One of my favorite parks has a river that sustains a diverse population of dragonflies and damselflies. This is also one of the locations where one can sometimes see the dragonhunter dragonfly, and of course that is very much on my mind when I go there. The dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylus) is a species that is rather coveted by Odonatophiles. They are the largest of our dragonflies in the clubtail family, and it is I think pretty much the largest dragonfly in my area. Dragonflies are popularly considered to be mosquito hunters, but this species is ill-equipped for such small prey. No, they instead take larger insects, including other dragonflies, and their very name expresses a recognition of that.
In this particular area by the river, I had recently seen a huge female dragonhunter, but I could not photograph her. But on this other occasion a male turned up in the same area, and landed on a twig nearby. I managed to get the first picture (which is heavily cropped), but then he flew off. Dragonflies have favorite perches, and so it seemed reasonable that this fellow would return. I only had to wait, and perhaps be a bit lucky.
Dragonhunter dragonfly! by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

I hung out for about an hour, and during that time he would occasionally cruise by while on long patrols. Eventually, a phalanx of canoers came passing by. They were of course rather startled at this bizarre person who was lurking under heavy cover at the rivers edge. I explained what I was up to, and presently they moved on. Their intrusion was evidently a good thing since the big dragonfly was literally following behind them! This time it showed a keen interest in landing on the twig again, and presently it did. Heart pounding, I went to work taking numerous pictures.
After a time, I worked up the courage to venture out into the river to attempt a side view of this prize. The current was brisk, but the water was shallow and the bottom was firm and sandy. I was of course very careful as I was carrying about $2500 of gear on me. But things worked out very well. In time I was even able to sit in the water next to the dragonhunter so that I could rest the lens on my knees while taking pictures. He proved to be very content and cooperative. In the end, it was I who retreated while he stayed on his perch.
Dragonhunter dragonfly by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Dragonhunter dragonfly by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

What an awesome insect! You just never know what you will find during these adventures!
Paulson's field guide Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East describes how their over-sized legs cause them to grip onto perches in the manner shown above, and he adds: "seeming awkward, too large for perch." Yep, that is him!

Finally, to cap off this special location I noticed another clubtail dragonfly perched fairly high up in a nearby tree. I managed to get some bad pictures of it, as shown below. Later, I was briefly excited about the possibility that this mystery dragonfly was the ‘elusive clubtail’. This is the real name of a species that is exceptionally difficult as they spend most of their time up in tree canopies. Although there is a similarity (and it would be helpful if I had a photograph of the entire abdomen), but I presently suspect this individual is the arrow clubtail (Stylurus spiniceps). If so, then it is another new species!