Autumn Dragonfly

I took an exploratory hike today to look over a trail we use quite a bit in the winter for snowshoeing. When the snow piles high, trees and branches that are quite out of the way in the summer, tend to hang low and make it a bit difficult to pass in the winter. So I walked it today to locate potential trouble areas. I took my bins, and camera knowing if I didn't I'd regret it. Despite the added bulk these things created, I'm glad I had them.

I love the color of this dragonfly, quite rusty, set against the backdrop of autumn colors. This particular species (Flame Skimmer, Libellula saturata) were everywhere. It was the most abundant animal along the trail. Beautiful, though, so I didn't mind seeing them time and time again. Click the images to enlarge.

Birds seen were black-capped chickadees, one stellar's jay, robins, and dark-eyed juncos.

There were other cool discoveries made along the trail. But I'll wait and share those in another post.