Photographs by Frank

6 July 2015

Campbell Pond Odes

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer,wildflowers,Wildlife — Tags: , , — Frank @ 11:00 AM

Last Thursday (2 July) afternoon I spent a couple of hours looking for odes at Campbell Pond. I arrived at about 3 PM. This pond was once the public water supply for the Town of Antrim. It is now set aside as conservation land and has a completely undeveloped shore line. This was my first “odeing” trip to the pond.

There is no vehicular access to the pond but it is a short walk along a well maintained woods road into the pond. I saw my first ode, a calico pennant, maybe twenty five feet down the road. I continued to see small numbers (one or two individuals) of a variety of species all along the road.

When I got to the stream flowing out of the pond things changed. There were dozens of ebony jewelwings of both sexes around the stream where it flows over the road.

Out over the pond proper there were many odes, probably calico pennants, flying and (I think) ovipositing.  There were also smaller numbers of chalk-fronted corporals present.

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27 June 2015

Ode Stroll

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer,Wildlife — Tags: , — Frank @ 6:30 PM

On Wednesday afternoon, I had about an hour to kill before heading off to a Conservation Committee meeting. I filled the time by “hunting” odes in the yard.

The numbers of chalk-fronted corporals and hudsonian whitefaces are way down. Presumably most have headed off to the water to mate and oviposit. The most common dragonfly present were yellow (immature male or female) calico pennants. There were about a dozen individuals present.

The most common damselfly (by far) were immature male sedge sprites. Initially, I observed two or three sedge sprites very low (within six inches of the ground) in one of Joan’s flowerbeds. I knelt down and photographed them.

As I arose to move on, I was amazed to notice that I had flushed dozens of these creatures, which I had completely missed, from their hiding places. This scenario was repeated three or four more times even though I now knew to look more carefully. I have no clue how dozens of (admittedly small) insects could repeatedly escape my notice!

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18 June 2015

Up North

Filed under: Amphibians,Mammals,Odontates,Other Insects,Summer,Wildlife — Tags: , , , , — Frank @ 5:00 PM

Monday afternoon, we strapped the kayaks to the roof of the car, hitched up the camper, and headed north. We arrived at Lake Francis State Park (in Pittsburg, NH) at supper time.

Pittsburg is as far north as you can go in New Hampshire… it is so far north that Canada lies to the west as well to the north!

On Tuesday morning we put the kayaks in the water at the East Inlet (to the Second Connecticut Lake) and paddled as far up this watershed as we could go. We were finally stopped by the willow thicket overhanging the narrow and fast moving channel.

About a noon time the predicted rain showers began. We were soaked to the skin by the time we got back to the landing and the car. We had a good time anyway!

We saw a loon as we got out of the car and a second one while we were out in the boats. There were other birds about as well, along with lots of frogs and a lone moose.

The frogs were calling from the marshy areas but hard as I tried, I could not espy a single one. I was beginning to despair every getting a photo when I finally noticed the bright yellow throat sac of one sitting just at the edge of the open water. After finding the first specimen, I began to see yellow throat sacs from the proverbial mile a way… they were, in fact, rather numerous!

As for the moose… I was peacefully and slowing paddling along when, as I rounded a bend in the shore line, I heard a great splashing sound. I am not sure if the bull moose or I was more surprised. The moose quickly made for the shore and the first photograph I made of him contained mainly his posterior as he headed up into the marsh. Once out of the water, he did turn to look at me  and I was able to make an adequate (but not spectacular) portrait.

Joan missed the entire show as she was botanizing some distance behind.

The rain was just letting up as we got back to the East Inlet boat launch… figures! We changed into dry clothes and decided to drive up to Scott Bog; another kayaking/wildlife hot spot.

Along the way we scared another smallish moose off the road.  Scott Bog will be our target next time we are in the area with our boats!

After an early dinner, we took a drive up Indian Stream Road. We turned around at the parking area for the Indian Stream Gorge trail head. We’ve put this on our “to do” list as well.

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Wednesday morning we were on the road south by 7:30. Joan was meeting another NEWFS PCV* in Northumberland to do a rare plant survey. While they were botanizing, I headed to the nearby Eames Wayside.

This piece of public land along the Connecticut River looked promising on the map, but I could not find much information about it. It turns out to be essentially undeveloped, there is small parking area on Route 3, but that is it. I tried to bushwhack down to the river but was turned back by the willow thickets.

As I headed back to the car somewhat dejected, I noticed a dragonfly in a sunny spot along the rail bed. Thus all was not lost!

