Swain’s Lock shuffle

new place to visitGenevieve Wall with Nature Forward led a naturalists’ shuffle from Swain’s Lock on the C&O Canal. I have visited several sites in this long skinny park, but as far as I can tell, I have not dropped into Swain’s Lock before. Not too long a drive out River Road, short access road, smallish parking lot, good fit.

Many of us were hoping for more bird activity (we did pick up a distant Yellow-billed Cuckoo [Coccyzus americanus]), and I was looking for butterflies in preparation for Saturday’s count. Not much in the way of butterflies, but I did find what turned out to be a new dragonfly genus for me, a Black-shouldered Spinyleg (Dromogomphus spinosus), with some ID assistance from Lisa Shannon.