 wallpaper
1680x1050 wallpaper
The females and juveniles are duller-colored, and have pale spots on the tips of their wings. My favorite female picture of the day is this rather startling flight shot.
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Mike
July 28th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Beautiful color, that! Also, really good to get one "flycatching" like this one was.
gabriel_le
July 28th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
wow...this is really stunning. =D