Odonata and Laurel, DE

Set out looking for Odonata yesterday near Laurel, DE. There are numerous freshwater ponds in the area, mostly accessible from boat ramps (unless you have a boat) with somewhat limited shoreline access. The weather promised to be mostly sunny with temps in the 80's although there was significant cloud cover at times. It is my hope to document species present/not present over time at various ponds to gauge health and diversity of the area. The nearly hour long drive was well worth the effort.

Visited Trussum Pond for the umpteenth time, which has a large stand of Bald Cypress. Although I could see numerous Odonata flying about off shore, very few landed within photographic range.

Next was Trap Pond State Park to walk the trails. The diversity of wildlife found was amazing - Eastern Hognose Snake, Fowler's Toads, White-tailed Deer, Odonata, Lepidoptera and Eyed-click Beetle. Most memorable events were the dozens of baby Fowler's Toads and the awful mosquitoes.

Raccoon Pond was next on the list and was a pleasant surprise. This was my first visit to this pond and found several interesting species. Willow Sawfly (Nematus ventralis) larvae consuming Willow along the bank, Rambur's Fortail eating another damselfly, Northern Red-bellied Cooter sunning on a lily pad and 6 common species of Odonata.

The other ponds, Chipman, Horsey, Records, Portsville and Tussock were not as successful as I had hoped. Limited accessible shoreline or fishermen minimized ability to search. Phillip's Landing Park on Broad Creek was along the way and a stop there found a Common whitetail, Summer Azure and a Broad-headed Sharpshooter.

Although I did not find the Odonata in great numbers as I had hoped, it was a great day.

Posted on 09 de junho de 2018, 01:32 PM by ellendale