Striped Meadowhawk

I took these photos of Striped Meadowhawks on 28 July 2020 and 28 August 2020. The first was patrolling Erika’s garden, the second  pair were in tandem at the Darlin Creek Preserve south of Olympia. Striped Meadowhawks breed across most of the American west and are very common in the Pacific Northwest lowlands. The pair are in what is called the wheel position. The male grasps the female’s neck while she collects sperm to fertilize her eggs. The neck hold prevents the attachment of other males, whose first order of business would be to flush out fertilized eggs from previous males.