California's Year 2003 Dragonfly Sightings
in order from MOST recently to LEAST recently seen!
Please send your sightings, with date, county and location to Kathy Biggs.
Species will be posted using either the Common Name or the Scientific Name,
whichever the sender uses (inc. using both), but all first sightings of the
year, county records, and new flight data will be posted using both names. To
contact the person making the sighting, see the key at bottom of this site.
County records are underlined and in
orange text
*= first/last sighting of species of year in CA
**= possibly new flight data for species in CA
#= possibly a migratory event
97 species
(out of 108 known species) were reported to this site as flying in CA in 2003.
111 county records &/or upgrades to county records (12 of
them at the DSA meeting trips, 5 at the post trip) were made this year (this #
includes upgrades of previous 'sighting only' records, and newly accessed
museum collections).
`Sighting only' records need further documentation, but please report them so
we can try to get substantiation. There may be some upgrades of previous
`sighting only' records and new specimen records from recently examined
museum/private collections. If you find such a record, please email it in.
County records should be substantiated with specimen (preferable) or photo
and notes.
Contributors emails listed at end of document
December
December 24, 2003
Imperial County
Two male Roseate Skimmers were seen at Brock Research Station. That is
just off of I-8 in eastern Imperial County.
December 21, 2003
San Diego County
20 plus Variegated Meadowhawks in Borrego springs area
December 20, 2003
Imperial County
Yuma Christmas Bird Count: Arizona side of river, one female Familiar Bluet,
pictures. In the afternoon with Jeff Coker on the California side of river one Common
Green Darner and one Wandering Glider patrolling the same little
stretch of vegetation. Almost had the glider in the net but missed and ran out
of time as we were supposed to be counting birds! The glider was seen well.
December 17, 2003
Kern & Tulare Counties
Alison Sheehey
Just a note to report the continuing presence of Variegated Meadowhawks
in Kern and Tulare Counties. I photographed one last week during the Red Rock
Christmas Bird Count, and have seen one on the Bakersfield CBC, Buena Vista CBC
and Springville CBC.
-------
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard
Common Green Darner at Greenwood cemetery today at the main pond. Habitat
where Pacific Forktails wintered last year has been trimmed back, and there are
none to be seen.
December 16, 2003
Alameda County
Joe Morlan
I was surprised to see any kind of dragonfly while birding in Tilden Regional
Park today. I photographed this one hand-holding a digital camera up to my
binoculars. I posted an image in my folder for this group. Is it a Variegated
Meadowhawk? [yes, a fresh looking female - kb]
-------
Yuba County
Bruce Deuel
...while participating in the Marysville Christmas Bird Count, Pete Sands and I
saw a Common Green Darner in a private campground adjacent to the Yuba
River, Yuba County. It's my first sighting of a December ode.
December 14, 2003
Alameda County
Doug Vaughan
... at least two meadowhawks, presumably but not certainly variegated,
near the intersection of Grizzly Peak and Skyline during the Oakland CBC on
Sunday -- a day of brilliant sun but temps near 50.
December 9, 2003
Orange County
Doug Aguillard
...on the 405, .... A Common Green Darner flew in front of my car right
at eye level. I was extremely surprised, but realized I was over the San Diego
(yes it's in Orange County) Creek.
December 8, 2003
Tulare County
Alison Sheehey
A pix taken of a very fresh looking Variegated Meadowhawk at Pixley NWR.
December 6, 2003
Butte County
Michael Ellis
.... at Graylodge a giant green darner.. tough guys [assuming he meant Anax
junius - kb]
November
November 29, 2003
Imperial County
Chris Conard
I found roseate skimmers at Sperry and Eddins at the little canal right
in front of the pig pens. I'm only beginning with odes, but that was a nice
find. I was under the impression that this species was fairly common in the
area, though I'm not sure.
November 24, 2003
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard
Today while getting my hair cut, I looked at the window of the barber shop, and
had a Variegated Meadowhawk flying out over the parking lot, going back
and forth several times. I then got home and found another V. Meadowhawk
in my backyard.
November 8, 2003
San Diego & Imperial County
Doug Aguillard
Started the day at the Salton Sea NWR, where there was lots Roseate
Skimmers, but nothing else. The weird thing was that they were all very
skittish, and not allowing for close approach. So it was off to "Bob's
Place" at the east end of Sinclair Rd, where it meets the East side Main
Canal. I found one late season Powered Dancer*, several Familiar Bluets*,
and more Roseate Skimmers.
I then headed over to the Brawley New River Water Project. There was more Roseate's
Skimmers, Variegated Meadowhawks, Blue-eyed Darners, Rambur's Forktails* in
all color versions including red females, blue females, and the typical green
boys, & Familiar Bluets
On the way back to the Coast, I stopped at the Pine Valley Creek (SDCo) site
for Walker's Darner's. It was not burned, but there was no Odes to be had.
November 4, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
Tuesday- The rains have finally arrived! The long range forecast is looking
pretty wet and cold. This may be the end of ode flight season here in western
Siskiyou County. Hope not!
November 2, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
Sunday, November 2 - I ventured back to Kelly Lake hoping to see if any odes
were on the wing in November. This locality was heavy with ode activity only
one week ago. The weather changed overnight. A cold front brought in the first
snowfall of the season. I arrived at Kelly Lake at noon. It was snowing with
one half inch of snow cover on all bushes and the ground. I surveyed the lake
edge and found no ode activity at all. No frosty meadowhawks. At least this
season, it looks like there will be no flight activity in November at Kelly
Lake.
November 1, 2003
Solano County
Ed Whisler
[At} about 11:00am, I saw about 5 common green darners foraging around
interior Live Oaks along the south side of Lake Solano, in Solano County. There
were several high flying Odes, but I couldn't ID them. Lake Solano is a small
lake behind a diversion dam on Putah Creek, west of Winters. The area is live
oak woodland and grassland in rolling foothills.
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Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
Saturday, November 1 - I floated the Klamath River from Chamber's Flat to
Wingate Bar (7 miles, all west of Happy Camp). It was a beautiful day, sunny
with a high in the low 60's or so. Sadly, I did not see any odes at all.
Looking like the ode flight season is coming to a close here in the Klamath
River canyon.
October
October 31, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
Friday, October 31 - I checked the Happy Camp Riverpark pond at 1500 hrs. I
actually saw three male Striped Meadowhawks. Hunting robins quickly
scattered these guys.
October 29, 2003
Sacramento County
Steve Abbott
Was at the end of Payen Rd. in Sacramento County today and had very few odes
flying but I did get a lifer!
Vivid Dancer - 1 m
Common Green Darner - 1 m
Sympetrum spp. 2
Black-fronted Forktail* - 1 m (lifer!)
Later, in Granite Bay, I photographed a female Striped Meadowhawk and a
female Variegated Meadowhawk.
October 28, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
Today, I spent the late morning/early afternoon at Lake McCumber (UTM Zone 10,
E607375, N4488230, elev. approx. 4100 ft.) in south central Shasta County.
