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First, there was bird-watching, a pastime now enjoyed by more than 60 million Americans. Then, a large portion of bird-watchers also became butterfly watchers. Now, a third wave of creature-watching is taking hold — dragonfly and damselfly watching.

One reason for the popularity of dragonflies and their close relatives damselflies is that they are among the world's most beautiful and spectacular insects — and also among the most ancient of living creatures. They don't sting or bite, and they're very beneficial, consuming numerous midges and mosquitoes each day. (Another name for dragonfly is "mosquito hawk.")

Charles Seabrook / AJC Special (ENLARGE)

Giff Beaton scoops up a dragonfly from a pond at the Newman Wetlands Center in Clayton County.

Charles Seabrook / AJC Special (ENLARGE)

Beaton clutches the wings of a male blue dasher dragonfly that he caught at the pond.

Photos: See more dragonflies MORE WILD GEORGIA: Hummingbird, flower perfect pair  Eagle numbers up significantly  Bird dads help with parenting  Wood thrush is a scarce delight  State has wealth of amphibian life

The growing popularity of dragonfly/damselfly watching was evident on a recent morning at the Newman Wetlands Center in Clayton County. More than 20 of us followed expert Giff Beaton along a boardwalk there to look for the fascinating insects in a placid pond and along a winding stream.

The morning was heavily overcast, not ideal for dragonflies and damselflies. On such gray-sky days, the insects tend to stay hidden in vegetation. They prefer sunny weather, especially the hot, summer days that are now upon us. But if anyone can find the insects, even on a very cloudy day, it's Beaton, author of the book "Dragonflies & Damselflies of Georgia and the Southeast."

Deftly wielding a long white net, Beaton snared his first catch of the day — a male fragile forktail, one of Georgia's smallest damselflies, growing up to 1 inch long. Before releasing it, Beaton held it briefly for us to get a closer look. He pointed out the green markings that look like exclamation points on the thorax.

Beaton explained some of the differences between dragonflies and damselflies. In general, the two eyes of dragonflies seem to touch on top of the head while those of damselflies are well separated, somewhat resembling those of hammerhead sharks. Dragonflies are generally strong fliers, while damselflies have a weak, flurry flight. At rest, dragonflies hold their four wings straight out from their bodies, damselflies hold their wings close to their bodies.

Georgia, Beaton noted, has 54 damselfly species and 121 dragonfly species. While many of them occur statewide, some are found only in certain parts of the state and at certain times of the year. This time of year, about 25 to 30 species can be found at the pond at the Newman Wetlands Center.

Carol Lambert, the center's director, said the dragonfly/damselfly walks there have become very popular. "It opens up a whole new level of nature for people," she said.

Close-ups

Other dragonfly and damselfly species that we examined close-up during our walk included the:

Eastern pond hawk, a very common dragonfly species in Georgia. The male is all blue except for a green face and white appendages at the end of the abdomen. It typically perches on the ground and is quite unwary, often appearing to be following you around.

Blue dasher is an abundant dragonfly throughout Georgia. The male perches low on vegetation on a pond's shoreline and makes frequent patrol flights to chase away competing dashers.

Slaty skimmer, a mostly dark blue or nearly black (males) dragonfly, is common throughout the state.

Royal river cruiser is a large dragonfly with emerald green eyes, brown thorax with iridescent green, and a black abdomen marked with pairs of yellow spots. It lives around streams and gets its name from its habit of flying over the shallow water. To scoop up one for us to look at, Beaton waded into the knee-deep creek.

Ebony jewel-wing is a common damselfly that grows up to 2 inches long and is often found around shady forest streams. Males are larger and have a big black head, green body and black wings. They flutter when they fly, and so they look like a butterfly.

To see photos of Georgia's dragonflies and damselflies, visit Beaton's Web site at www.giffbeaton.com/dragonflies.htm. He also will lead a free dragonfly/damselfly program on Aug. 16 at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center in Jasper County. Registration is required. For information call 770-784-3059.

Frogs and turtles

If snakes, turtles, frogs and salamanders are more to your liking, you should like a new book called "Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia," just published by the University of Georgia Press. It contains nearly 500 color photos and detailed descriptions of the amphibians and reptiles inhabiting the state. The book is a result, in part, of the Georgia Herp Project, which attempted to document where amphibian and reptile species occur in the state.

In the sky

The Perseid meteor shower will be visible for most of the week, but it reaches a peak of about 50 meteors per hour on Monday night. Look to the southeast from 2 a.m. until dawn, says astronomer David Dundee of the Northwest Georgia Museum of Science.

The moon will be full on Saturday night. The Cherokee people called August's full moon the "Drying up Moon." Mercury and Venus are very low in the west just after sunset. Mars sets in the northwest just after sunset. Jupiter rises out of the east before sunset and appears near the moon Wednesday night.