Patience or Perseverance?

Something that people frequently say to me after looking at my pictures of bugs is, "You must have a lot of patience." I usually tell them that it doesn't take patience so much as perseverance to take picture of bugs. Patience implies waiting, something I do not do well. Perseverance is more about continuing to go after something, even when you're frustrated that you're not getting it.

I thought about this today as I was trying to get a picture of the Backyard Bug of the Day. I wasn't on my bug walk when I spotted it, I was on my way to get the mail. I had just stepped off the bottom step of the front porch when I saw a dragonfly zoom by and hover a bit over the front yard, low to the ground. It zipped back and forth a few times, and I zoomed inside to get my camera, hoping that when I came back out it would still be there. But when I got back with my camera, I couldn't find the dragonfly. The part of the 'lawn' where I saw it is more of a flowerbed (where most of the milkweed grows in the yard), and is right now covered with leaves that will stay there until spring. I stood there and looked all around for the dragonfly, but I couldn't find it among the leaves. I saw something zip past me, and thought maybe it was the dragonfly, but I missed where it had gone, and figured that it had flown away, and that was that. I contemplated going back in the house to leave the camera, or at least leaving it on the porch, but I decided to carry it with me down to the mailbox. As I started down the stone stairs to the mailbox, I obviously disturbed the dragonfly which was, indeed, still nearby, and saw where it then landed on the stone steps; I approached cautiously, but it flew off again. I watched where it landed and followed; it flew away when I got close. This happened several times until finally, the dragonfly settled down and stayed there for me to get some pictures.

This is the first one I got of today's Backyard Bug of the Day:

 You can probably see why I had trouble finding it in the first place.

 I think that this may be a species of dragonfly that is specifically active in the late autumn. It is certainly the first dragonfly I have seen for ages.

 Here it has moved again. While I was observing it and taking pictures of it, it frequently flew away and landed elsewhere. But having a great deal of perseverance, I kept at it.

 Then one time it flew away just as I was about to take its picture from a new angle. I watched where it went, and before I could go follow it, it came back and landed in front of me again. I took the opportunity while it was being cooperative (and it did end up being a very cooperative dragonfly) to get some closeup shots and figured out why it had flown away that time. See those threadlike things coming off from its face, that look like long chin hairs? Those are part of a bug it is eating. It had flown off, captured a bug, and flew back to eat it. Needless to say I have no idea what kind of bug it is eating here.

I didn't continue my bug walk at that time, because I had other things to do first, but later I went out looking for bugs. I saw a lot flying around, but not much to photograph, because almost everything I saw was flying. I persevered, though, and made my way around the whole yard. Eventually there was nowhere else to look, so I started back to the house, and happened to see this:

 Now, this bird is not in my backyard, so I can't call it Backyard Bird of the Day, and am cheating to even be posting it on the blog, which is supposed to be all pictures taken in my backyard. However, I was in my backyard when I took it, with my telephoto lens, so technically this is a picture taken in my backyard, even if the thing I took the picture of was not. If I ever win the lottery this tree will be in my backyard, because I will buy this land and add it to my backyard, but for the moment it is not. Anyway, I ran back to the house to get the telephoto lens, which was conveniently sitting right by the back door because I had used it earlier, and got some pictures of this hawk. And then I got a chance to demonstrate that I do have some patience. You see, whenever I take a picture of a bird of prey just sitting in a tree, I always want to get a shot as it if flying away. The thing is, sometimes these birds of prey are content to just sit in a tree for quite a long time. So I have to wait. And keep the camera pointed at them, and in focus, because when they fly, it's takes only a moment for them to be gone. So... I waited.

 It shifted position, and I thought, oh, good, it's about to fly, but it did something else. Never mind what.

 Then it shifted again! This looked promising, like a flight about to happen!

 Nope.

Ah, there we go! I think this is a red tailed hawk.

 Here is the reason the telephoto lens was by the back door: I had earlier been trying to get a picture of this woodpecker. Perseverance doesn't always pay off.

Random Bugs:

Yeah, that's it. And no arachnids today, either. Well, it was only in the 40s, so I was happy to find anything at all, and to be hearing a fair number of crickets.