There were lots of odes but, except for one found toward the end of the outing,
all were Striped Meadowhawks or Spotted Spreadwings*. At about 1400
hours, I found one female **Western Meadowhawk, a bit tattered, but
still flying. This seems kind of late for Western Meadowhawk.[it was - KB] I
last saw them at the end of September at this very spot. The Spotted
Spreadwings were plentiful and ovipositing like mad. I got some very good
photos of this activity. Surprisingly, there were relatively few breeding or
ovipositing Striped Meadowhawks.
-------
Plumas and Tehama Counties
Andy Rehn and Greg Kareofelas
Greg Kareofelas and I went to Willow Lake yesterday [Oct. 28], and on the way
out we stopped by Wilson Lake in Tehama county. We got four species of Sympetrum
at Wilson Lake in Tehama County:
**Saffron Meadowhawk S. costiferum [Greg later told me he'd had
these at Wilson Lake also on 12 Sep 2003 but hadn't realized which county the
lake was in - kb]
**White-faced Meadowhawk S. obtrusum
Striped Meadowhawk S. pallipes
-(upgrade of prior sighting only record for Tehama Co.)
Yellow-legged Meadowhawk S. vicinum
-new record for Tehama Co.
Common Spreadwing Lestes disjunctus* [new late flight data by one
day!]
At Willow Lake [Plumas Co.] we got:
**Variable Darner Aeshna interrupta
Shadow Darner A. umbrosa
**Paddle-tailed Darner A. palmata
**Black Meadowhawk S. danae
White-faced Meadowhawk S. obtrusum
Western Meadowhawk S. occidentale
Striped Meadowhawk S. pallipes
Yellow-legged Meadowhawk Sympetrum vicinum
Spotted Spreadwing Lestes congener
October 26, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
I took some photos at Plum Valley Reservoir of a Spotted Spreadwing
(Lestes congener) with a small fly on its back. The spreadwing left its
perch and returned several times while I was taking the shots, yet the fly
remained. Several males were also seen, netted and examined in hand. Images at Hitchhiker
-------
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I spent the day at Kelly Lake in the Siskiyou Wilderness. The lake is high
elevation and only a few miles south of the Oregon border. Weather was
outstanding; sunny with temps in the mid 70's. I was there from 1130 till 1600
hrs. There was quite a bit of ode activity. I got good practice trying to net
some bugs. Here is who I saw and/or caught:
California Spreadwing - ~30 males; ~12 tandem pairs; lots of ovipositing
on willows at edge of water. Netted for id.
Lestes sp. - several observed; unable to net
Paddle-tailed Darner - ~50 males; netted about 15 checking id's; 8
tandem pairs; 3 females observed, 1 caught by hand.
Yellow-legged Meadowhawk Sympetrum vicinum
- 1 female netted for id. (lifer for me!) The trumpet-shaped vulvar
lamina helped to positive id. 3 males were observed (red faces); but I was
unable to net any. [only 4th county in CA to record this late season flier -
kb]
Striped Meadowhawk - 1 male netted; 4 others observed
On the way to Kelly Lake I checked Indian Creek for odes and salmon. At Puppy
Falls at 1000 hrs I observed 1 male Aeshna sp. patrolling. The
falls are bathed in morning sunlight at this time. No salmon were at the falls.
On the way home I stopped to check Puppy Falls again. The falls were in evening
shadow. The odes were gone and the salmon had appeared. I saw several make
leaps, a couple smack the rocks, and counted eight salmon in the shallows below
the falls.
---
Dave and Kathy Biggs
We stopped along North Shore Rd. (just north of Lake Siskiyou at the Larry
Wehmeyer Environmental Educational Area out of Mt. Shasta City) for a 10-minute
'quickie' look for CA Spreadwings, and didn't find ANY. In fact, ALL we saw was
one Shadow Darner.
October 25, 2003
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard and Bob Parks
Today, at Pine Valley Creek (between Pine Valley and Guatay), I ran into fellow
Bugman/Photographer Bob Parks, who is a wealth of information. He was there for
California Spreadwings, and I was there for Walker's Darners. This is National
Forest Land, so netting is allowed, and after a short time, Bob was able to net
a Spreadwing. We waited much long as the Walker's kept eluding each swing of
the nets. I finally nailed one as it flew pass, only to realize that I had
taken it's head completely off ("There can be only one"-The
Highlander) and both the body and the head were in the net. So I took some pics
of it, and Bob took it for a voucher specimen. After another 20 minutes, I was
able to net another one, and the pics will be up on my web site shortly.
Pine Valley Creek: Common Green Darner (1), Blue-eyed Darner (1), Walker's
Darners (5-6), and California Spreadwings (8).
I then went down to Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego, and added a new species
for the location. 2 Wandering Gliders were over the middle pond, with
other Odes.
Greenwood Cemetery: Common Green Darners (12), Black Saddlebags (8),
Wandering Gliders (2), Pacific Forktail* (1).
-------
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I floated the Klamath River from Seattle Creek to Gordons Ferry. This is east
of Happy Camp. The float is about 12 miles or so. It was beautiful; sunny in
the mid 70's; falls colors at their peak; and salmon in the river. I did see
some odes.
California Spreadwing - 1 pair in tandem. They almost landed on my
paddle.
Aeshna sp. - ~25 males patrolling mostly along rock walls in Cade
Canyon. Could not get close enough for id on these guys.
Flame Skimmer - 3 males patrolling over eddies covered with floating
vegetation.
October 23, 2003
San Mateo County
Alvaro Jaramillo
Ran some errands today, including a visit to Yerba Buena nurseries. Given that
I was so close I headed over to Alpine Pond and saw two Lewis's Woodpeckers
still there. Dragonfly and Damselfly diversity is on the way down to 0 now, but
there were several California Spreadwings (Archilestes californica) which
is a good one for the county. There was a Striped Meadowhawk (Sympetrum
pallipes) around, as well as a Vivid Dancer* (Argia vivida*) .
Few butterflies, nothing really exciting.
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Sonoma County
Kathy and Dave Biggs
Saw a Wandering Glider at the intersection of Todd & Santa Rosa Ave.
in Santa Rosa today. First dragonfly seen since Monday. They are really
thinning out quickly.
October 19, 2003
Los Angeles County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
We stopped at Piru Creek (along I-5, just south of Pyramid Lake) for about 20
mins. in hopes of seeing Serpent Ringtails, but no luck. Seen were
Flame Skimmer -- 2-3
Skimmer sp -- 2-3 seen as silhouettes up in the tree tops, Variegated in
shape
Dancer sp -- 1 large one with smoky wings was probably a Sooty
Dancer sp -- 1 blue and black colored one of the Vivid/CA/Aztec type
-------
Alameda County
Anthony Fisher
Lake Aliso
I netted a female Aeshna walkeri (Walker's Darner) that Kathy Biggs
wanted. [I'd never seen a female of this species up close AND it was a county
record! - kb]
Sympetrum pallipes (Striped Meadowhawk) - one male collected
as county voucher, updates sighting only record made earlier
-------
San Diego County
Lynn Monroe
Paroli Homestead
Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum) - photographed
October 18/19, 2003
Imperial County
Bob Miller
The Brawley site had only a few Common Green Darner, Blue-eyed Darner, Blue
Dasher, Roseate Skimmer and Rambur's Forktail*.
