September 2, 2026 — Dane County
UW ARBORETUM ODONATA MONITORING PROJECT GARDNER AREA UW Arboretum East Entrance & Gardner Marsh. Includes channelized Wingra Creek either direction from the Arboretum Drive bridge over the creek and the Gardner Marsh trails/boardwalks. Abundance of Odes was way down as we are getting late in the season, but I wonder if the overcast skies contributed some. I try to do my monitoring on sunny days as I missed sunny opportunities earlier in the week because the forecasts were so incorrect. Did it on this day even though overcast because it was plenty hot, and forecast the rest of the week was iffy. WINGRA CREEK 2:53-3:50PM, 88-87F, very humid, cloudy – bright overcast with sun occasionally partly peeking through, wind WSW 8 mph (gusts 16-15 mph). GARDNER MARSH BOARDWALKS 3:53-4:32 PM, overcast as at Wingra Creek, wind WSW 8-7 mph (gusts 15 mph) – essentially no wind in the woods
UW ARBORETUM ODONATA MONITORING PROJECT GARDNER AREA UW Arboretum East Entrance & Gardner Marsh. Includes channelized Wingra Creek either direction from the Arboretum Drive bridge over the creek and the Gardner Marsh trails/boardwalks. Abundance of Odes was way down as we are getting late in the season, but I wonder if the overcast skies contributed some. I try to do my monitoring on sunny days as I missed sunny opportunities earlier in the week because the forecasts were so incorrect. Did it on this day even though overcast because it was plenty hot, and forecast the rest of the week was iffy. WINGRA CREEK 2:53-3:50PM, 88-87F, very humid, cloudy – bright overcast with sun occasionally partly peeking through, wind WSW 8 mph (gusts 16-15 mph). GARDNER MARSH BOARDWALKS 3:53-4:32 PM, overcast as at Wingra Creek, wind WSW 8-7 mph (gusts 15 mph) – essentially no wind in the woods
Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis)
Photographed
WINGRA CREEK 1 male
Photographed
WINGRA CREEK 1 male
Skimming Bluet (Enallagma geminatum)
Photographed
WINGRA CREEK 5 males
Photographed
WINGRA CREEK 5 males
Common Green Darner (Anax junius)
Observed
WINGRA CREEK 3 males + one pair in wheel
Observed
WINGRA CREEK 3 males + one pair in wheel
Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)
Photographed
WINGRA CREEK 11 males
Photographed
WINGRA CREEK 11 males
Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera)
Photographed
WINGRA CREEK 7 males
Photographed
WINGRA CREEK 7 males
Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis)
Photographed
GARDNER MARSH BOARDWALKS 1 female (two photos of this individual: first with no flash, second with flash)
Photographed
GARDNER MARSH BOARDWALKS 1 female (two photos of this individual: first with no flash, second with flash)
White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum)
Observed
GARDNER MARSH BOARDWALKS 1 male A fleeting look without binoculars as it briefly scuffled with the E Pondhawk, then was scared away by the approach of another person walking on the boardwalk in the opposite direction. This was the exact location as I observed this species on my previous 2 monitoring sessions, so I feel it’s safe to call it this species (and it has been the only meadowhawk species that I have observed in all of my Arboretum monitoring this year).
Observed
GARDNER MARSH BOARDWALKS 1 male A fleeting look without binoculars as it briefly scuffled with the E Pondhawk, then was scared away by the approach of another person walking on the boardwalk in the opposite direction. This was the exact location as I observed this species on my previous 2 monitoring sessions, so I feel it’s safe to call it this species (and it has been the only meadowhawk species that I have observed in all of my Arboretum monitoring this year).