Mark Cassino Photography - Mark's Blog

It’s summertime on the pine barrens. The prickly pear cactus is in bloom, and for now at least the fields are lush and green.

The prickly pear cactus is a real treat. Found in some of the sandy fields in the Allegan Forest, it grows in patches that can be quite large. It looks totally out of place here in the Midwest, but is indeed a native plant. 

I was away from the fields for a solid week. Monday was dark, cool, and rainy, Tuesday and Wednesday were tied up with workaday activities. So it wasn’t until Thursday that I was able to get back to the summer fields for some more close up work.

Blue dashers are still out in great abundance. Field both north and south of the Kalamazoo River are just swarming with these dragonflies. As they have matured, their colors are deepening and now the males present themselves as startling bright blue and yellow.

Coreopsis and vetch are both in bloom at this time. I managed to get a few shots with either the golden coreopsis or purple vetch in the background – but unfortunately was not able to get a shot of any dragonflies perched on the flowers themselves. They do perch on them – they just don’t stay there very long.

I suppose that the wet weather has somehow contributed to the burst of blue dashers on the scene. While they dominated all of the areas I visited in Allegan on Thursday, several new species were starting to appear. I spotted a few bright red male White-faced Meadowhawks near the intermittent marsh off 48th street. In addition, lots of female or immature meadowhawks are now in the area. The first Halloween Pennants appeared this week. Twelve Spotted Skimmers and Common Whitetails remain abundant.

Blue Dasher

Blue Dasher

Blue Dasher

Blue Dasher

Blue Dasher

Blue Dasher

Halloween Pennant

Other species are waning as the summer moves on. I saw only a handful of Dot-tailed Whitefaces on Thursday. Calico Pennants were also quite rare. There also were fewer Spangled Skimmers than in recent weeks. Friday I visited the Fort Custer Recreation Area, hoping to find a few more diverse species. Blue Dashers were not so dominant here, but were certainly out in abundance. The most common subject in the locations I visited was the Eastern Pondhawk. Unfortunatley, try as I might I was unable to get any interesting shots of the bright blue males, and only one shot of a green female.

More photos:

Summer is upon us, as I write this on the longest day of the year. This last week has been a good one for insect photography, though I haven’t had a chance to update this blog. So – here are the highlights of the week’s work:

Monday was a cool day, following on the heels of a terrifically rainy week. Temps were only in the mid 60’s or so, with a dazzling clear haze-free sky, more like something you’d see in October than June. I visited the old farmstead off 48th Street in the Allegan forest. The vernal marsh is fuller than I have ever seen it, with open water lapping up towards the trees near the marsh’s edge.

Of course, there were lots of dragonflies…

I started my visit on the northern edge of the field, far from the marsh. Here I ran into several Dot-Tailed Whitefaces and Blue Dashers. I also ran into a large darner with startling blue eyes – which I later learned (thanks to the Flickr dragonfly group) is a Spatterdock Darner. A new and beautiful find.

Later in the same session, I photographed what I believe is a Red Saddlebags Dragonfly. It’s very similar to the Carolina Saddlebags that were in this field last year, but the Red Saddlebag’s range is to the west of Michigan, though it is a know vagrant in this area. (Finally – something I have in common with my subjects!)

The key differentiator between the Red Saddlebag and the Carolina Saddlebag is a little ‘notch’ in the saddlebag pattern at the base of the wings. The profile portrait above does not show the wings, but the photo below does. As you can see in the insert – the ‘notch’ is indeed present in this subject’s rather tattered wings.

Later in the day I wandered down to the Swan Creek Dam, which was raging full with water after the heavy rains. Lots of damselflies – but even more poison ivy. One interesting sighting for the day was a Northern Water Snake. It was hanging onto the bank near the dam’s rushing effluent. For the life of me, it looked like a bent stick, bobbing in the water near shore. A faint flicker of the snake’s tongue caught my eye, and I got down to eye level to snap a few shot before it swam off downstream.