The Imperial Site had the same in larger numbers with the addition of Black
Saddlebags, Variegated Meadowhawks and a few Wandering Gliders. Most
impressive was the numbers of Rambur's Forktail. Blue Dasher seem to be
at the end of their season and was not able to find any Western Pondhawk
although the Biggs' and I had some this past Friday in a large drain canal.
-------
Monterey County
Dustin Huntington
We stopped by the pond near Fisherman's Wharf [Monterrey ]and found Ischnura
cervula. I know that is not a big deal if you live in California, but
it was a first for me. They occur in NM, but are fairly rare. It was the one
remaining NM Ischnura that I did not have photos on. I particularly
wanted to be able to compare it with I damula in the upcoming damselfly
video. There was also an argia seen briefly. I got a quick photo,
but have not identified it yet. I really need to get out to California during
the summer sometime.
October 17, 2003
Siskiyou County
David Payne
I checked the pond at the Happy Camp River Park. Time was 1630 hrs. It was
sunny with temps in the low 80's. I saw:
Striped Meadowhawk - 5 males perched in grass
Aeshna sp - 1 male patrolling pond edge
I also watched a muskrat feeding on aquatic veg. The pond has shrunk to less
than a tenth of an acre in size. Mallards, western pond turtles, and numerous
bullfrogs still find refuge there.
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Imperial County
Bob Miller, Kathy & Dave Biggs
Near the Ruddy Ground Dove site near Calipatria -
Roseatte Skimmer - abundant, a male and female collected for scanning
for the website
At canals near the intersection of Brant & Baughman Rds.
Familiar Bluet - some
Desert Forktail - some
Rambur's Forktail - some
Common Green Darner - several
Blue-eyed Darner - one seen
Western Pondhawk - ~4
Variegated Meadowhawk - several
Black Saddlebags - one
At Ramer Lake:
Blue Dasher - one male seen
Kathy & Dave Biggs (alone)
Bob Miller had mentioned a spot to check along our route to Orange Co.:
Poe Rd. off Highway 78, at a canal near the end of the road:
Forktail sp. - a few
Common Green Darner - a few
Wandering Glider - several
Roseatte Skimmers - many
Variegated Meadowhawk - several
Also seen there was an American Bittern
October 16, 2003
Imperial County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
Bob Miller had advised us of a stop or two to make along the route from
Redlands to Calipatria along Highway 111:
In the Bombay Beach area along the Salton Sea there were two little
creeks/ditches along the highway with water in them:
Road marker 55.5:
Desert Forktail - several (possibly a Rambur's seen also)
Common Green Darner - several
Variegated Meadowhawk - several
Black Saddlebags - one
About 1/2 mile north of the previous spot:
Desert Forktail - several (possibly Rambur's seen also)
Dancer sp. - one male seen, of the CA/Aztec type
Common Green Darner - several
Roseatte Skimmer - one male, the first time we've seen this species in
CA
Variegated Meadowhawk - several
---
Bob Miller, Kathy & Dave Biggs
[We] spent the afternoon together on a mid Oct scorcher! 104 is better than 114
but...... Lots of bugs still flying in the Imperial Valley. Best bugs of the
day were a female Brimstone Clubtail and a female Gray Sanddragon! They were
found along the East Highline Canal from about Sinclair to Montgomery Roads
along the NE edge of Imperial Valley.
Dragonflies seen:
American Rubyspot - a few
Blue-ringed Dancer* - abundant
Familiar Bluet - some along the Highline Canal
Desert Forktail - quite a few
Powdered Dancer - several; both color forms of the female & a male
collected to scan for the website (Bob caught the male with his bare fingers!)
**White-belted Ringtail - many, new late date flight data (by only 3
days however!)
**Gray Sanddragon - a female netted, photoed and released at the far end
of Sinclair Rd. - a lifer for Bob & new late flight data by apparently 2
months!!
**Brimstone Clubtail - a female collected to scan for the website at the
far end of Sinclair Rd., and a lifer for the Biggs & also new late flight
data by apparently 2 months!!
Common Green Darner - several
Roseate Skimmer - common
Black Saddlebags - only a few sighted
Variegated Meadowhawk - quite a few, inc. ovipositing pairs
Wandering Glider - several at the far end of Sinclair Rd.
----
Lynn & Gene Monroe
New River Wetlands Project
*Mexican Amberwing (Perithemis intensa)** - photographed
Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum) - photographed
October 15, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun and Bruce Deuel
Ray Bruun and I had both California and Spotted spreadwings at the
Redding Arboretum. The former was a 1st for me, and the latter was my 1st in
Shasta Co. Ray had found both here last year.
-------
San Diego County
Lynn & Gene Monroe
Hellhoe Canyon
Red-veined meadowhawk (Sympetrum madidum)** - photographed
October 14, 2003
San Diego County
Richard Bledsoe
the season is winding down but there are still odes to be found.
pine creek trail head, pine valley,ca.
california spreadwings
walker's darner
lots of calif. spreadwings at this location ovipositing in the willows
overhanging the creek which still has running water. i thought there might be
great spreadwings here but no luck.
cuyamaca state park, sweetwater river at hy 79
walker's darner
cardinal meadowhawk
i note that green valley falls campground is closed due to lack of water in the
river so was unable to visit this great spot for odes.
-------
Sonoma County
Alan Wight
I drove out to the CopelandCreek bridge at lunch today and saw two male Great
Spreadwings. This was a lifer for me.
October 13, 2003
Siskiyou County
David Payne
I was working on the waterline in my yard. It was sunny, mid 70's. I was
visited by:
California Spreadwing - two pairs flying about the yard
Striped Meadowhawk - 2 males perched in grass
October 12, 2003
Siskiyou County
David Payne
The airways are starting to clear of odes, despite the fine fall weather. The
following ... sightings from the last week or so in western Siskiyou County in
the vicinity of Happy Camp.
I floated the Klamath River from Independence Bridge to Coon Creek River
Access. Weather was partly cloudy, temps in mid 70's. Fall colors and salmon in
the river made up for the lack of odes. I saw:
American Rubyspot - pair in tandem perched and flying about edge of the
river. These were first rubyspot I have seen in over a month.
Aeshna sp - 3 individuals flying about. They were backlit by the
sun and I was unable to id.
Sighting of the day was a close-up view (fifteen feet) of a river otter family
of three frolicking on a sand bench. They were behind a thin willow curtain.
Also had nice views of a mink hunting the river's edge.
