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Wednesday, July 24, 2019

A memorable day!

Today was the first day I've been alone at the oasis in 3 months. No Mac, no film crew, no birders. I figured the only memory of the day would be remembering it had been my parents wedding anniversary, and also the date my late husband, Sherwood, died. (He and I built the oasis together.)

Today is now also the day I got a new oasis damselfly species, Citrine Forktail. And not just one, but 6 or 7. Hard to count, as they don't sit still long enough. They're also so small that it's hard to find them even when they're in motion. Nearly impossible to locate through my camera lens. Not to mention getting a clear shot through the grass blades. But I persevered.

Male
Female
Here's how their size compares to a straight pin from my sewing box. The females were duller in color so harder still to locate.


I found them inside patches of overgrown Bermuda grass along the edges of my dragonfly pond. I sure hope it rains before that pond is totally dry, which will happen in a few days if it doesn't.


I couldn't find any records of that species for the Big Bend area even though their range map shows them throughout. The only place I'd ever seen Citrines before was in Andrews, Texas, four years ago.



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