In my attempts to learn more about Odonates, I've noticed something. This is just anecdotal and may only seem to be the case where I've observed Odonates in Bladen County and Carteret County, North Carolina, USA.

When I started the year, by the middle/end of February, I noticed a lot of Ischnura posita (Fragile Forktails) as well as Ischnura prognata in the swamp areas and wooded delta where I saw them last year. Tenerals and adults were in abundance and in fact, I'd never seen so many Ischura prognata (Furtive Forktails) at one time as I did in those last weeks of February.

In the drier, upland, sunny areas such as trails through the woods, by the end of February and early March, the Epitheca cynosura (Common Baskettail) (with a few Epitheca semiaquae--Mantled Baskettail-- thrown in) and Plathemis lydia (Common Whitetail) were everywhere. A few darners and clubtails showed up as well in March.

The darners and clubtails I noted included::
Anax junius (Common Green Darner)
Epiaeschna heros (Swamp Darner)
Nasiaeschna penthacantha (Cyrano Darner)
Gomphaeschna furcillata (Harlequin Darner)

Gomphus exilis (Lancet Clubtail)
Gomphus lividus (Ashy Clubtail)
Arigomphus pallidus (Gray-green clubtail)

I even saw one Didymops transversa (Stream Cruiser)

Then in April, the Enallagma signatum (Orange Bluet) showed up in large numbers at the streams at the edge of the swamp.

After a couple of weeks, however, the numbers seemed to dwindle to more "onsie-twosies" where they were still around to be observed, but not in the large numbers. I rarely see the Epitheca cynosura except as one zips by infrequently and even the numerous Enallagma signatum are just two or three per stream instead of the large numbers seen earlier.

In late April/early May when I visited Suggs Mill Pond Gamelands (Bladen County, NC, USA) there were large numbers of Celithemis ornata (Ornate Pennant), Erythemis simplicicollis (Eastern Pondhawk), and Erythrodiplax minuscula (Little Blue Dragonlet) everywhere.

That is not to say that there were not other species as well, but I wanted to note the species that were literally everywhere and "unmissable."

It seems to my completely uneducated eyes that every few weeks a few species may emerge in large numbers and will be very much in evidence and easy to find. Then their numbers dwindle down over the next few weeks to a more dispersed, normal (?) level where I'll find them. but they aren't just everywhere and underfoot all the time. (There are a few exceptions such as Eastern Pondhawk, Common Whitetail, and Great Blue Skimmer, which are simply around all the time all summer long.)

Now, in mid-May, on my recent trip to Carteret County, NC, USA, I found Erythrodiplax berenice (Seaside Dragonlet) in huge swarms everywhere. It was a species I wanted to see and I didn't know if it would be difficult to find. As it turned out, they really were everywhere and often in large numbers. At least at this point in May.

The Enallagma doubledayi (Atlantic Bluet) was also very much in evidence at a pond on the Salter's Creek Gamelands, along with both Lestes australis (Southern Spreadwing) and Lestes vidua (Carolina Spreadwing). There was also an Anax longipes (Comet Darner) cruising the pond as well as several species of Libellula (King Skimmers).

So I am curious to see how the next few months play out in terms of the species I'm able to observe. I'm not the best at finding and identifying Odonates but it's exciting to see the species around me.