October 11, 2003
San Diego County
Richard Bledstone
santee lakes, santee, ca.
tule bluet*
**mexican amberwings - new late season flight data
common green darner
familiar bluet
pacific forktail
variegated meadowhawk
black saddlebags
red-tailed pennant
i was surprised to see a pacific forktail grab the head of a familiar
bluet which was tandem ovipositing with a female. the forktail then
attacked the bluets while gripping the male. i guess it was a territory thing.
October 8, 2003
Sonoma County
David Hoffmann and Kathy Biggs
Today David and I went up Lichau Rd. out of Cotati, stopping quickly at the
Copeland Creek Bridge (where my husband Dave and I went on Sunday) where we
quickly saw a male and female Great Spreadwing (I had only accessed the site in
the late afternoon before and wanted to see if they were there in the AM too).
Then we drove up to the Fairfield Osborn Preserve (access by reservation only)
where I've been conducting a dragonfly census to see if we could find Great
Spreadwings flying there. Just two yrs ago we found CA Spreadwings on the
Preserve.
Our report follows:
Great Spreadwing, Archilestes grandis -- 9-11 seen. A male netted
at Courtship Creek, to get a positive ID, and then released so we could watch
its behavior.
Spotted Spreadwing, Lestes congener -- 3 seen, 1 m, 2 f. One of
the females was seen at the same pond along Courtship Creek as the male CA
Spreadwing. The other 2 were along the trail far from water.
Vivid Dancer, Argia vivida -- many seen along the trails. One
very bright female netted was male-colored and VERY vivid indeed!
Common Green Darner, Anax junius -- widely scattered, only 1-2
seen over any one sunny meadow.
Aeshna sp., Mosaic Darner -- one seen, with blue eyes
Variegated Meadowhawk, Sympetrum corruptum -- a couple seen, inc.
one female
Cardinal Meadowhawk, S. illotum -- 2 males seen. One did a quick
fly-by at the ponded part of Courtship Creek where the spreadwings were (and
where we've seen Grappletails & Spiketails at earlier dates)
Striped Meadowhawk, S. pallipes -- ~6 seen, those seen well were
all males.
About the Great Spreadwings:
There were at least two interesting behaviors we noted:
One was that they were ovipositing into the branches of a Bay tree when I'd
understood that they oviposit into Willow and Alders. The other was that we
never saw them mate! We'd see a male grab a female, they'd fly to a low branch
over the water and the female would just hang from the male, not grasp the twig
he was on nor grab him. Then, several seconds later, they'd fly up to the Bay tree.
There the male would perch first, then bend his abdomen at a sharp angle. It
looked as though he was trying to induce ovipositing from the female. And
usually, after that, she'd then bend her abdomen and begin ovipositing.
They were very well camouflaged and we didn't see the 2nd pair that was in the
same bay tree until the 1st pair landed next to them. We also didn't notice the
3rd pair which were directly in front of me where I was sitting just 3 ft away!
Also interesting was the timing of this whole event:
We had stopped down at Copeland Ck. @ Lichau Rd. at ~9:30 AM. The fog had just
lifted. There we saw a male and a female (I caught the female to bring home to
scan, forgetting that I already had a good scan of one from this site 2 yrs
ago). No interaction between the sexes seen.
Then, on the Preserve which is nearer the top of the hills, we saw our first
Stream Spreadwing, a female, about at 10:15, in a sunny glade far from water.
She was not seen well enuf to ID to species.
At ~10:30 we arrived at Courtship Creek (which I had previously erroneously
thought was Copeland Creek; it is rather a contributory). There we saw the lone
male and caught him for ID and released him.
For the next hour we walked along the creek and up to the lower (duckweed
covered) pond. There we again saw a lone female Stream Spreadwing. She flew
off. We circled the pond and David thought we ought to go back to see if she
had returned, and she had. I'm still not certain of her ID although I did get
her into view in the binnocs. She had a pale tan abdomen top and what I *think*
was a complete side stripe on her thorax, but I'm not certain. She flew away
again.
So, David and I went back to where we caught & released the male. And there
he was still. We sat and ate lunch there (well I ate, David didn't!) and
watched the ponded water of the creek for a good 1/2 hr from ~12:00 - 12:30. He
was there the whole time and might have interacted once with another male but
we couldn't be certain. I was very disappointed that we weren't seeing females,
etc.
Then we spent the next 1/2 hr or less walking along the creek again. I was
trying to find willows or alders overhanging the creek where we might find
ovipositing pairs. No luck. So since our return took us within just a few yards
from the site where we'd seen the lone male twice, I told David I wanted to
peek into it once more. Just as I looked in, I saw the male grab a female. So I
called David over and we again sat down, just across the creek from where we'd
eaten lunch. And now that's when all the activity started; at ~1 PM! By 1:30
the pairs were starting to break up and disperse, and we did the same. The
maximum we saw there were 4 prs and a poor, surely disgusted, lone male who
kept trying to break in on the tandems before they began ovipositing.
But it was interesting that the females never chose to mate with the males, and
neither did they come in and try to oviposit on their own. The males seemed to
attempt to induce mating by jerking their abdomens, but the females would just hang
like dead weights from them until the male took her to the bay tree! It'd be
interesting to spend more time with this species!
Again the one fuzzy pix I have posted (I took a few other equally fuzzy pix and
ones of the habitat): http://www.sonic.net/~bigsnest/Pond/Lists/argrd3pr.jpg
Hope you can find some in your area soon. They will possibly fly thru January.
October 7, 2003
Contra Costa County
Doug Vaughan
On my last trek of the season to Mt. Diablo State Park yesterday, I found the
following at Pine Pond:
California Spreadwing (Archilestes californica) -- one male
collected
Spotted Spreadwing (Lestes congener) -- one male collected
Common Spreadwing (L. disjunctus) -- one well seen; a few other
Lestes sp. were not identified to species
Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) -- a few
Striped Meadowhawk (S. pallipes) -- one pair in wheel
Not an impressive list, nor an impressive number of individuals, perhaps
because I didn't fight through the thick border of cattails to the wet center of
the pond, which still held some water. The very wet, boot-sucking mud was a
deterrent. I was happy to find any spreadwings at all around the dry perimeter
of the cattails.
Interesting to me (and paralleling Chris Heaivilin's findings last year) was
the Spotted Spreadwing, well within its flight season but after seeing none of
this species all summer.
October 5, 2003
Sonoma County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
Cotati - Lichau Rd. where it crosses Copeland Creek (just to the north of the
roadway in the dry grass/thistle filled field):
Great Spreadwing, Archilestes grandis -- at least 4 males and 6
females; both sexes photographed
Common Green Darner, Anax junius -- at least two, one being a
male colored female, and the other a very teneral male; both photographed
Cardinal Meadowhawk, Sympetrum illotum -- one male (first time we
ever saw one at this site, usually we see Striped or Variegated Meadowhawks!)
