Best weather for photo-ing dragonflies?

Nature Talk
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I live in Hong Kong and I’m trying to do more dragonfly/damselfly photography, especially scarcer species.

What are the best conditions (weather, time of day) for them to be found perched, rather than on the wing?

There’s going to be quite a lot of rain next week, I wonder if that helps at all.

Last year I had enormous difficulty getting a good photo of Saddlebag Glider, even though it is common here. It took me till mid-autumn to spot one sitting on a hedge right next to me, which was a pleasant surprise.
And those Emperor dragonflies… do they keep flying and flying. They seem never to need rest. I can’t really get an adequate photo of them like this.

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Early morning, while it’s still cool. They need to perch in the sun and warm up before they fly. If you have a relatively cool day in the middle of a streak of warm days, they may be perched on rocks, or some other surface that retains heat.

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Windy days can also be good. Look for dragonflies perched on the downwind side of trees and shrubs.

Also, I’m a fan of creating perches for them on the shore of a water body. If there’s not a good perch site where you stand to try to get photos, put some tall sticks into the shoreline mud and create some perching spots.

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Definitely the best time, plus you usually get softer light.

However, the opposite is also true, as we found out when going to the Zzyzyx oasis on a day when the temperature was 111°F…the dragonflies were mostly just perching and super approachable. They were probably wondering what the heck us stupid humans were doing walking around in those conditions…

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Yes, super hot days (eg 100-115 deg F) are also good for finding dragonflies hanging out in the shade. Of course that’s the best time for the human observer to also be in the shade.

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Last week I made a trip to a reservoir. Not in HK. A rather big dragonfly was laying eggs on top of some water plants. The dragonfly would be momentarily still for like 1 second, and then fly off to another spot and return. Light was falling. I couldn’t capture a decent picture of it. I think it is possible to pre-adjust the focus to the spot and wait for it to come back. Some dragonflies indeed are flying all the time. I guess only the best cameras can catch those in flight.

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