Blue-faced Meadowhawk Sympetrum ambiguum

The end of summer group. And this is easily the most common Meadowhawk in our area. (Perhaps with the exception of eruption years for the Variegated Meadowhawk.) The males, as pictured, are almost unmistakable. The red is vibrant and they are delicate dragonflies that, like all members of the genus in my area, do the hover-and-drop touchdown landings like helicopters. Females are drab gray-green in this species. Dragonflies of wooded swamps and the nearby trails and roads.

Male face in close up. Could have been Green-nosed Meadowhawk I suppose. From my land on Round Mountain.

Females were swarming this spring day on my land. In summer they are my commonest local dragon. Far outnumbering any others. Plainer and orangish compared to adult males. Sometimes almost grayish.