Thursday presented the only other opportunity for shooting during the week. I visited some fields north of the river, near the intersection of 43rd street and 125th Ave. These fields seem to be dominated by one species of dragonfly at any given time – first it was Clubtails and then Twelve Spotted Skimmers. This week it was Blue Dashers – a startling mix of mature, immature, male and female specimens. The fields I was working in were pretty large – the smaller is maybe 50 x 100 yards, the larger is maybe 150 x 75 yards in dimension. A small break of forest, only 30 or 40 feet wide, separates the two fields, with a well-cleared path connecting them.

In both of these fields there were simply thousands of blue dashers. In a single square yard you could easily see 3 to 6 specimens. I also saw several Darners, Clubtails, Spiketails, and Skimmers in the mix. I was happy to get a pretty nice shot of a male Blue Dasher, shown below. IMO, the best dragonfly shot I’ve managed so far this year.

Shortly after arriving, I was treated to a pair of deer, who ambled across the savanna. If the shot looks somewhat familiar, that might be because it was shot in the same spot as this one– taken in 2006. This year the savannah is much greener and the air much less hazy.

Thursday was a productive day, photographing in the Allegan Forest.

I started out off 44th street, parking in a small gravel parking lot that connects to a two track road that leads deep into the woods. The road is barricaded and gated, so its only open to foot traffic. When I arrived I was amazed at the millions of ants that were swarming in the parking lot and running along the ruts in the road. They weren’t like the killer ants you see in the movies, but then they weren’t shy about running up my legs if I stood still for too long.

I followed the road back to a clearing, along the way getting some shots of a Brown Spiketail, some Calico Pennants, and later an Eastern Pondhawk devouring a much smaller Calico Pennant. The ants proved to be more of a problem than I expected – ultimately they worked their way into my shoes and onto my legs, biting and stinging as they went.

 I moved on to the old farmstead where the vernal marsh was fuller and larger than I have ever seen it. The recent rains have expanded it’s size considerably. Dot Tailed Whiteface dragonflies were abundant in the sandy fields around the marsh. The marsh itself was a real hub of activity, with countless darners, blue dashers, dot tailed whitefaces, widow skimmers, spangled skimmers, white tails, and twelve spotted skimmers dancing in the air. I also saw what I think was a red saddlesbags, though I never got a good shot of it. To my surprise, I also spotted the first few white faced meadowhawks.

The dragonflies were largely air born over the marsh, and didn’t pause much for photos. I spent a couple of hours in the area, and then moved on. At this point Allegan is greener and more lush than I have seen it in a long time – so hopefully it will offer good hunting for a while. 

Wednesday morning finds me in the McLinden Trails. As usual, the site is full of dragonflies plus a few other interesting insects and birds. This must be a banner year for Spangled Skimmers – shortly after entering the park I’m confronted with four or five individuals all within a few yards of each other. One goal for the day is to get a few more spangled skimmer shots, including a few shots of the colorful blue males.

 I was happy to achieve both of these goals in the first few minutes in the park. As the rose and the day warmed, the Spangled Skimmers got to be a bit more skittish, b ut early on they were pretty accommodating subjects.

I realize that I’ve seen these things before – only I misidentified the females as Widow Skimmers and the males as Blue Dashers. Looking back over the past year or so, I have a few web pages here to correct.

Aside from the Spangled Skimmers, Calico Pennants were also out in decent numbers. One very obliging subject let me snap away for several minutes while he posed on a grass stalk – eventually posing to display wing, body, and head markings simultaneously.

Friday, June 6, 2008. Clubtails no longer dominate the fields north of the river. In the course of a few hours, I see only one specimen of the insects who were so prevalent just a few days earlier. Now the fields are full of Common Whitetails – some having attained mature coloring – and Twelve Spotted Skimmers. The sandy soil is still damp from the torrential rains of the previous day. The Pine Barrens are lively with color – red wild millet, green spongy moss, the first yellow coreopsis blooms, and green knapweed sprigs. 

These fields do hold a few rewards. Early on a large dragonfly lumbered by, and lit on an oak seedling, just a few inches above the ground. I lay down in the damp soil to get a few shots of this subject. It was only when I returned home and checked the field guides, that I learned that this subject was the not-so-common Brown Spiketail. This was definitely a first sighting for me. 

A short distance away, a more common species provided a nice photo opportunity. An immature Blue Dasher took up a position on a dry twig, again just a few inches above the ground. Flat on my stomach again, the dragonfly provided some splendid poses, resulting in a nice macro-portrait.

