Dot-tailed Whiteface

Today was dump day, and that usually means a reward: a trek up Lantern Hill, the trailhead of which is just down the hill from our local transfer station. But because I also wanted to check a nearby pond to determine if our local population of Blue Corporal dragonflies—a species of Special Concern to the state—was out and about, and time was tight, I had to choose between pleasure and duty. Inexplicably, I chose the latter. Turns out that there was no sign yet of the Corporals, but that didn't make the trip entirely for naught. I spotted a small group of Dot-tailed Whiteface male dragonflies patrolling the rocks and the shore, and though they weren't especially cooperative, I managed to get a few good shots. This photo, contravening my policy of only posting the best, is actually not one of them, since the white face is out of focus. But it's the only image in the bunch in which the odonate landed right to show off both of its signature field marks. Sometimes you have to put up with photographic imperfection.