Wordless Wednesday: They Fly United

ALSO, SEE

Today was Marine Day a Japanese Holiday

Sunrise Began Looking Unimpressive

Taking a circuitous route to the beach, at first, I was disappointed.

Umi no Hi (Ocean Day) only comes once a year. It's the third Monday in July.

Before 5 AM the long hike to a remote beach began. I wanted to catch the sunrise.

Clouds blocked the sun along the horizon. I shrugged and headed west along the beach.

Ten minutes later, the sun started to burn through the cloudy horizon.

By 6 AM I had positioned the camera where this reflection would appear.

"Happy Umi no Hi," I posted on Facebook, a similar iPhone image.

One Camera One Lens

Traveling light, there was just a camera (no tripod) and I went without a backpack.

Pentax K1 and a Pentax 18-250MM were slung from my shoulder.

When I'm out hunting wild things, 300-700MM of lenses may accompany me.

Today, I was limited to 250MM of glass, at the maximum.

Bird shots were difficult but, some dragonflies cooperated with the photography.

This Red Dragonfly happened to land on some vegetation with a white background.

Scientists claim the red ones are scarce in mainland Japan due to pesticides.

They're nowhere near extinct in Okinawa, Japan. I see them daily.

  

Bird of the Day: Streaked Fantail Warbler

Far from the ocean and headed home, this bird appeared and was a challenge for the camera.

Zitting Cisticola is another name for them but, I call them Scissors Birds.

That's because of the sounds they make when flitting around in fields.

They could be mistaken for a barber shop's squeaky scissors. Snip, snip, snip, snip, snip.

Heading Home

Normally, my view of the Kin Power Plant is from another direction.

This composition was made using local vegetation as the foreground.

Ocean Day, in Japan, was established to express gratitude for the sea and its bounty.

For me, today was another day I'm happy about everything nature has provided.

That's blue skies, sunshine, bugs, birds and, an occasional cloud overhead.

Red Dragonfly (赤とんぼ) Akatombo in Japanese

Going Extinct in Japan?

Shooting Dragonflies wasn't planned as I went on my morning walks the past few days.

But, they kept showing up and reminded me of this article I read recently. 

It seems like the poor rascals are headed the way of dinosaurs, in mainland Japan.

Some scientists estimate 99% of the Red Dragonfly population has been wiped out.

The population of dragonflies seems to be doing alright in Okinawa.

They claim, bug spray used by mainland farmers, is what's destroying the insects.

But, the chemical companies manufacturing bug spray would argue. Not our poisons!

Just like in America. Sugar ain't bad for your health. Ask any breakfast cereal company! 

Grandkids Are Always Popping Up Around Here

It's summertime, they live nearby and, Grandpa always has ice cream.

A story about dragonflies mating will have to be modified. Adults can read the link.

Let's see. The one in front is the male dragonfly and, they're flying around together.

He has his "Hu-Ya" stuck in her "Ah-Hum."

Flying around at high speed, they're looking for a safe place to land.

Then, they really get it on and do the copulating thing.

More at How Dragonflies Mate.

Sorry for the shortened version. I gotta run before all the ice cream is gone!

A Golden Dragonfly Made My Day (GIFs)

Down by the River

 

 

The construction outside my office was a bit noisy.

It's not like, I don't have enough catching-up to do around here.

Taking a few hours hike in the fresh air just seemed to be the best way to spend the day.

There were all sorts of these critters, flying around the Okukubi River banks.

Red, blue, green and black dragonflies were buzzing around the water.

Only one, gold dragonfly, kept showing up.

And, it seemed to be attracted to the same clump of weeds.

So, I spent most of the day goofing off and shooting the critter.

Then, walked back to the office with another thousand images to develop.

Sitting down by the river on a nice autumn day, sure beats working in an office.

Dontcha think ?

The Okukubi River and Some Dragonflies

One Has a Club for a Tail

 

 

It all happened when blue skies showed up again today.

The plan was, to go back and get some photos of the Kin Bridge with water flowing under it.

In the lower, left of the frame, you can see the river.

It bends and winds all the way to the Kin Dam, in the right of the photo frame.

This photo was taken shortly before 9AM, using a wide angle lens.

I had been on top of the bridge before 6:30, taking pictures of the Kin Dam.

After taking this shot, I pulled the 50-500 lens out of my backpack.

 Dragonflies Were Enjoying the River and Hot Sun 

 

They were buzzing around both sides of the river but, you need a big lens to catch them.

It was a relief, to get that backpack off and on the ground.

The little 10-20mm lens went in the pack and the big lens was mounted on a tripod.

 Here are two different types of dragonfly in the same shot.

 The red one, we've seen before.

It's called Akatombo in Japanese (Trithemis aurora).

The English name: Crimson Marsh Glider

The name of this one is going in my pending files.

The closest match, I have been able to make, so far, comes from a website in the UK.

They have an assortment of Club Tailed Dragonflies in Europe.

None are marked exactly like this but, they are close.

Club Tail Dragonflies are common in Europe.

But, there's no mention of them being found in Asia.

If nobody has a scientific name for this dragonfly, yet, I'll help them.

After looking a hundreds of dragonfly and damsel photos, my head hurts.

If we have an entirely new one here, it has to get a Latin name.

Let's just call it a Ryukyu Orionbeer hangoveragainisis !

Today the Dragonflies Came in Red, Gold and Blue (Photos)

Today I was off  Okinawa proper and hit some of the outer islands.  The camera is downloaded and recharging for the next trip and there are a few hundred photos waiting development. 

I'll just post these three dragonflies in the order they were photographed.

The photos were taken at the base of a waterfall on Miyagi Island.

The red dragonfly showed up first.

Then, the gold one.

Last but, not least the blue dragonfly posed for me with the water in the background.

If you had to choose a color for a dragonfly which one would you go for the red, golden, or blue ?