Reflection Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Shasta County, 9/3/06

I took a quick trip to Lassen Park about mid-day today. Lot's of Saffron-winged Meadowhawks at Reflection Lake. They were very wary; I got of one shot of a male and shortly thereafter found a pair in wheel which were very cooperative.

Western Forktail, male.

I tried to photograph some darners in flight, though my equipment isn't really set up to do that. The results weren't too good but will serve for ID. This and the others are male Paddle-tailed Darners.

I think this one and the one below are the same individual.

I didn't get all of him in the frame, so I cropped it some to get a better effect.

This female Paddle-tailed Darner (at least its likely to be that species--could be Variable) flew up from the vegetation at my feet. When I froze it landed again, and I was able to get three shots. This was the best one (in fact the only one where the "tail" was in the frame).

As I mentioned earlier, there were many Saffron-winged Meadowhawks, but this is the only one (besides the pair below) that would pose for me. They were very active, fighting constantly among themselves. Any movement on my part would scare them off.

I noticed this pair in the grass. As I approached, they flew into a Lodgepole Pine and sat there until I had taken all of my shots.

Another shot of the same pair taken from a more oblique angle.

White-faced Meadowhawk male.