Two-striped forceptails - first of the year!
Damian - at last!
These large, flashy southern clubtails are the only forceptails in Georgia and have been flying at a lake near my house for the last few late-summers. This is as far north as a population has been found in the Southeast - though their range runs up the Atlantic coast as well. With the mountains a short drive to our north - will they ever expand northward? I keep an eye out for them. I noticed one record out there from Tennessee. These are at the same nearby lake where Big bluets turned up last Fall.
They do love to perch (thankfully) but they gravitate to the water's edge below vegetation and facing water - makes getting photos a bit of a challenge. They've got great faces but it's tough to get that angle.
>> at the dam down the road, yesterday - several males were perching & defending territory. They are big showy clubtails - holding their red-yellow tips raised as they fly & perch - like a candle! And those eyes! One of the best treats of late-summer for sure.
Two-striped forceptails - first of the year!
Damian - at last!
These large, flashy southern clubtails are the only forceptails in Georgia and have been flying at a lake near my house for the last few late-summers. This is as far north as a population has been found in the Southeast - though their range runs up the Atlantic coast as well. With the mountains a short drive to our north - will they ever expand northward? I keep an eye out for them. I noticed one record out there from Tennessee. These are at the same nearby lake where Big bluets turned up last Fall.
They do love to perch (thankfully) but they gravitate to the water's edge below vegetation and facing water - makes getting photos a bit of a challenge. They've got great faces but it's tough to get that angle.
>> at the dam down the road, yesterday - several males were perching & defending territory. They are big showy clubtails - holding their red-yellow tips raised as they fly & perch - like a candle! And those eyes! One of the best treats of late-summer for sure.