johnjinjonny's Favorites

Male; foraging over the parking area.
WOW! Second county record after the female Chase found at this location earlier in the year. I have been looking for a Garnet ever since, but until today, none caught my eye enough to shoot. This guy was such a vibrant hue of red that it immediately attracted my gaze.

Third individual from this location in a little over a week. So far, 100% find rate since my first: one on each visit. Confident I flushed another I was unable to photograph. Based on an expert's opinion from the second individuals wing deformity, they believe these to be of local origin!

Second! Only about 15 feet or so away from my original find a couple days ago. I wondered if it could be the same individual. The lower right wing had been bruised up. I will compared photos. This one was content to pose for us. In the last weeks, there have been days with strong West winds. Perhaps we have had a special instance of conditions to bring over multiple Amazons?

Thanks to Mike for the ID help. Super exciting! There were many darners around, but most were seen only after I flushed them, so never really identifiable. I was traveling along a trail near the eagle's nest pine, when two subjects caught my eye: one big ass grasshopper and one big ass dragon. In hindsight, this guy could have disappeared without me ever getting a decent look, as I opted for the grasshopper first. After the dragon came in, it was very cooperative and allowed close approach. It finally flushed after I tried for a different angle and pushed my luck... still, very lucky on this one. Most cooperative of all the darners today, easily!