Some of the male spreadwings' eyes were still brown, others were a bit blue and
at least one male had the characteristic beautiful bright blue eyes. I assume
the eye color is a function of maturity. All the males had the most gorgeous
metallic emerald green abdomens with the rings between the segments being
golden. Some even showed a little green crescent topping the long straight
thoracic side stripe. They were the loveliest marked of this species that we've
ever seen and I hope Dave's photos turn out well!
None of the males and females were interacting with each other. This is the 5th
year we've seen them at this site, and they never are ovipositing when we see
them. Then we saw one female that appeared esp. 'swollen' at the abdomen tip,
and as I noticed this and Dave commented, "Gee, she sure looks
clubbed!" she bent her abdomen and apparently oviposited into a willow bud
- but this tree was quite a way from the creek edge and I don't think this egg
stands a chance. We assume she needed to unload that egg!
This site has both willow and alders lining the creek which is still flowing at
this area, although it is dry just a mile or less down stream. If anyone nearby
in the Bay Area would like to see this species, I'd be glad to lead them there!
Also seen in our backyard in Sebastopol:
Shadow Darner, Aeshna umbrosa -- one male posed nicely for
photographs in the Rose mallow after checking out the pond for any lurking
females
Common Green Darner, Anax junius -- one or more females came in
to oviposit into the stems of the Creeping Water Primrose (Ludwigia)
Variegated Meadowhawk, Sympetrum corruptum -- one or more pairs
tandem ovipositing. (we haven't seen any Cardinal Meadowhawks on the pond for a
few days now)
Pacific Forktail, Ischnura cervula -- a few males still on the
pond
-------
Sacramento County
Steve Abbott
At Reichmuth Park in Sacramento County :
Striped Meadowhawk - one mature female
Also present in the wooded "pond" at the park were 4 Pacific
Forktails.
October 3, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
Happy Camp River Park pond (riverfront in Happy Camp). Time was around 1530 to
1630. Weather was partly cloudy, winds calm, temps in low 80's. The western end
of the pond has completely dried up in the last ten days. A firm mudflat with
thousands of animal tracks remains. I saw:
California Spreadwing - 4 males perched on willow and blackberry. Also 2
pairs in tandem.
Emerald/Black Spreadwing?? - 1 female (netted for id). No spots,
ovipositor longer than segment 7. Low elevation (1,000') Very difficult to id!!
Paddle-tailed Darner - 1 male (netted for id). Sadly, I broke his neck
while netting. Almost severed his head. This is the first Aeshna that I have
been able to net. Guess I have a great specimen now.
Aeshna sp. - 3 males patrolling mudflats. Looked like the fellow
I netted (paddle-tailed darner).
Striped Meadowhawk - ~25 males perched on ground. 2 pairs in tandem. 1
pair ovipositing on grass next to dirt track. (netted a bunch for id).
October 2, 2003
Sonoma County
Rod Miller
Rod saw a Red Rock Skimmer along Geysers Rd. out of Healdsburg today.
October 1, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Enallagma civile - 2 males, 1 female, she was hanging on a wild
grape vine over the water, feeding off some small water striders as they jumped
out of the water a few inches.
September
Sept 30, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Pachydiplax longipennis - 1 male
-------
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
China Point River Access (6 miles east of Happy Camp). Time was around 1530. It
was clear, calm with temps in mid 80's. I saw:
Vivid Dancer - 4 males and 1 tandem pair
Aeshna sp. -1 male patrolling river's edge
Sept 29, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Enallagma civile - 1 male
Sept 28, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Pachydiplax longipennis- 1 male
September 27, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard & Craig Reiser
Borrego Palm Canyon, Anza Borrego State Park, San Diego County.
We headed for Borrego Palm Canyon. The creek is full of running water as it
rained heavily during the summer, and the fires up in the Mountains have left
no ground cover. We immediately started to see Red Rock Skimmers, and
the occasional Variegated Meadowhawks, when we both suddenly saw a
strange looking Darner patrolling high above us and the creek. It was
eventually joined by two (2) others. Its description [fits] Paddle-tailed
Darners (Aeshna palmata ..... We asked for Permission to net one of
these bugs, but Park Staff refused us. I could not take a picture, as they
would not land from the patrols of the creekbed.
Here's our list for today from the State Park.
Spreadwing (sp?)
California Dancer*
Familiar Bluets
Rambur's Forktail (3rd County record)
Common Green Darners
Darners (3) possibly Paddle-tailed which would be county records
White-belted Ringtail
Variegated Meadowhawks
Blue Dasher
Flame Skimmers
Neon Skimmer
Red Rock Skimmers
Black Saddlebags
Red Saddlebags*
Wandering Glider
-------
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
Today I took a short (1.2 miles by foot) but fruitful trip to Crumbaugh Lake in
Lassen Park (elevation 7204 ft MSL; zone 10, 628195E, 4478290N, datum NAD 27).
The lake has excellent ode habitat (lots of emergent vegetation). The variety
of odes still there surprised me. @ = photo taken
Common Spreadwing - common
Northern/Boreal Bluet - 1 pair in wheel
Variable Darner - 1 pair in wheel (Aeshna darners were common)
Shadow Darner - 1 landed on weed (Aeshna darners were common)
American Emerald - 1, saw about 5 more emeralds
Hudsonian Whiteface - 2 males
Black Meadowhawk - 1 male
White-faced Meadowhawk @ (possible) - 1, took photo; still haven't
figured this one out for sure
Western Meadowhawk - 1 female
Chalk-fronted Corporal - 1 (not positive on this one, since it was but a
quick look before it flew off; but I think that's what it was)
-------
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
Chambers Flat River Access (2 mi west of Happy Camp). Time was around 1645 hrs.
It was sunny, calm and hot (low 90's). I saw:
California Spreadwing - I pair in wheel. Female grasped his 5th &
6th segments with her legs to form a "supported heart". Watched them
oviposit on willow and also attempt to oviposit on blackberry.
Sept 26, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Pachydiplax longipennis- 3 males, 1 pair in tandem
Sept 24, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Pachydiplax longipennis- 2 pairs in tandem, male in lead; 3 males
September 22, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
Here are some observations from two stops along the Klamath river about 17 and
18 miles west of Happy Camp.
First stop is Wyman Gulch, a roadside rest with a waterfall, pool, and
channelized outlet creek to the culvert under the highway. Time was about 1600
hrs. Weather was clear, hot, high 80's with calm winds. I saw:
Blue-eyed Darner - 1 male patrolling
Pacific Spiketail - 1 male patrolling
Second stop was Coon Creek River Access about 18 miles west of Happy Camp. Time
was 1610 hrs. Weather was same as above. Some breeze was starting to pick up
along the river. I saw:
California Spreadwing - 1 male (netted for id)
Lestes sp. - 3 males in grass and willows (unable to net for id)
Bluet sp. - ~ 15 males; 1 pair ovipositing
Pacific Forktail - 1 pair in tandem (netted for id and released)
Aeshna sp. - 1 male patrolling
Western Pondhawk - 4 males; 1 female ovipositing. A bullfrog jumped out
of the water in an attempt to catch this female. It missed.
