Tuesday 6/29: I had about half the day today before I needed to head for home. A little wary of the car, I followed Michael to the last turn for Seven Mile Bog and then crowded in with everyone in his car for the short trip down.
We then started to walk. Lots of emeralds (Somatochlora) today were along the road and we found several species. We also had a few Rusty Snaketails (Ophiogomphus rupinsulensis) and a few other things.
Spot the Snaketail!
Eventually, we reached the trail to the bog. It was rather poorly marked but we whacked our way through the spruces and made it to the edge. It was very rough going, sinking in at almost every step. Fortunately, the main target, Subarctic Bluet (Coenargion interrogatum) was present in good numbers along the edge. I also flushed a thrush off a nest and we heard several snipe winnowing.
It was getting a bit late and I was moving more parallel to the edge than out into the bog, so I decided to head out. Dan, who is rather tall, was having enough trouble that he decided to bail as well and work the road instead. We found a cleaner path back and I started walking for the car.
It probably took close to an hour to get there (with a couple stops to chase things plus saying goodbye and updating late arrivers). I finally reached the car around 1:00 and started for home.
The ride back was pretty easy, except for one of the hardest rainstorms I’ve even seen around Waterville. I pulled over and grabbed a burger and it was dry out by the time I finished. From there, it was a straight ride home, getting in just in time for dinner.