Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Summer almost over?!?

Oh no!!! An Autumn Meadowhawk has been spotted in Eau Claire!

It seems to me that once we get to mid-July, that I hear the annual lament.  The early odes are winding down...or completely done flying, and some of us get a little down.  We shouldn't be concerned with the lack of Clubtails on the river, because so many things are really just starting to fly!  We have Somatochlora emeralds just entering the prime of the flight season.  Aeshna darners will start to emerge in good numbers along with the interesting Fawn Darners.   Meadowhawks will swarm the marshes and shorelines.  Halloween Pennants always provide a thrill and a photo op.

My personal highlight as the summer draws on, are the hanging Clubtails (Stylurus sp.).  If you get a chance to take a summer trip in August, I recommend trying to find some of these.  My personal favorite is the Zebra Clubtail, but every species of this genus in Wisconsin is pretty spectacular (Arrow, Russet-Tipped, Elusive, and Riverine Clubtails to go along with the Zebra).

So don't lament this Autumn Meadowhawk that I found, try to look forward to the Zebra Clubtails and their relatives instead.  We might be entering the second phase of summer, but we still have a couple of really good months to go.