Lifer spreadwing

Got a third of an inch of rain yesterday. So I watered a bit less today. Things need more in this heat, but it's too hot for them to grow, so just keeping them alive for now.

I was really surprised to see a new damselfly early this morning. Not a common one either. I couldn't ID it, so posted it online. Someone ID'd it as a female Chalky Spreadwing. Never even expected I'd ever see one, much less at the oasis. I'm always amazed at what all shows up here. Sometimes I think I get more species when it's hotter and drier outside the oasis. At least the oasis has water in tanks and trees that get watered, although last night I got less rain than places around me. Anyway, I'm thrilled with the lifer.

It doesn't really look like the images in my damselfly book, so I would never have ID'd it correctly. When I photographed it, I thought it was a Southern Spreadwing. Had I known what it was, I would have taken better photos. When have you heard me say that before? After I downloaded my pictures and saw it wasn't a Southern, I tried to relocate it, but couldn't.

That makes five spreadwing species I've documented at the oasis. (Great, California, Plateau, Southern, and now Chalky.) I can't find any records for Chalky in the Big Bend region before now. It mostly occurs in Southern Arizona, Southern New Mexico, and Southern Texas.