{"id":176424,"date":"2026-06-02T06:19:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=176424"},"modified":"2026-06-02T06:19:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:19:44","slug":"female-slaty-skimmer-dragonfly-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/06\/02\/female-slaty-skimmer-dragonfly-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Female Slaty Skimmer Dragonfly At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RestingResting female Slaty Skimmer dragonfly at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge \u2013 Canon R7, beanbag, f9, 1\/500, ISO 800, -1.7 EV, Canon RF 100-500mm at 500m, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

As I drove the auto tour route at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, I was delighted to find a resting female Slaty Skimmer dragonfly in nice light.<\/p>\n

When I got close to the dragonfly, she was perched on a vine at the edge of the dusty gravel road. With no one coming down the road from either direction, I was able to take my time photographing her.<\/p>\n

The males of this skimmer species have dark blue bodies, blackish heads, and dark eyes. As you can see, the females are quite different and beautiful.<\/p>\n

\"SlatySlaty Skimmer dragonfly female perched on a vine in Oklahoma \u2013 Canon R7, beanbag, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 800, -1.7 EV, Canon RF 100-500mm at 500m, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I haven’t seen any male Slaty Skimmers at the refuge yet but to be fair I haven’t spent much time where I can see them lighting on vegetation near the water.<\/p>\n

That is partly due to the fact that the invasive Johnson Grass is already taller than my Jeep in some spots, and I can’t get a clear view. It’s still spring. I can’t imagine what the refuge will be like in the middle of summer because of that grass.<\/p>\n

I’m glad this female Slaty Skimmer dragonfly<\/span><\/a> gave me great views of her out in the open yesterday.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my insect and spider images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I drove the auto tour route at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, I was delighted to find a resting female Slaty Skimmer dragonfly in nice light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":176417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13973,13974,15267],"tags":[4004,14190,13984,5366,2204,4070,15276,2558,4104,4156,15275,15277,165,11722],"class_list":["post-176424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","category-slaty-skimmer-dragonflies","tag-adult","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forest","tag-bottomlands","tag-dragonflies","tag-dragonfly","tag-female","tag-libellula-incesta","tag-odonata","tag-perched","tag-resting","tag-slaty-skimmer","tag-slaty-skimmer-dragonfly","tag-spring","tag-vine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t