Hunter at work

While the damselflies were doing their thing a few days ago, this four-spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) was out hunting.

It may seem to be just sitting around doing nothing much in particular, but it is in fact looking across a pond for prey. It has excellent vision, and when it spots something that looks edible, it will take off, catch it, and return to where it was. If the prey turns out to be less-than-tasty, it will spit it out on the way back.

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f8, 1/200s}

They usually return to the same perch, sometimes lower or higher up for a fresh perspective. That allowed me to take this second photo, with a darker backgound for added ominosity (is that a word?):

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f8, 1/200s}

Those are two of the better photos I have of this species; I specially like the first one. Here is a portrait shot of the same species, for completeness:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f8, 1/200s, repost}

Thanks for watching!