Teatown Lake Preserve - I

Spent a morning at Teatown Lake Preserve in Ossining, NY and had a great time observing and photographing various flora and fauna. While the bird life was somewhat limited as is often the case at this time of year, there was plenty of other life forms to keep my attention. I’ll break the morning’s observations into two parts so as to provide enough space in the blog for the various images recorded. Part I will be devoted to “things that fly”….primarily birds and dragonflies.

Eastern phoebe

The only avian species that made for a good photo was this Eastern phoebe. The Eastern phoebe is often seen flitting near the edges of a pond. Its habit of perching on low branches or rocks overlooking the water allows it to spot flying insects, which make up the majority of its diet. The bird’s distinct, repetitive "phoebe" call breaks the quiet stillness of the pond area, especially during early morning and late afternoon. As spring and summer progress, the Eastern phoebe may be observed dipping and darting just above the water’s surface, skillfully catching insects mid-flight like this one was. Teatown Lake is a perfect habitat for flycatchers like the phoebe.

Teatown Lake is ideal for finding and photographing dragonflies. I was fortunate enough today to be able to capture images of several different species I had not yet seen this season. The first was the Common Whitetail.

Common whitetail

Common whitetails love still bodies of shallow water with a muddy bottom. Here in New York, they are most commonly found in mid-May to September. Males like this one have a chunky white body and brownish-black bands on otherwise translucent wings.

Today’ most abundant dragonfly was the Eastern amberwing. The Eastern amberwing (Perithemis tenera) seen below is a small dragonfly species commonly found in the eastern United States and parts of Canada. Measuring about one inch in length, it is notable for its striking amber-colored wings, which give it its name. These dragonflies frequent calm bodies of water like Teatown Lake where they hunt small insects. Males are territorial and often perch on low vegetation near the water’s edge, using their distinctive coloration to communicate and attract mates. The Eastern amberwing plays an important role in controlling mosquito populations, making it a beneficial species in its natural habitat. They are found here in NY from early June through September.

The images of the amberwing displayed here is one of quite a few that were flying together close to the lake’s surface. The fact that they would hover in place for a short time allowed me to capture a number of pictures of these dragonflies in flight.

Eastern amberwing

The Slaty skimmer is found throughout Eastern United States and southeast Canada. Mature males are dark slate-blue with black heads. These dragonflies are medium-sized odonates commonly found near ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. These dragonflies are often seen perched on vegetation or flying low over water in search of prey. Females and immature males tend to have lighter brownish bodies with mottled wings. Slaty skimmers are skilled hunters, feeding primarily on small insects such as mosquitoes and flies. Their active flight period generally spans from late spring through early summer, making them a familiar sight in warm months.

Slaty skimmer

Fawn darner nymph molt

Dragonflies spend much of their lives as nymphs. Dragonfly nymphs are the aquatic immature stage of dragonflies, living in freshwater habitats such as ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. These nymphs are voracious predators, feeding on small aquatic insects, larvae, and even tiny fish. They have a unique extendable lower jaw, called a labium, which they use to catch prey with remarkable speed. Dragonfly nymphs undergo a series of molts as they grow, eventually crawling out of the water to transform into winged adults through a process called emergence. This molt pictured here of a possible Fawn darner is evidence of a nymph crawling out of the lake and up onto a sedge to undergo its final molt.

We’ll finish up out fliers here in Part I and continue with some other flora and fauna of Teatown Lake Preserve in the following blog post.