Widow Skimmer - 3 males patrolling
skimmer exuvia - One very large and quite fresh attached to tall grass.
My guess is Widow Skimmer or possible Flame Skimmer as these are the last
skimmer species seen flying in the area. I collected it.
Third stop was back at Wyman Gulch. Time was 1730 hrs. Still sunny over outlet
creek but shady over falls and pool. I saw:
Spreadwing sp. - 1 female (netted for id - a Black/Emerald type)
Vivid Dancer - 2 males
Blue-eyed Darner - 1 male patrolling
Pacific Spiketail - 1 male (netted for id) Stunning eyes!
September 21, 2003
Colusa County
Greg Kareofelas
"Goat Mountain" area, Mill Creek Drainage - UTM 10 524986E 4351427N
Aeshna palmata and Aeshna umbrosa (Paddle- tailed and Shadow Darners)
September 20, 2003
Shasta County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
We stopped at Fall River Lake, a dammed portion of the Fall River, near the
town of the same name. There we saw:
Spotted Spreadwing - 3-4 (in hand ID)
Western Forktail* - - many
Pacific Forktail- - many
Tule Bluet- - some
Common Green Darner- - 2
Blue-eyed Darner- - 3-4
Darner sp. - - (most likely Shadow Darners, but none netted) - 4-5
Western Pondhawk- - 1 female (or immature male) seen flitting across the
narrow lake
Black Saddlebags- - 2-3
Striped Meadowhawk - - one red female seen and photographed
'bird-of-the-day' was a Virginia Rail seen well
--------
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard
It is seemly strange Odes can just disappear from a site when the calendar
dates change. During the mid summer months, Doane Pond is covered with at least
12 species of Odes, where as on Saturday, I was happy or lucky to see only a
few. The weather conditions were perfect. Sunny, slight breeze in the 80's.
Common Green Darner, 1
Cardinal Meadowhawk, 3
Darner sp, 3
Flame Skimmer, 1
Pacific Forktails, 4
Familiar Bluets, 6
California Spreadwing, 1
--------
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
Today, 9/20/03 I stayed home. I noticed some ode activity on my lawn. This was
taking place around a pine tree in the yard. It was about 1550 hrs, sunny, mid
80's, and calm winds. I noticed this same activity last season and never got
around to reporting it. Here is what I saw:
California Spreadwing - - pair in tandem landed on small madrone tree.
Spotted Spreadwing - - 1 male perched on pine needles (netted for id)
Striped Meadowhawk - - 1 pair ovipositing in the grass. A pair
oviposited in this same spot last season. Female was dabbing abdomen into the
grass. Guess they were ovipositing? 2- males in general area, one netted for
id.
While posting this report I had three "legal" forked horn bucks
wander past the door. Today is opening day of rifle deer season around here.
These guys were hiding out, just like me!
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Libellula saturata - 3 males
Pachydiplax longipennis -1 male
Ischnura perparva (netted) - 1 male, forked paraprocts from side
Mosaic Darner
-------
Imperial County
Bob Miller
A female Marl Pennant* [last time seen in 03]was on the West shore of
the Salton Sea a few miles South of Salton City. Literally on the shore, a few
feet from the waters edge! The first and only Marl Pennants I had ever
Identified or seen till that date were seen near this spot about two years ago!
I have seen them in Arizona with Henry shortly after this one though. The spot
is hard to get to and probably should require 4x4 but I have always expected to
find them in similar locations around the sea.
September 19, 2003
Siskiyou County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
We stopped by at Larry Wehmeyer Environmental Educational Area out of Mt.
Shasta City where we had stopped just two weeks ago when Bob Behrstock was with
us. At that time we had hoped to find Archilestes californicum out, but
didn't. This time we did see 3-4 in the willows alongside the Northshore Rd.
(to Lake Siskiyou) and I collected one male to upgrade the county record from a
sighting only to a specimen. It's interesting now to note that Dave Payne also
started seeing this species at about just about the same day on the Klamath
River! Seen at the Environmental Area:
Western Forktail - - 1 male found in net when I went to clean the
debrisout of it!
Shadow Darner- - 6 males (in-hand ID)
Meadowhawk sp. - - 1 red colored one seen at a distance
CA Spreadwing Archilestes californicum
- 1-3 males and 1-2 females seen, one male collected
Then we drove the 8 miles up to Castle Lake. This is a deep natural lake, on
the north side of Castle Crags, with the end of the lake nearest the crags
having huge boulders with a small darlingtonia seep. We've always hoped
to find Petaltails there, but haven't yet (this was a bit too late in the
season also!). The lake and our paddle there was absolutely gorgeous and
serene, but only 3 species of Odonata were seen:
Shadow Darner - abundant, one every 50 ft. or so patrolling the
shoreline. A few caught for in-hand IDs. Only 2-3 pairs in wheel seen... one
female seen was hiding out in the middle of the lake!
Blue-eyed Darner - 2-3 males seen, also patrolling the shoreline and
interacting with the Shadow Darners.
Bluet sp. - Northern/Boreal type (too difficult to net from a kayak)
However, the 'bird-of-the-day' was finding a River Otter watching us! I was
surprised to find one in the LAKE (no river nearby at all!). Besides our spying
on each other, we also noted 2 places where it had climbed out on a small rock
jutting out of the lake to eat a fish. There was also an 'aggregation' of ~ 12+
Lewis's Woodpeckers, acting ever so much like crows, except they were quiet!
But note how few species we saw there compared to what Dave Payne was seeing
along the Klamath!
---
Dave Payne
I stayed overnight in Medford and returned to Happy Camp on 9/19/03. Back in
Siskiyou County I stopped at several places on the way down the Klamath River.
First stop was once again Cayuse River Access. It was 1445 hrs. The weather was
sunny, temps in mid 80's, and the wind was calm. I saw a wood duck, and 2
western pond turtles in the pond. I also saw a few odes. I saw:
California Spreadwing- - 1 male (netted for id)
Vivid Dancer- - 1 male
Western Forktail- - 1 male perched; 1 female perched
Aeshna sp. - - 1 male patrolling
Western Pondhawk - - 1 female ovipositing
Flame Skimmer- - 5 males patrolling
San Francisco County
Paul Saraceni
A few months ago I speculated (I think while talking with Eric) that the
San Francisco Zoo might be a good
place to look for odes. Today we were there on a family outing
and, while I didn't much unencumbered time to look, there were a couple of spots that were loaded with activity: the lake/marsh with pelicans near the wallaby pen on the north side; and the pond with the Bald Eagles on the island. Species observed included: >
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 3 m.
