Now that Maddie can drive, I don’t get to visit Camp Timbercrest as often. But I have been down a couple of times to pick up Emily on evenings when Maddie has to stay. Last night, I went straight to camp after work hoping for some good evening light… Clouds confounded me much of the time … but I got a couple of shots that aren’t too bad:
It was really fun to watch several American Goldfinches flitting around in the grasses. They really seemed to like the Timothy Grass best. It always amazes me how they can perch on a stalk of grass and it doesn’t bend to the ground; they weigh so little. There must have been nests nearby, but I couldn’t find one. (Goldfinches are the last bird to breed in our region.)
This Twelve-Spotted Skimmer kept flying just out of reach, or behind some grasses. Finally I got a clear shot. In the field, I thought it was a female. But when I got it home on the computer, I can see the white spots starting to come in, so now I think it is a male teneral.
Song Sparrows and Indigo Buntings refused to come out into the light, or close enough, or sit still… But they were fun to watch.
A Passion for Nature 
These photos are really awesome , u have done a great job , keep it up .
Love the Dragonfly.
Raven
http://cherokeebydesign.wordpress.com/
Awesome pictures. Loved that one of the goldfinch most! I am jealous of your camera ;P
It’s the lens… I’m loving the Canon 100-400mm IS!
Wonderful pictures-that dragon fly is sure a beauty and the little finch is darling!
Dragonflies are always to quick for me. I don’t know how you do it.
Ha ha… this was a teneral… not very active yet. It just posed mostly… after a brief chase.
Lovely photo of the dragonfly–your patience paid off.
It’s amazing how crisp and clear your shots are. These are gorgeous.
Hi, I’m usually just a lurker. I really enjoy your blog!
I came out of lurkdom to say that I think your dragonfly is a female common whitetail.
Nice picture!
Back to lurkdom.
Ooops, sorry you are right, the solid line on the abdomen tells me I am wrong!
Hi Jean, welcome from Lurkdom. It’s an easy mistake to make. I always have to stop and look and remember… straight stripe, jagged… which is which… I don’t think the stripe along the abodomen is jagged enough for it to be a female whitetail. Plus, I can see the white spots starting to form on the wings between the black ones. Check out Marty’s comparison shots on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martytdx/281320102/
Thanks for clicking by my blog! You don’t have to stay in Lurkdom, if you don’t want. All comments welcome!
Very nice photos! The goldfinch is hard to capture, at least for me! Such a pretty bird. The dragonfly shot is great, too. What appears to be the 12-spot and the likes, are abundant here in SD. Very hard to tell what’s what w/ those!
Pretty pretty blog look at that image , its so good ( the one of the bird, i have to be sincere,i dont like bugs), i just saw another blog about birds, its a new world for me!
I invite you to check on min, its not about birds but i think its ok, haha, cheers!!
http://www.thatcrazycat.blogspot.com