August 13, 2023: Lake Darner

I can't think of a more appropriate name for this large dragonfly, one of the most conspicuous around the lakes with it's large wingspan and colorful body.  

It's certainly a member of the Mosaic Darner family which contains 41 North American species including the largest dragonfly we have here; I think this is a Lake Darner (Aeshna eremita).  If you remember from a recent post, the blue coloring shows it's a male; the females are green.  Note the large clasper on its tail.

The clasper is used to hold onto its partner during mating.

Darners are active during the day, especially in late afternoon as they patrol the sky, snatching small insects on the fly.  

Here's an interesting creepy crawler I see every now and then.

It's called a millipede even though it doesn't have a thousand legs.  It does however, have four legs on each of its segments.

That's because each segment actually consists of two segments fused together, which is why each has four legs.  I counted 53 segments so this millipede has about 212 legs on its three inch long body.  

This must be the time of year when white-tail deer mothers decide it's time to let their new fawns head out into more exposed areas to learn about the world.  I saw one spotted fawn with its mother at Ramblin' Vewe Farm while I was mountain biking, and another the next day along Chemung Road.  And then a friend sent me this great video of a fawn right in his yard.  (Thanks JW!)

He noted that he hasn't seen its mother yet, but he did see a fox watching it.

And finally, there's a story regarding the southern pair of loons, but I don't know what it is.  There's an injured loon on the lake that may be the result of the battles that took place when the southern loon chicks Chip and Dale were killed. 

Who is this injured bird?

However, no one has seen any bands to indicate this bird is one of that pair, including the LPC biologist who came this week to do his end of the year survey before heading back to school.  (Thank you Will for all you did for the loons this summer!)  It's been so long - since July 15th - that the pair may have left after their chicks were killed.  But as we know, lack of evidence doesn't prove anything.  So we'll wait and see what we can determine.  Because all four legs of the southern pair have bands, even a good sighting of a bare leg will prove it's not one of the nesting pair.

Whoever it may be, the wound on this birds head hasn't affected its fishing ability, as I watched it dive and within seconds it came up with a nice size yellow perch.

Now that's a good breakfast.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the lake, the parents of LuLu and Checkers continue to fend off challengers every day.  Yesterday there were four adult loons interacting, and not in a friendly way. 

Two pairs, or three against one?

It could have been three rogues which the male was keeping away from the chicks, or it could have been both the male and the female taking on another pair while the chicks were away in some secret cove.  I did receive a report of three loons flying in on the same day I saw this interaction, so that may be the answer.   (Thanks AW!)

A standoff.

And then the watch for an underwater attack.

Knowing that even a full grown loon can be killed by another loon means the chicks aren't safe yet, but with their parents strength and experience, they are doing great.

LuLu, now in juvenile plumage.

Checkers is still sporting a little fluff on his tail and neck.

LuLu and mom snuggling?

No, both chicks still constantly nag their parents for food, and make this awful, whining sound when they're hungry - which seems to be always!  They'll learn to be self sufficient eventually.

We'll provide updates on the story of the southern pair if we learn more.