Cardinal Meadowhawk

As the fall birding season heats up the days are cooler and the dragonflies have mostly mated and laid eggs, while some are migrating south. Last week I watched a male Cardinal Meadowhawk at the pond in Tiburon, and got 2 shots of the same individual in a similar pose, but on 2 slightly different perches. 

I think I like a bit of color in the background. Note how these shots illustrate one of the limitations of digiscoping, which is the very narrow depth of field. Here The head, feet and abdomen are in reasonably sharp focus but the wings are clearly blurred. Here's the same ode on a nearby perch, which allowed a different background:

The bright red color helps with the ID, but the key feature is the 2 white spots on the side of the thorax. The wings have amber along the leading edges, the eyes are red, and the face is….well you'll just have to see it:

Note how the front legs are kept ready to hold or manipulate prey, and are not needed when perching.