If I’d been birding rather than finally getting my favorite Torta, checking on a National Forest Pass, and generally enjoying one of the hottest days of the year, then last Thursday’s trip to Nisqually Wildlife Refuge would have been a total flop because I saw very few birds despite walking to the end of the new walkway.
Luckily, the Torta was excellent and I learned that my Golden Passport should be good at National Forests in Washington and Oregon (I’ll let you know if I get a ticket).
And if all the birds found it too hot to waste energy flying around, the dragonflies more than made up for it as they seemed to find the weather perfect. And as I’ve noted before, I was fascinated with dragonflies long before I was fascinated with birds.
The intense light made it relatively easy to get sharp photos of the dragonflies using high shutter speeds. Even though I never quite managed to capture one in flight, I still like this shot,
this shot,
and even this shot.
Until I can find a praying mantis in the wild, dragonflies and butterflies will remain my favorite insects.