When I got up Sunday, the sky was full of puffy white clouds – however, there was more open blue sky than cloud, and the sun was shining! I had my breakfast, then headed out to Marlborough Forest where I hoped to add several new species to my year and Odolympics lists. My first stop was Roger’s Pond, which had hardly anything of interest the last time I had visited. I thought it might be a good outing when I saw four Common Whitetails in the first opening with three on the same log, and an Eastern Pondhawk in the clearing on the other side of the trail. However, I didn’t see much as I proceeded down the open path through the cedars – there were no emeralds flying up and down the trail, no clubtails resting on the gravel trail, and only a few Chalk-fronted Corporals perching on the ground – and I began to wonder if I should have gone somewhere else.
Then I checked the loop just before the entrance to the pond, and my fears were allayed. There were a good number of Racket-tailed Emeralds flying in the little clearing, as well as several Chalk-fronted Corporals and Common Whitetails! Perhaps the open trail was a bit too breezy, for the little loop was warm and sheltered. Many of the Racket-tailed Emeralds were perching.
I found a Four-spotted Skimmer here as well.
I went to the pond, and found several bluets at the entrance. I caught one that showed the claspers of a Hagen’s Bluet upon close examination. When I approached the water I was happy to see dozens of dragonflies flying out over the water! At least one Common Green Darner was patrolling the shoreline, while more Chalk-fronted Corporals and Racket-tailed Emeralds were chasing each other over the pond. A fresh Dot-tailed Whiteface was resting in the vegetation, as were several teneral spreadwings and meadowhawks.
I proceeded to the bridge where the water was thundering over the dam again. I didn’t see any frogs in the water below the dam, but more Common Whitetails were doing battle here.
I also saw some huge dragonflies zipping by below the dam. I wasn’t quite sure what they were, but once I got past the bridge I looked up – and saw my first baskettails of the day, Prince Baskettails! There were more than a dozen soaring through the sky. Most were too high for my net, but occasionally they dropped lower to check out the shoreline. A few flew right past me, so I waited…and waited…and finally snapped one up in my net!
I always forget just how large they are until I have one in my hand. The fact that this one has brown eyes and that there were so many in such a small area indicates they must have emerged just recently. I took several photos and let it go. It immediately flew down the embankment and hung up in a tree.
I didn’t see anything else of interest, so I decided to check out the tall evergreens at the far end of the meadow – I’ve had good luck finding multiple emerald species swarming the trees in the past, and as I neared the furthest group of trees I noticed a small emerald swarm in the sunny side out of the wind. I stood right within the swarm, and soon the Racket-tailed Emeralds were snapping up the deer flies that were buzzing around my head – they weren’t too bad on this visit, but they were annoying. I scanned the dragonflies circling me but did not see anything that looked like a Brush-tipped Emerald or baskettail. I found a few Racket-tailed Emeralds perching in the nearby shrubs, but again no other species.
A little further along I saw another dragonfly that was definitely not a Prince, but when it zoomed past me at shoulder-height I realized it was a Harlequin Darner. I hoped it would land on me, but it never did. So when it flew by within reach I caught it.
This darner is the most unusually coloured among the darner species here in Ottawa. Although their spots are both orange and green, they blend in well with the bark of the trees they land on. When I let it go it decided it needed to land in some bushes to recover as well, and dropped into the vegetation right in front of me.
From there I walked back along the shore of the pond, finding more whitefaces as I went. Most were Dot-tailed Whitefaces, but a few Frosted Whitefaces were perching on stems rising above the water or directly on the lily pads.
Then I spied a larger dragonfly perching on a rock right at the water’s edge – it was a Horned Clubtail, my first of the Odolympics as well as the year!
These are one of my favourite dragonflies of spring, and I was happy to spot another one a little further along the trail. It was quite active, zooming out and chasing other dragonflies before returning to the same general area.
I continued walking back toward the parking lot, watching out for new and different odes as I did. The Prince Baskettails were still swarming the air between the bridge and the entrance to the pond, and after studying them for a while I noticed something different flying among them. It was thinner and darker and had no markings on the wings. Could it be a Somatochlora emerald? I waited to see if it would drop lower but it flew off instead.
I also noticed some small reddish dragonflies flying over the pond close to the shore on the opposite side of the small bay. When I got my binoculars on them they turned out to be Calico Pennants. There were two males chasing each other in the small bay near the bridge, and two more toward the entrance. I was happy to see these dragonflies here even if I wasn’t able to get a photo.
The open trail through the cedars was still quiet on my return trip. I had almost reached the first clearing when a beautiful Baltimore Checkerspot flew in and landed on the ground close by. This is one of my favourite butterflies, and as I don’t see them every year I had to stop and take a picture.
The Eastern Pondhawk was still in the same spot, and I took another picture of it now that the sun was shining.
The trail at parking lot E4 was quieter than expected. Only a couple of Racket-tailed Emeralds were flying up and down the trail, and only one Ebony Jewelwing was perching above the water at the culvert. I did not see any River Jewelwings in the marsh above the culvert, which I had really hoped would become regular here. The only dragonflies in the area were a Four-spotted and a Belted Whiteface – at least the whiteface was a new species for the Odolympics.
There were no damselflies in the vegetation next to the culvert except for a few Sedge Sprites, so I continued walking into the woods, checking the sunlit leaves for Aurora Damsels. I found only one and did not get a great shot.
It was mid-afternoon by that point, and after walking for another 20 minutes without seeing anything I decided to call it a day. I had really hoped to stop by the creek at Flood Road, but was too tired and wasn’t sure it would be worth the effort. Still, I was glad to have made the trip for the final day of the Odolympics – the day resulted in seven species to my list of dragonflies observed during the 2026 Odolympics!
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