ذكر طائر الجبل الأزرق مع اليعسوب الذي تم القبض عليه حديثاً.Jess Findlay Photography 

Fareed Zaffour

1 يوليو 2022 ·

Jess Findlay Photography


1 يوليو 2022 ·
A male Mountain Bluebird with a freshly caught teneral darner dragonfly.
Connor Stefanison Photography and I have just wrapped up another successful season of our Ultimate Loons Photo Workshops in the BC Interior. In addition to the incredible experiences with families of Common Loons and nesting Great Grey Owls, each year we scout out a diversity of other photography subjects for our participants to enjoy. Mountain Bluebirds are often high on the list, and one of our nest sites this year presented a really cool opportunity.
Their home in an abandoned Northern Flicker cavity was in a snag adjacent to a large pond. While I generally see this species foraging in open forest and meadows – where they feed primarily on butterfly and moth larvae – this pair was spending considerable time picking off insects in the marsh. 

After an unseasonably cold and wet spring, the coming days were forecast to be sunny and warm – something I hoped would trigger the emergence of dragonflies. Transitioning from their aquatic larval stage, to their airborne adult life, they first need to endure the very vulnerable teneral state. During the first few days following emergence, their wings need time to dry, and their exoskeleton is comparatively soft and dull in colour. Eventually, once their body hardens and muscles have had time to mature, they become increasingly proficient fliers. Until then however, they make a very easy meal for many insectivores; which the bluebirds seemed well aware of.
The onset of summer weather did indeed trigger emergence, as pale, clumsy damsels and dragons began taking to the air. For a few, adult life was cut short as they ultimately ended up as fuel for the several hungry chicks that waited expectantly inside the nest. While impressive to watch, and beautiful in their own right, spending time in these environments during the spring each year really highlights the importance of dragonflies as a food source to so many vertebrates. In addition to sustaining a huge variety of plants and animals, the value of healthy wetlands goes well beyond their direct inhabitants.