September. The morning dew is heavier, the days are noticeably shorter, and the nights are cooler. The fireflies have departed for another year. Morning s are silent – no singing birds greeting the dawn; but the evenings are raucous with the cries of crickets and katydids – raising their voices as the sun sets in the west.

Last weekend marked the final days of August. The fields that I love to visit have all been mowed – some last year, some this year. The dragons flit around in the stubble. Maybe it’s the weather patterns, maybe it’s the marsh changing over to a pond – but I saw very few of the familiar red dragons this season. I have only a handful of shots of White-faced, Ruby, or Cherry faced Meadowhawks. Now when I see a glint of red in the mower stubble, I stoop down and find Autumn Meadowhawks – a.k.a. Yellow Legged Meadowhawks.

Autumn Meadowhawk

Last weekend’s trip was no exception. Sunday was a clear, warm day. It felt like autumn only because the air had that haze-free clarity that only autumn skies get. It was warm when the sun was shining, but scattered clouds imposed their shadows on the earth, brining a bit of chill and a bit of gloom. I had toget down in the stubble to get to eye level with the dragons. One actually obelisked when the sun broke out for a few minutes – the only example of this display / cooling behavior I managed to get this season.

Autumn Meadowhawk

There were a few swaths of tall grass in some of the fields – places that the mower missed – and I worked those areas since they were havens to the few dragonflies that were out and around. A pair of diminutive Band Winged Meadowhawks were hanging out in one small clump of grass. There are the smallest of the Michigan Meadowhawks, and rather small compared to most dragonfly species. The clump of grass was in the midst of an enormous ant hill, so I paid a bit of a price every time I laid down to get an eye level shot. And still no shots of the male!

Band Winged Meadowhawk

Band Winged Meadowhawk