Moving on

How do I move on from writing and editing my Finland and Norway trip posts?  To tell the truth, I'm happy that I completed my project, but I always feel sadness when something I enjoyed so much is finished.  Changing my blog title photo is a good start.   

I only know one other way.  That is, to get back out in the field.  I didn't choose the best of days, overcast skies and threats of rain proved to be true for this particular day.  Still, I went to Crosswinds Marsh in the hopes of finding - well, anything; but my focus was on dragonflies.  Overcast skies are not the best weather for odes, but I did see a few things.  I also got the photo of the perched Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus), one of my favorite birds to photograph - somehow I never tire of it - to switch out my blog title page.  Otherwise, overall I didn't see much, but I did find and photograph a few other things.  Back to business as usual.  

Can anyone guess what this bottle brush is?

Milkweed tussock tiger moth (Euchaetes egle) caterpillar

A really good name for this caterpillar.

The stem the caterpillar is traversing is that of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).

Incidentally, the hairs on this caterpillar are not poisonous or toxic, but they can cause irritation of the skin if handled.  My guess is that birds keep their distance!

Above:  Juvenile Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)

Unexpected to see the juvenile Rough-wing lined up along the boardwalk railing with all of the juvenile Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica), now fledged from their nests beneath the eves of the cabana.

Above and below:  *Female Saffron-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum costiferum)

The Saffron-winged Meadowhawk is a new dragonfly for me and this is always exciting.  It's hard for me to find a new species of dragonfly.  I don't get to travel to enough new places and new habitats, so my luck rests with finding a new species at my typical haunts.  Possibly three other Sympetrum species were also present in the same area today.  I don't have confidence netting dragonflies, but today I think I would have been successful.  Unfortunately, I didn't take my net along.  IDs of Cherry-faced, Ruby and White-faced meadowhawks will not be accepted if they have not been examined in the hand.

Finally, I saw this tiny, 1 inch, new damselfly trapped in a spider web along the boardwalk and thought it was dead.  I released it from the web and its wings flicked a little.  Soon it was crawling all over my hand and occasionally trying out its wings.  I had to take the photos with my iPhone's awful camera.  I have no idea what it is, but will go out on a limb and say it's a Skimming Bluet (Enallagma geminatum).  Skimming Bluets are common at the edges of the water of Crosswinds Marsh, it was very small and appeared as if it would mature into a black-type bluet.  My second guess is Orange Bluet (E. signatum), although I've never seen one at Crosswinds Marsh.  No reason they can't be there.

  Afterthought:  Could also be an Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis).

Not a bad afternoon.

Addendum 07/28/2025

* My identification of the Saffron-winged Meadowhawk was disputed and a second opinion held up the dispute.  I've retracted this from the on-line site where I document the Odonata that I see in the field.  It is now a Sympetrum sp.  As with many of the Sympetrum sp., the Saffron-winged is a dragonfly that needs to be netted and viewed in the hand for proper identification.  This is certainly not a first for me.