I spent the next couple of hours photographing damselflies and other insects, along about fifty feet of rail bed near a small stream flowing under the rails in a culvert. I did not see another dragonfly the entire time I was there but the damsels were plentiful!

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*NEWFS… New England Wildflower Society; PCV… Plant Conservation Volunteer

 

12 June 2015

Odes Down Back

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer — Tags: , , — Frank @ 10:56 AM

Ten cords of firewood is finally stacked… I can get back to photography!

Yesterday afternoon was warm (about 80 degrees F) and windy. I donned my waders and headed “down back” to the beaver-made wetland at the back of our property.

I arrived at about 2 PM and stayed for three hours. I spent most of my time at the edge of the beaver pond and the small stream that feeds it.

Given the recent lack of  male Hudsonian whitefaces in the yard (the females are still present), I was expecting to find them down by the beaver pond. I was not disappointed.

However, the most common ode was the chalk-fronted corporal. There were many dozens of both sexes mostly flying out over the open water; although a few perched for short intervals. I also observed a small number of mating-wheels.

Common whitetails were almost as abundant as the chalk-fronted corporals and their activities were similar; less perching and larger numbers of mating-wheels.

The abundance of common whitetails at the water was surprising since, in contrast with the chalk-fronted corporals, we rarely seem then in the yard.

There were small numbers of male clubtails (I’m unsure of the exact species probably beaver pond clubtails*), male frosted whitefaces and a couple of four-spotted skimmers.

I saw only two damselflies during the three hours I was out. A small brownish individual, probably a female bluet, that I did not get a good look or a photograph.

The second individual, which I  did get a good photograph of, is an immature male Amber-winged spreadwing* probably a male Aurora damsel but I am not entirely convinced. It has the yellow lateral spots but the top of the thorax is blue rather than black. My impression is that this individual was significantly larger than the typical Aurora damsel.

Oh… about the frog… “he” appeared seemingly out of thin air (water?) three or four feet from where I was kneeling and was completely indifferent to my presence as I went about photographing odes for the next twenty or so minutes.. He did not even flinch when I stood up to move on.

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*Thanks to Steve and Hal from the Northeast Odes mailing list for the help in identification.

 

27 August 2014

Up North

Filed under: Landscapes,Odontates,Other Insects,Summer,wildflowers — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 6:00 PM

Monday morning, we packed up the camper and headed north. Our goal was the Errol, NH area as Joan had some plant conservation volunteer business to attend to.

We arrived at  Mollidgewock State Park in the middle of the afternoon, dropped off the camper and spent the remaining daylight hours exploring and photographing. The highlight of the evening was watching (through the spotting scope and too far away to photograph) three otters eating and playing in the Androscoggin River.

Tuesday, we awoke to dense fog over the river but it burnt off quickly and  the day turned hot (low 80’s) and sunny as predicted.

After breakfast, Joan spent  four or five hours locating a population of rare plants (the only known population of this species in the US; there are about ten other isolated populations in Canada) and collecting seeds from them  for the New England Wildflower Society.

I spent the time photographing the local roadside flora and the odes and had fun despite the harsh light.

By midafternoon, we were back on the road meandering towards home.

Landscapes

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Odes (and a grasshopper!)

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Flora

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“Down Back”, again.

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,wildflowers — Tags: , , — Frank @ 11:00 AM

Sunday afternoon I donned my waders and spent a couple of hours “down back” in the beaver-made wetland at the back of our property. A short while after I left, Joan headed down in the same general direction to do some botanizing. She says that she saw me but I must have been completely engrossed in the odes since I did not notice her at all… makes me wonder what else I am missing!

As has been the case for most of the summer, the numbers of odes seems to be low. The most common odes on this visit were the large darners patrolling both low at the margins of the open water and between roughly five and ten feet over the wet meadow.

The only other dragonflies I saw were small numbers (roughly half a dozen) male meadowhawks present where woodland meets wetland; I saw no females.

There were also a smattering of damselflies (less than a dozen total) including bluets, spreadwings, a single female forktail and a lone sedge sprite.

I arrived back at the house a roughly 6 PM to find a feeding swarm of mixed darners (probably 50 or more individuals) in the yard down by the garden.

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9 August 2014

Connecticut River Odes

Filed under: Odontates,Summer — Tags: , , — Frank @ 12:00 PM

I haven’t done much photography in the past 10 days or so… sometimes life get in the way!

We spent a few days at the end of July helping one of Joan’s cousins move and then I spent the past week stacking the nine cords of firewood that was delivered last Sunday.