I visted a few other spots in the Allegan Forest, ultimately winding up at the old farmstead. The Dot-tailed Whiteface Dragonflies were in abundance near the parking area. They had come a long way since the week before, with most of them in the mature coloration or well along in their transition to it. The vernal marsh is a few hundred yards away from the parking area, and while it was bursting full with water after the heavy rains the day before, there were few dragonflies to be found there. Surprisingly, there were few subjects there. By this time the wind had picked up considerably, driving anything airborne to cling low to the ground. I headed home, just a few hours ahead of a phenomenal line of thunderstorms that would really give the area a good soaking.

I’ve been neglecting the McLinden Trails. It’s a local park built around municipal well fields, and is the best spot I’ve ever found for shooting dragonflies.

With the cold weather of the last few weeks, I’ve not been out to much insect work. As soon as warm weather hit, I headed out to the Allegan Forest, looking for the exotic species found in this large wild area.

I planned to go to Allegan today, but the weather did not cooperate. Early in the morning a massive line of thunderstorms sat over Lake Michigan, and slowly drifted to the northeast. Looking at the radar, I realized that Allegan would be lashed by storms all morning, ruining any chances for close up photography.

So instead I went to the McLInden Trails. Light rain was pressing into the area, so I was only there for about 45 minutes. But still enough to get a few decent shots. The sky was dark when I arrived, and they only grew darker before a brief drizzle settled in.

For a few minutes on a rainy day, this site worked out well for dragonfly shooting. I managed to get shots of male and female Calico Pennants, and also a Spangled Skimmer (which I had earlier mis-ID’d as an immature Widow Skimmer.) Many other dragonflies and damselflies were in the area, all good reasons to come back.

For tomorrow the forecast is for record high temps, high winds, and no rain – I’m looking forward to what the day will really bring.

Spring and summer have been slow to arrive in west Michigan. Cool temperatures clung to the area throughout the month of May. Even now, the Oak Trees and some Maples are just starting to fully leaf out. Fortunately this is all coming to an end – with a notable wave of hot and humid weather in the forecast for the first week of June.

Of course, the cool weather hasn’t been good for insect photography. I’ve made several trips out to the Allegan Forest, looking for dragonflies and other insect subjects. Until earlier this week, the pickings have been slim. 

A few Dot Tailed Whiteface dragonflies have popped up around some of the ponds and small lakes in the past week or so. So far, I’ve seen only immature subjects – dragonflies with a distinctive white face and yellow/orange bands on their bodies. As they mature the colors should fade, with only one yellowish dot on the outer part of the abdomen.

On the cool days the dot-tails tend to keep close to the ground. The sandy slope leading away from a vernal marsh in the Allegan Forest has proven to be a good hunting ground for these insects, but by and large I’ve been trying to photograph subjects who are resting on the sand or just inches above it. The individual perching, above, was on a plant stem just a few inches above the ground, so getting the shot meant laying down in the mucky soil along the edge of the marsh to get at eye level with the subject.

One surprise that came in the last few days was the arrival of lots of clubtail dragonflies in the fields north of the Kalamazoo River. Clubtails are large and colorful, but usually keep in the foliage and don’t perch out in the open – so I was happy to see the subject below take up a position on a dried knapweed flower.

A few butterflies are also making their way into the scene – spice bush, red spotted purples, and the uncommon eastern swallowtail all pop up from time to time. Smaller azures and hairstreaks can also be spotted. American coppers remain a favorite. These tiny but determined butterflies stake and defend their territories, but also make great photo subjects when you can catch them. 

Hot weather is in the forecast – so I expect an explosion of insects in the next few days. More photographs from today:

Almost two weeks ago now, some good news came in the mail. One of my Holga shots from last October was accepted into the fotofoto gallery’s “Your Best Shot” exhibit. I didn’t do a lot of Holga work last year, but “Spent” was the best shot (in my mind) that I did get with the toy camera – so I’m glad to see it head off to a show. I had the photo boxed up and in the mail a week ago, so it should be there now.

Definitely an October image - and here it is, a beautiful May morning…