Com. Green Darner 5+
Blue-eyed Darner 10+
Variegated Meadowhawk 10+ (incl. tandem pair at Bald Eagle pond)
Cardinal Meadowhawk 2
Flame Skimmer 1
BLUE DASHER 2 m. (Bald Eagle pond)
Black Saddlebags 5+ (incl. tandem pair at Bald Eagle pond)
In the past couple of weeks, I've observed numerous Com. Green Darners,
Blue-eyed Darners, Variegated Meadowhawks, and Black Saddlebags all over
the City, often well away from water. I observed a Wandering Glider
perched at Ft. Miley on 9/5 and another at Mt. Davidson on 9/18. The female Tule/Arroyo-type
Bluet that Eric and I observed on 9/11 in the understory of the eucalyptus
forest at Mt. Davidson was quite surprising.
-------
Riverside County
Sam Stewart
I photographed a roseatte skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea) in the
City of La Quinta in the Coachella valley.
-------
Sept 19, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Libellula saturata - 3 males
Pachydiplax longipennis - 3 males
Mosaic Darner
September 18, 2003
Colusa County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
We stopped by Bear Creek in Colusa Co. where Hwy 20 crosses it, just look
enough to look out over the water from the dirt road. We were there from only
about 5:45 - 6:00 pm. Our report.
No Giant Darners at all (also none seen yesterday when we stopped by at 4:00 pm
for only 5 mins)
No Flame Skimmers at all (also none seen yesterday when we stopped by at 4:00
pm for only 5 mins) (both Giant Darners and Flame Skimmers were abundant there
June - August)
Common Green Darners-- ~50 (these were scarce while the Giants were
flying).
Black Saddlebags --3 - 4
Variegated Meadowhawk-- ~25
Am. Rubyspot-- 12+
Dancer sp. --1 (not a Vivid, and probably an Emma's or CA/Aztec)
-------
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I traveled to Medford, Oregon on 9/18/03. I did some stops along the way. First
stop was at Cayuse River Access along the Klamath River. It was at 1045 am.
Weather was clear, temps in mid 60's, and winds calm. Not much ode activity.
Did see a wood duck and kingfisher. It seems winds have blown most floating veg
to the shady end of the pond. I saw:
Vivid Dancer- - 2 males
-------
Alameda County
Anthony Fisher
Lake Aliso, Mills College, Oakland, Alameda Co.
Lestes disjunctus ---lots
Archilestes californica -----several
Enallagma praevarum* ----many
Ischnura cervula ----many
Argia vivida -----many
Sympetrum illotum -------~5
Sympetrum pallipes (Striped Meadowhawk) ---------------- ~10
S. corruptum --------------~3
Libellula saturata ---------~5
Anax junius -----------------2
Aeshna multicolor ---------3
A. palmata -------------------- male + teneral female
A. unknown -------------------a dark, drab male that doesn't seem
to have ventral blue spots.
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Libellula saturata - 4 males
Pachydiplax longipennis - 5 males
Mosaic Darner, could see the pattern
September 17, 2003
San Diego County
Richard Bledsoe
Mast Park, Santee
common green darner
black saddlebags
pacific forktail
blue dasher
mexican amberwings
western pond hawk
flame skimmer
blue-eyed darner
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Libellula saturata - 3 males
Pachydiplax longipennis - 4 males
September 15-22, 2003
Santa Barbara County
Nick Lethaby
... I was out on Santa Barbara Island this week, which is 41 miles off shore
with no water. There were quite a few Wandering Gliders and at least a
couple of Black Saddlebags.
September 16, 2003
San Diego County
Richard Bledsoe
Mission Dam, Santee
blue-eyed darner
flame skimmer
pacific forktail
black saddlebags
familiar bluet
black-fronted forktail
blue dasher
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Pachydiplax longipennis- 5 males
Libellula saturata - 2 males
Darner - possible blue eyed
Damselfly on the back of a basking Western Pond Turtle
September 15, 2003
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard
... San Diego River at the Mission Gorge Regional Park. Today, the water was
not flowing and dried up. Here's what I did see!
Common Green Darners, Blue-eyed Darners, Flame Skimmer, Cardinal Meadowhawk,
Blue Dashers, a Black Saddlebag & Pacific Forktails.
At Lindo Lake in Lakeside, I had Variegated Meadowhawks, Common Green
Darners, Blue-eyed Darners, and a Blue Dasher.
At Greenwood Cemetery, there was LOTS of Black Saddlebags, Common Green
Darner, Blue Dashers, a Red Saddlebag, and Pacific Forktails.
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Enallagma civile (netted) - 1 male, examined cerci. It had the
white at tip of fanshaped cerci. It was larger and had more blue all over so we
ID'd it as Familiar and not Tule but according to Tim there are hybrids between
Familiar and Tule Bluets!
Pachydiplax longipennis (netted) - 5 males - large ones, it had
white face. We are seeing large and small sized Dashers.
September 13, 2003
Tehama County
Bruce Deuel
#... Black Butte Reservoir, Tehama Co., about 0900 with a strong north wind.
Every ridge top in the Buckhorn Recreation Area portion of this reservoir had
"flocks" of Black Saddlebags, just hanging in the wind. I see
lots of saddlebags in many places at this time of the year, but this is the
first time I've seen them actually massed together like Anax. Driving to
the lake via Black Butte Road, in dry grassland, I passed through hundreds of Variegated
Meadowhawks. As I passed a walnut orchard I also noticed several Pale-faced
Clubskimmers in the mix.
-------
Santa Cruz/San Mateo Counties
Alvaro Jaramillo
# This last Saturday I was out on a pelagic trip off Santa Cruz. Unusual was the
weather as it was clear and cloudless from sunrise, and there had been a slight
east breeze the last day or so keeping the fog bank offshore. Variegated
Meadowhawks (Sympetrum corruptum) had gotten caught up in this east
breeze during their southbound migration and were out over the ocean! I saw
perhaps 30 individuals, each flying directly towards the shore. The farthest
one out was at nearly 7 nautical miles from shore (I have a GPS). During at
least two of the real migration 'swarm' days I have seen in San Mateo county I
saw Variegated Meadowhawks flying in off the ocean in the early morning.
Again these were days with east winds. This is not all that unusual, but what
is unusual to me is that it suggests that the Meadowhawks may be flying south
at night! How else can you get 7 miles out only an hour or two after sunrise,
or have masses coming off the ocean in the early morning?
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Libellula saturata- 4 males
Pachydiplax longipennis- 5 males
Aeshna multicolor- 1 female
-------
Alameda County
Anthony Fisher
# I had the pleasure of experiencing a migratory swarm of more than 300 Anax
junius today at Crown Beach, Alameda, Alameda Co. After the swarm had
dispersed, I walked to the park pond and found that many darners had settled on
the shady side of a clump of willows. Several Wandering Gliders (Pantala
flavescens) were roosting here also (mixed flock?). Also present at the
pond today were ~15 Variegated Meadowhawks (Sympetrum corruptum) and
many Enallagma civile and E. carunculatum.
