Late, Late Season Dragonflies

After the last post about late season dragonflies, I wasn't sure if there would be any additional dragonflies to report on this year—especially since the weather turned gray and wet for several days after our last visit. I thought that might signal the end of the dragonfly season once and for all. Well, it turns out they're still flying.

We went up to Little Cranberry Lake yesterday at noon. Nothing. It was overcast and 44 ˚F. We went back home and had lunch. Then around 1 pm the clouds cleared and the sun came out. We returned to the lake and immediately saw an Autumn Meadowhawk sitting on the bench by the dam. It flew around some, and perched in various places. It seems that we only saw one individual, but one is a lot more than zero. I hadn't brought my camera with me, so I don't have a picture of that one. I thought I might have missed my opportunity for a last photo of a dragonfly this year.

This morning we awoke to a heavy frost outside that looked like snow covering the ground. We thought maybe that was it, for sure. Even so, we went back up to the lake at noon. It was sunny and calm, but only 40 ˚F.

At first, we saw no activity. Then I thought I saw one zip by behind me, but I couldn't be sure. Then, a few minutes later, I saw one perched on the dam. I brought the camera with me this time, so I took some pictures. Here's the male Autumn Meadowhawk we saw today:



This one flew around to various different perches, then Betsy saw another one, and I saw yet another one after that, so there were at least a few flying on this sunny, cold day. The Autumn Meadowhawk is a hardy soul!