Blue Dasher — Beautiful Eyes

There were lots of Blue Dashers at the Quincy Lakes on August 13, 2023. Their eyes are beautiful, and the appearance of the eyes depends sensitively on the angle at which they are viewed. This applies especially to the large dorsal fovea areas on the top of the eyes, as seen in the photo below.

In the next photo, the dragonfly pivots a bit, and gives us a slightly different view. The large dark spot moves from one side of the eyes to the other.

Helping with the appearance of the eyes is the chalk white face, which provides a wonderful contrast.

 Tule Bluet

Here's a male Tule Bluet at Burke Lake near Quincy, Washington. We were there last Sunday, August 13, 2023.

Notice that the blue rings are a bit smaller than the black bands, as opposed to Northern and Boreal Bluets where the blue covers most of the abdomen, with black rings separating the blue bands.

 Black Saddlebags

We saw lots of Black Saddlebags flying about at Quincy Lakes and Crab Creek. We never saw one land, however, so the best I could do was a flight picture.

It appears this individual is snacking on a smaller flying insect that it caught on the wing.

 Quincy Lakes, August 13, 2023

Over the weekend we visited the Quincy Lakes area near George, Washington. Here's a nice Emma's Dancer posing for me.

Note the lavender color on the head and thorax. The abdomen is lavender with a blue tip. As is usual with dancers, the wings are being held up above the abdomen.