Highlight Odes in Greenlee, Apache, and Navajo Counties

I haven't oded much this year at all due to being busy with birding.  But as of late, my interest in damselflies and dragonflies has kicked in again, and I've made several key efforts to see some cool bugs.  I've gone back into Ode Mode.

On Saturday, July 7th, I was birding in Greenlee County, and that was part of a six day birding trip.  On the fifth day of my trip, I was interested in taking a small break from the birding while I was at the San Francisco River.  The San Francisco River is home to the Harkness' Dancer, a dancer who likes to perch on large rocks in the middle of rivers.  The Harkness' Dancer is a tough ode to get in Arizona due to it's limited state range, with the best place to find one being along the San Francisco River.  I wanted to get an ode lifer on my trip, whether it be Harkness' Dancer or Swift Setwing at the nearby Lower Eagle Creek.  Harkness' Dancer was what I decided on.  My oding mentor, Justin Jones was who I called about the damselfly, and he told me where to go in pursuit of the Dancer.  It didn't take me too long to find the spot where Justin directed me to.

There were many Sooty and Powdered Dancers around as well as California and Blue-ringed Dancers to start things off along Greenlee County's San Francisco River, as well as a Gray Sanddragon and this one of many White-belted Ringtails.

After a little searching, I found my target, the Harkness' Dancer!  It felt great to get an ode lifer after not getting a new ode since Checkered Setwing late in September of 2017.  The Harkness' Dancer shows field marks of having a bright blue overall coloration, a thick and unforked humeral stripe, and a segment 7 that is almost entirely black (Danforth, Bailowitz, Upson).  Thanks to Justin for getting me my first of this species!

Other dancers around included California Dancer and Dusky Dancer.

My next oding would take place on Saturday, July 21st in the White Mountains in both Apache and Navajo Counties.  It was here that I was targeting high elevation species such as Western Red Damsel, Paiute Dancer, Northern Spreadwing, Black Meadowhawk, Variable Darner, Paddle-tailed Darner, Pacific Spiketail, and more.

I started my day off at Carnero Lake, which seemed like it would have good potential.

Despite what I thought, it wasn't really my day at Carnero Lake.  I had trouble finding the variety of species that I was hoping for at the lake, yet alone any lifers.  Well, I kinda take that thought back, I did get my first Arizona Four-spotted Skimmer at the lake.

A Borthern Bluet was also present.  This is probably a Boreal Bluet, but it can't be safely identified from Northern Bluet without magnification.

These Plains Forktails were also present.

While I was hoping for something good out of all of the darners that were present such as Variable or Paddle-tailed Darner, all I could come up with were Blue-eyed Darners.  I'm really starting to dislike Blue-eyed Darners.

Up next was Basin Lake, which is a small lake to the north of Crescent Lake.  This lake was shallow and had surrounding marsh and boggy habitat.

It was here that I picked up a lifer in Northern Spreadwing.  This is a true ode of the north, and for that reason, it's one that is fun to find.

After Basin Lake, I stopped and got a recreation permit for the White Mountain Apache Tribe to search for odes on their land.  This included Bog Tank, the White River, and a bog within the town of McNary.

The first stop was at Bog Tank.  Things got exciting quickly when I oded along the stream below the dam.  A new lifer in a Pacific Spiketail flew right past me twice.  I wanted to get a picture of it but I wasn't close to being quick enough.

While I was Spiketail struck, I was still on the lookout for Black Meadowhawk, Paiute Dancer, Band-winged Meadowhawk, and Western Red Damsel.  While I didn't get any of those targets, I had great looks at more Four-spotted Skimmers and at a handful of variable Springwater Dancers.

While I couldn't find a Black Meadowhawk, plenty of Variegated Meadowhawks were extremely common..

After Bog Tank and a quick stop at the White River, I headed to the bog in McNary to search for species such as Western Red Damsel, Band-winged and Black Meadowhawks, and Paiute Dancer.  A probable Hoary Skimmer got away.  Out of this list, I managed to luck out with the tiny Western Red Damsel!  It felt good to succeed with one of the 4 odes that I just mentioned.  Western Red Damsel is always found in grassy boggy areas near streams and other wetland areas.

The McNary Bog is awesome, and it was later in the day when I visited.  I need to go back and visit earlier to give myself a chance at the other mentioned targets that I wasn't able to get.

I closed the day out by birding at Jacques Marsh near Pinetop.  While I was mainly looking for birds at the Marsh, I got lucky and was able to add another lifer ode, a Tule Bluet!  And, it was in a stand of cattail marsh.

I hope to get back out in the field soon for odes a few more times this summer and upcoming fall!