LLELA iNaturalist Challenge

Now that the flood waters are slowly receding, the Eastern side of Bittern Marsh is accessible. I was out there Saturday and saw something pretty rare for LLELA. A Swift River Cruiser (Macromia illinoiensis) dragonfly! The last, and only, observation of this beautiful dragonfly was August 4th 2007. Lawrence Duhon submitted that photograph to me which I posted on iNaturalist for our LLELA Project.

I observed these in flight for over an hour but never had an opportunity to photograph one for an entry here. I’d like to challenge anyone hiking the Bittern Marsh Trail to get a photograph and observation entry to iNaturalist. This would be a great find since the only documented siting was back about the time LLELA last flooded.

I observed them at the North Eastern part of the marsh, right where you leave the forest and enter the open path. Geo coordinates are: Lat 33.063633, Lon -96.959764. Hint: Cruisers tend to hang from a branch or stalk rather than perch like we see with most other dragonfly.

Happy Dragon Hunting!

ps Don't forget to stop by Square One Café Tuesday evening for our iNat'r get together.

Posted on Ιούλιος 20, 2015 0443 ΜΜ by