On Thursday (22 July 2023) afternoon I carved out about ninety minutes (from 4:30-6:00 PM) for some odeing and took a walk down Hattie Brown Road. The logging operation there is complete. There is no equipment present, just a few smallish piles of logs. There was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was about 80 F.
Walking up the road the only odes I saw were numerous chalk-fronted corporals spending time, as they do, perched on the ground in the sunny spots. Where the stream goes under the road there were a few (roughly ten) male ebony jewelwings on the upstream side of the culvert. It was fascinating to watch the “dog fights” between two or three individuals about eight feet off the water and about knee high when standing on the road.
Moving on up to where the road crosses the beaver-made wet land, the number of chalk-fronted corporals diminished but they were still present. I saw one mating wheel of this species here. The most common species along the water were teneral (newly emerged) frosted whitefaces; there were dozens as well as small numbers of more mature males. I also observed a single male lily pond clubtail and a single green-stripped darner along this section of the road.
I continued on to the clearing where the barn once stood. In summers past, this clearing has been a productive sight for seeing odes. Not this trip though. The clearing was used as a log yard and is essentially devoid of vegetation at the moment. Both the vegetation and the odes will be back given some time.
At this point the mosquitoes were beginning to become active. Thus I turned around and headed for home.
As usual, you are a “Master of Odes!” I particularly like the sharpness you get in every posted shot. Then your ability to identify the species is remarkable.
What no mosquito shots???