The completed pile measures 16′ by 16.75′ by 4.25′. The weight is roughly13 tons. (The web says that dry fire wood weighs between 2000 and 4000 pounds per cord; I used the midpoint in my calculation.)

I would take a photo of the stack but it looks pretty much like last years stack; this years is just a bit larger having an almost complete row in from where there was only a quarter of a row last year.

Woodpile 2013… the 2014 pile looks pretty much the same!

I did take off Wednesday afternoon from my stacking duties to accompany Joan and her cousin Suzy on a kayak trip on the Connecticut River in Walpole, NH. Joan wanted to scout out some rare plants that she will need to collect seeds from later in the season, so Suzy and I tagged along.

I, of course, wanted to explore for odes which I did. I also re-learned the lesson that making photographs of small critters from a boat in a rapidly moving current is frustrating.  Most of the species are new to me and even though I spent some time with the books, I have not been able to identify most of them.

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23 July 2014

The Dearth of Odes Continues

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , — Frank @ 5:00 PM

Monday afternoon I spent a couple of hours (4:15 – 6:30 PM) “down back” at our beaver-made wetland. I was interested to see how the population of odes was doing here. My impression is that the total numbers of odes was low here, as it was at other sites that we visited late last week.

Usually, there are large numbers (dozens) of darners flying out over the wet meadow. On this visit there were a few… maybe five or six… on patrol mainly over the beaver pond. I also saw a single male calico pennant and a single male frosted whiteface. That was it for dragonflies.

As for damselflies, I observed a handful (maybe six total) of spreadwings. The most common damsel was the sphagnum sprite. There were both males and females present and I saw two pairs flying in tandem. That was it. I saw no bluets at all.

The rose pogonias and swamp candles that were blooming a couple of weeks ago on my last visit “down back” were completely finished blooming. However, I did note the presence of sundew which I had never seen in this location before… probably because I was’t paying attention!

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20 July 2014

A Paucity of Odes

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Nature Conservancy properties,Odontates,Summer,wildflowers — Tags: , , — Frank @ 1:00 PM

Thursday afternoon Joan and I headed out to explore… Joan was interested in wild orchids and I in odes, of course. Our “targets” were the cedar swamp at Lovern’s Mill and the Bradford Bog.

The most significant observation was the low numbers of odes we encountered in what are usually rich environments. The number of dragonflies we observed in four or five hours can be counted on one hand. Damselflies were slightly more numerous, but only at Lovern’s Mill; we saw none at the Bradford Bog.

The main trail near the Lovern’s Mill boardwalk yielded a handful of ebony jewelwings. This is always a reliable place for them. The actual swamp/boardwalk yielded single individuals of two other species.  (All of the photos shown below were made at Lovern’s Mill.)

The dearth of odes continued when I took a careful look around the house on Friday. I saw small numbers of damselflies and two or three dragonflies.

Last Tuesday we had periods of torrential rain which came and went beginning in the evening and continuing for most of the night. I wonder if this weather is related to the general lack of odes?

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If you look closely, you will note that all of the photos of the ebony jewelwing are of the same individual (with a bent wing tip). We encountered this fellow both coming and going from the swamp. We saw three or four other individuals as well.

 

15 July 2014

Recent Odes

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates — Tags: , — Frank @ 11:00 AM

Below are photos taken over the past few days…

The first five photos are from last Friday at the heavily wooded stream flowing from Willard Pond into the nearby Mill Pond. There were lots of male ebony jewelwings present but no females and a smattering of other species. There were also many odes out over the Mill Pond proper that I did not get a chance to photograph.

On Saturday, I gave a presentation titled “Photographing Dragonflies and Damselflies” as part of the Athol Bird and Nature Club’s Dragonfly Institute. The presentation was followed by a couple of hours in the field at a nearby park along the Miller’s River. I did not make many photographs here but I did get a nice photo of a Halloween Pennant, a species that we do not have in our NH neighborhood.

Joan and I spend Sunday afternoon over at camp.The weather was overcast and windy and it rained for a couple of short intervals. There were not too many odes out and about. There were, however, a fair number of variable dancers hanging out low in the vegetation just above the waters edge… most seemed to be in active mating mode with many pairs flying in tandem. I did get some nice photos (the last four) of  “behavior”.

Lastly, an update on the nesting loons. I visited the nest last Friday and again yesterday (Monday). There has been no change; the pair is still sitting on two eggs.  This is not good news at 36 days since I first saw them sitting on the nest. The normal incubation period is usually cited as 26-30 days.

A fellow loon watcher who was there yesterday (and whose name I can’t remember) said that he read of a pair of loons who sat on a nest for 70 days before giving up!

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