Blue-faced meadowhawk

Thanks for your information and description of efforts to spot these dragonflies, Geodialist! I was lucky to spot another one (or the same one?) five days later: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/561... - they are beautiful!

Wow Geodialist

Common or uncommon? You decide. Here's my take. Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies (BfMs) have been officially reported at only three locations in Northern Virginia (USA). I visited Huntley Meadows Park, one of the three locations, 16 times beginning on 14 September 2013. I spent at least five hours per visit searching for BfMs. I spotted approximately one- to five BfMs per visit. That's right -- some days I spotted one BfM during five-or-more hours of intensive searching, and I only searched the right places. BfMs aren't found everywhere at Huntley Meadows Park. BfMs are very habitat-specific: Typically they are found in fields/wetlands along the margin of a forest; it's a waste of time to look for them elsewhere. If my experience is typical, then I would say BfMs are uncommon. Don't be misled by the number of photos I have posted on Project Noah (with more in the pipeline) -- my photos are the fruit of more than 80 hours of field work!

Thanks, Luis and Geodialist! Wikipedia says it is extremely rare but IUCN says it is fairly common in its range. Common or rare, it was a cool spotting for me.

Good catch, Maria -- Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies are uncommon! This individual is a male, as indicated by its turquoise face and terminal appendages.

Nice series Maria!