We are at the end of the 2023 Dragonfly season. There may be some additional observations arrive, but the bulk of the data is now in place. Our latest flying adult Ode in the data (so far) is a Nov 27, 2006 Autumn Meadowhawk. Seems hard to believe my season's done - it's just been a week! Already looking forward to 2024.

2023 will be the top year in the Ohio Odonata Society database with over 38,000 observations from more than 1,000 contributors. All 88 Ohio Counties are represented in the data, some more than others. While we did not have March observations, all of our other months (Apr-Nov) were ahead of the 5-year average and five months (Apr, Jul, Sep, Oct, Nov) posted new all-time high numbers.

135 species were recorded, short of our 5-year average (138), but 55 species had new all-time annual high observations. It was an especially good year for many Clubtail species. Eight species were documented in all 88 counties (Widow Skimmer, Fragile Forktail, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Forktail, Eastern Amberwing, Common Whitetail, Blue Dasher).

The exciting story for the year is our Four-spotted Skimmer irruption in late June, with 247 observations. We had over 100 new County Records (Four-spotted Skimmer accounts for more new County Records than any other species)

There will be 20+ new flight expansions (either new early date or new late date). I'll be reporting on these as the data processing gets completed. We also had some progress on our target counties - both overall numbers and new species.

Thanks everyone that has contributed. If you have any photos not yet posted, please do so.

It's November in Ohio, so we take what we get. There are still some observations arriving. Our November numbers are close to what they've been the last few years. Mostly Autumn Meadowhawks.

If you have photos for the year that you haven't submitted, please do so. I'd like to begin the reporting for the year. Thanks!

Here is a county map of where we've had November observations. White where we've never had November data. Light brown where the records are older (pre-survey), dark brown where we have a record in the survey years (> 2016). The blue indicates 2023 records.

We are still slowly accumulating additional observations. The past week (mid-Oct) for Ohio Odonata has not been the best - cold and cloudy for much of the state. Most of the new submissions have been for earlier in the year. The coming week looks to be a little warmer and maybe some sunshine - don't stop now!

Oct 2023 is above the 5-year average on observations, but still about 300 observations behind 2022. With our current numbers, if we can get the 5-year average for Nov (134), we will finish the year with over 37,000 new research grade records for the Ohio Odonata Society database. This is 10,000 more than the 5-year average.

We've looked at County and Species data (see previous journal entries). The numbers have gone up a bit.

The observation count for 63 counties is now above the 5-year average. 20 counties have had an all time high number observations. 52 counties had more species recorded than the 5-year average. 12 counties recorded an all time high number of species. So far, we have 130 new County Records. 7 species were observed in all 88 counties, 4 other species had more than 80 counties.

We have 135 species for the year. This is down compared to recent years. We did however have an amazing 96 species that had more observations than the 5-year average. Equally impressive, 55 species set new all time high numbers.

So far, 1,008 observers have contributed research grade observations.

Nicely done. These numbers speak well to our efforts of getting out.

Here are the current 2023 species numbers.

the # is where 2023 is above 5 year average
the + is where 2023 is new high value
[brackets indicate top value]

Cooler days, almost cold compared to recent weather. There will still be days to observe, but there's enough data to look at. Here are the County numbers.

the # is where 2023 is above 5 year average
the + is where 2023 is new high value
[brackets indicate top value]

A change in the weather, so an update.

2023 is now the year with the most research grade observations (over 35,750 on Oct 6). This is right at 200 more than 2022, the previous top year. While numbers are diminishing, we will likely be over 36,000 for the year. As the season winds down, please submit you photos asap.

We are stalled at 135 species for 2023. There may still be something that gets blown in, so keep an eye out for Darners and Saddlebags.

Franklin and Ashtabula Counties continue as most reported (3,000+), well ahead of #3 Lucas Co (1,800+) Paulding, Wood, Allen, and Defiance are below 100.

Montgomery County has the most species (76). Huron and Ottawa have the fewest (23).

Franklin, Cuyahoga, and Summit Counties all have more than 100 observers reporting. Paulding and Auglaize have just a single observer.

Forktails (Eastern and Fragile) are now the top 2 species, a switch from the recent years dominated by Eastern Pondhawk and Blue Dasher. Nine species have more than 1,000 records and Familiar Bluet may reach 1,000 as well. 16 species have 5 or fewer records, 7 species with only single records.

Daylight hours are retreating quickly now, but there's still some sunshine. It seems many things have been late this season, I'm wondering if this will extend our Odonata flight also - maybe?

We have made progress on targets, both numbers and county species. Species diversity is connected to observations, which means people and days in the field. Here's a mapping of where we need observers. The blue counties are where we have fewer than 100 observations for 2023. The green counties are where we have the fewest number of total observations in the OOS database. Each plus sign means a need of 100 observations - so Monroe needs around 300 new records, etc. The blue/green counties that don't have a plus only need 25 or so to hit our minimum. We'll do what we can! Thanks to all the contributors.

Updated 11 Nov 2023

Daily submissions have been pretty steadily declining. Cooler days and nights contribute to reduced Odonata numbers and diversity. But there are still things to be seen - so maybe also a bit of observer fatigue! I would remind everyone to look while you can - we won't have much to see in January.

We have a number of new County Records for Great Spreadwing - especially west-central Ohio. I'm not sure if we're having an influx or we're just looking. But 2023 will mark new Great Spreadwing occurences for Logan, Van Wert, Allen, and Miami Counties. If they're getting blown in, then we could maybe have more new records - maybe have a look. Here's the map.

Updated 11 Nov 2023

Following are revised numbers for 2023 season. This follows the Aug 23 journal. There were questions related to how does 2023 compare to historical numbers. So this table lists all species in the database, the number of observations in the current year, then how that compares to the recent 5 year average (2018-2022), then how 2023 compares to the historical peak (year with most observations for the species). The * indicate 2023 surpassing the 5 year average, and then where 2023 sets a new peak year. The far right column lists the most recent year the species has been observed.

At this point (Sep 8), 76 species are ahead of the 5 year average, and 40 species will have a new high season number for observations. New * may be added as the season continues.

County-Complete

Eastern Forktail, Blue Dasher, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Amberwing, Widow Skimmer, Fragile Forktail, and Common Whitetail are now County-Complete.

Here are the next four species. These have all been observed at some point, so it's possible one or more could be our next County-Complete. Opportunities here - all around the state. It's been a while since we've had a Violet Dancer in Ottawa Co (1967) or a Blue-fronted Dancer in Geauga Co (2015).

Other things - still looking for a Powdered Dancer in Carroll Co, a Blue-tipped Dancer in Belmont Co, a Halloween Pennant in Seneca Co, and an Azure Bluet in Sandusky Co. These observations would be county records and place these species in all 88 counties.