Mid-August Update
Survey numbers continue to climb, maybe a bit slower than June-July. Overall Odonata on the wing seems relatively good compared to days earlier in the season. Hopefully our season will be extended along the lines of our late start (10-14 days).
I'm seeing the start of the migration - Common Green Darners, Black Saddlebags, and Wandering Gliders headed south-westerly in the late afternoon. If you're out on country roads, watch for them 15-20' above the corn and soybeans.
We're now approaching 29,000 research-grade observations - on par with 2022. We've picked up a couple species, so our species count is at 132, behind 2022 and short of the 5-year average. I'm optimistic we'll soon see Smoky Rubyspots. Then maybe a Lance-tipped Darner or Laura's Clubtail. Things tail out after that.
No change on our County-Complete list. We need someone for a day in Wyandot Co to find Fragile Forktail and Widow Skimmer. Then a Common Whitetail in Putnam Co - and those 3 will be sorted for the year. The next 5 are much the same as reported in the Early August journal. Prince Baskettail is at 80 Counties, so that may be do-able if someone makes it a project. Familiar Bluet and Autumn Meadowhawk are coming on strong but have long way to go.
The low-observation County list remains the same as reported earlier. There is some progress, but slow.
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Wyandot County-Complete taken care of yesterday - thank you to the observers that went to Wyandot Co and found Widow Skimmers and Fragile Forktails.
I noticed Fawn Darners are in the "under" category for the previous post. I've encountered them several times over the past month where I'm at in Jefferson County, however since I'm relatively new at this and lack experience I've failed to get pics or catch them. I'm going to keep trying though.
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