dragons & damsels at the salton sea nov 6 (1 Viewer)

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richard bledsoe

Well-known member

• Nov 11, 2003

• #1

dragons and damsels at the salton sea nov. 6

i had been trying to get out to the salton sea in the extreme south west corner of california but kept rescheduling because of extreme heat in the desert and then the wild fires that closed the highway east of san diego. anyway, i finally got on the road thursday last week (11/6/03).

any desert species would be new to me and i hoped that there would still be some odes flying. i did take a small detour to obsidian butte at the sea to look for late yellow-footed gulls but none were to be had. my disappointment was short lived however as my first stop for odes turned up several roseate skimmers, lots of desert forktails, and many rambur"s forktails. others flying but not new to me were common green darner, variegated meadowhawk, familiar bluet, and american rubyspot.

i feel very fortunate to have the salton sea so easily accessible as it is a great bird magnet for wintering species and i will check on the dragonfly situation when i'm out there.

i hope you enjoy these shots of the days catch. which are on the next post because i didn't do it right the first attempt.

 

Last edited: Nov 12, 2003

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richard bledsoe

Well-known member

• Nov 12, 2003

• #2

attachments for previous post

my salton sea photos which were all digiscoped with my nikon/leica rig.

 

Attachments

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  11-6-03-roseate skimmer.jpg

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  11-6-03-desert forktail.jpg

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  11-6-03-roseate.jpg

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  11-6-03 rambur's forktail.jpg

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Last edited: Nov 12, 2003

KC Foggin

Very, very long time member

Supporter

• Nov 12, 2003

• #3

I cannot believe the clarity of these shots Richard. I am so envious. I failed to mention to you that I finally got my first look at the Roseate Skimmer two weeks ago and did get a shot but it sure pales in comparison to yours. What settings were you using for these guys? Is that the Ramburs Forktail in the other 2 shots?

 

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richard bledsoe

Well-known member

• Nov 12, 2003

• #4

which is desert forktail

kc, the desert forktail is between the two roseate skimmers and the rambur's forktail is on the right end. if you hover the mouse over the image i think the name will show as part of the file name. the rambur's has the black on top of the abdominal segments straight sided while the desert forktail has a sort of hour glass pattern there and a wider green thoracic stripe than the rambur's.

for what ts worth these are the exif data for the top view roseate skimmer:
1/156 sec.
f5.3
ev+0.7
camera focal length 18.2mm
aperture priority
center weighted metering
contrast low
saturation normal
sharpness high

richard

 

KC Foggin

Very, very long time member

Supporter

• Nov 12, 2003

• #5

Up to this point I have not fooled around with the camera's sharpness settings or the contrast settings. I guess I need to start playing with them. I wouldn't have dreamed of getting a digishot of a dragonfly this crisp hand holding the camera but you have proved it can be done.

 

Leslie

Well-known member

• Nov 12, 2003

• #6

Wow! These are excellent shots Richard. I haven't been seeing any odes lately in my neck of the woods. I had mentioned in the gallery that I'd really love to visit the Salton Sea, but I see that I should make sure I go when the odes are around. Did you get a lot of bird shots as well?

Leslie

 

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richard bledsoe

Well-known member

• Nov 13, 2003

• #7

leslie,

two members of the yahoo group calodes live close to salton sea and its my understanding that there are some odes flying all year, but probably best from may thru september. weather wise its good to go early or late in the season. i was surprised at the numbers of odes flying in november. its pretty slow in san diego at this time. i didn't do any bird photography this trip, definitely will next time though.

richard

 

Leslie

Well-known member

• Nov 13, 2003

• #8

From what I read in my books, I'm supposed to have some odes year-round too, but I haven't seen one in about a month. Thanks for the tip of when to visit. I just have to talk my husband into it.

Leslie

 

Graham Osborne

Well-known member

• Nov 13, 2003

• #9

Great photos Richard.

My wife and I were planning to visit the Salton Sea when we were in San Diego during April 1999, but it was snow rather than fire that stopped us on that occasion. Does the Sea smell as bad as Brad Schram says?

Graham

 

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richard bledsoe

Well-known member

• Nov 14, 2003

• #10

i started a four year r.v. trip in march 1999 so was in oregon and didn't hear about the snow, very unusual if it was at the sea which is in the desert. may have been blocking the roads to the sea thru the mountains though. i'm told that sometimes it stinks out there but all my trips have been pleasant, i go mainly in the winter it could be different when its hot.

richard

 

Graham Osborne

Well-known member

• Nov 14, 2003

• #11

Yes the snow was in the mountains. The main local news item at the time was concern about illegal Mexican immigrants being at risk of dying from hypothermia whilst hiding out in the mountains!

Graham

 

Forcreeks

If you want to see something new in nature!

• Feb 3, 2004

• #12

Wow, I just found this great post and photos today when I came to post a little story on dragonflies from the Amer. Society's latest newsletter. Really nice pics and i.d. work. I had to check you out on the two Ischnuras i.d., as I've never seen them. You got it textbook clear.. and right. Wow, a four-year RV trip!

 

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Beverlybaynes

Mod Squad

• Feb 4, 2004

• #13

I'm just jealous of you being so close to the Salton Sea! I've only had the good fortune of visiting there once, on Christmas Eve, 1994, on a day when the sky was only about 10 feet above our heads, the fog was thick, and it actually drizzled in Palm Springs!!

I did pick up a couple of lifers that day, tho, in spite of just a couple of hours there -- Western Grebe, California Quail, American Avocet, Ross's Goose . . . and I just fell in love with the place!

Now, if only it wasn't 2000 miles away . . . .

 

Screech

Well-known member

• Feb 4, 2004

• #14

Great digiscoping Richard! Absolute beautiful specimens. Thanks!
Enjoy your trip, take care out there.

 

Surreybirder

Ken Noble

• Feb 4, 2004

• #15

Lovely pix! The roseate skimmer looks remarkably similar to the Mediterranean species Trithemis annulata (sometimes known as purple-blushed darter).

 

Last edited: Feb 4, 2004