This dragonfly male 'Widow Skimmer' Libellula luctuosa shows off his handsome transparent wings with black and white structural coloration -- the production of color by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with visible light.
The grass seedhead on the left is close to the camera and in front of the wing. But the rush stem behind the wing is showing clearly through the transparent wing while the skimmer rests, clasping that stem.
He is probably looking for prey -- other insects such as mosquitoes. To catch prey he will use his legs, and bring prey into his mouth with fangs.
A flock of shorebirds stopped today at the pond on their migration trip. Spotted Sandpipers Actitis macularius, catch food in several different ways. Like most other sandpipers, they probe into sand or mud with their bills looking for food -- aquatic larvae of insects, beetles, worms, snails or crustaceans. And like herons, they also lunge at moving small fish in the water, pick insects off plants, or snap at flying prey.