I collected Pantala flavescens (Wandering Glider) to upgrade the Ala Co
record. Also, I've been examining a pond in Oakland with Sympetrum pallipes (Striped Meadowhawk) and
a paddle-tailed type darner I think was A. umbrosa. I'll try for
specimens.
September 10, 2003
San Diego County
Richard Bledsoe
Green Valley Falls
walker's darner
blue-eyed darner
cardinal meadowhawk
vivid dancer
northern bluet*
california spreadwing
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Pachydiplax longipennis- 5 males; a pair in tandem
September 9, 2003
San Diego County
Richard Bledsoe
Kit Carson Park
arroyo bluet
tule bluet
familiar bluet
mexican amberwing
blue dasher
flame skimmer
common green darner
desert firetail*
black-fronted forktail
black saddlebags
pacific forktail
Oak Hill Cemetary
familiar bluet
tule bluet
black fronted forktail
black saddlebags
flame skimmer
red-tailed pennant
common green darner
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Libellula saturata- 1 female - I happened to be lying in the
grass watching a young beaver and this Skimmer flew in and began laying eggs
within 5 ft of me in the water. Her body was at a 90 degree angle to wings, the
tip was curled in a hook toward her head. She dipped the "hook" into
the water pulling forward dozens of times; 3 males
September 8, 2003
Sonoma County
Mary Abbott & Kathy Biggs
At Mary's backyard pond, ~2 miles up Bloomfield Rd in Sebastopol
# Common Green Darner - 6 emerged from her pond overnite. The two who
were still remaining were both females. Perhaps these are the migrant
population? Her pond is just under 2 yrs old.
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Pachydiplax longipennis- 5 males
Libellulla saturata- 3 males
September 7, 2003
San Diego County
Richard Bledsoe
Tijuana River Valley
common green darner
blue-eyed darner
black saddlebags
cardinal meadowhawk
blue dasher
varigated meadowhawk
pacific forktail
western forktail
September 6/7, 2003
Sierra County
Doug Vaughan & Doris Kretschmer
My wife and I returned yesterday from two nights' camping in Lakes Basin, in
southern Plumas County. Despite unsettled and mostly ode-unfriendly weather, we
compiled a short list for adjacent Sierra County that included three apparent
first county records, one an exciting surprise.
Sierra remains an underrepresented county, with (by my count) at least a dozen
"missing" species -- species reported for both Plumas County to the
north and Nevada County to the south.
What we saw:
Common Spreadwing (Lestes disjunctus) -- locally abundant at the
higher-elevation sites
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida)
Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Western Forktail (Ischnura perparva) -- one female
Common Green Darner (Anax junius) -- abundant along the N. Yuba
River, at lower elevations
Variable Darner (Aeshna interrupta) -- two examined in hand
Blue-eyed Darner (A. multicolor) -- none captured, but several
mosaic darners appeared to be this species
Shadow Darner (A. umbrosa) --
one male collected near Sand Pond (elevation about 5700'); first record for
Sierra County
White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum) -- locally abundant
Western Meadowhawk (S. occidentale) -- a few
Striped Meadowhawk (S. pallipes) -- one or two
*Yellow-legged Meadowhawk (S. vicinum)
-- unexpected! One male and one female collected among three males
and two females seen near Sand Pond. None appeared to be fully mature, though
their wings seemed dry and hard. A first record for Sierra County, and
sufficiently surprising that I checked each specimen carefully against
illustrations of genitalia in Needham et al.
Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata)
-- one at Goodyear's Creek (elevation about 2500'). This also looks
to be a first record for the county, albeit only a sight record; credit for
first spotting and identifying the bug goes to my wife, Doris Kretschmer.
September 6, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
At Ferry Point [Klamath River Highway] around 1315 hrs it was sunny, the low
90's and very breezy.I saw the following:
Vivid Dancer
Bluet sp.
Widow skimmer - 2 males skirmishing
Flame skimmer - 1 male
At Wyman Gulch, (a roadside picnic table w/waterfall) I saw the following:
Vivid Dancer
Blue-eyed darner - 1 male
Western River Cruiser - 2 males patrolling
At Swillup Creek there is a short dirt road adjacent to the creek. In the dry
meadow along this road I netted a female Flame Skimmer.
At the Elliott Creek River Access (unsigned), I observed a male
variegated meadowhawk perched in dry grass at the confluence of Elliott
Creek and the Klamath River.
At the Coon Creek River Access at 1550 hrs it was very windy, sunny and hot
(mid 90's). There were whitecaps on the river! I did see some odes.
Vivid Dancer
Bluet sp.
Common Green Darner - 1 female
Widow Skimmer - 2 males
Flame Skimmer - 1 male
September 5, 2003
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard
I visited the County of San Diego Parks & Rec Bird & Butterfly Garden
in the Tijuana River Valley off of Hollister Rd, and saw the following
Black-fronted & Pacific Forktails
Common Green Darners
Blue-eyed Darners
I then went to the intersection of Saturn Blvd and Sunset Rd (also in the
Valley), where I knew there to be a small fresh-water pond. I have never seen
so many copulating Common Green Darners. It was literally an orgy going
on with up to ten pairs mating. Sometimes, three pairs to a single reed. There
was also 3 Blue-eyed Darners, 1 Variegated Meadowhawk, several Pacific
Forktails, many Blue-ringed Dancers, and a pair of Familiar Bluets.
September 3, 2003
Los Angeles County
Joe Morton & Mitch Heindel
Joe and I went looking in the 20 knot winds today but couldn't refind .... and
we examined in the hand a Tule Bluet, and saw several others that looked
like them. More interesting was a netted and hand examined Familiar Bluet,
another new Ode for the park list.
September 2, 2003
Shasta County
Bruce Deuel
I got a chance to look for some odes in Lassen Park yesterday and saw a lot of
what Ray did just north of the park in Thousand Lakes Wilderness. Naturally, I
couldn't use my net, but things went pretty well anyway.
Kings Creek Meadow:
Common Green Darner 8-10
Variable Darner 1 male,. This fellow was floating in Kings Creek. My son
fished him out and I was able to examine all the field marks on this, my life
A. interrupta.
Summit Lake:
Common Spreadwing 3-4
Northern/Boreal Bluet several
Aeshna, 3 - 1 of which I saw enough field marks on to call a
Shadow Darner.
Reflection Lake:
Common Spreadwing common
Bluet sp about twice as common as at Summit L.
Aeshnas , 5-6; 2 of which hovered so still I was able to confirm
they were Paddle-tailed Darners.
Saffron-winged Meadowhawk 1 male
-------
Alameda County
Anthony Fisher
I had a single Libellula pulchella 12-spotted Skimmer on the Mills College
campus
September 1, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
A friend and I hiked to Eiler Lake from the Tamarack trailhead early this
morning. We both spent time at Eiler Lake; he fished and I chased odes. After a
bit, I left him at Eiler and went around trying to visit as many of the
surrounding lakes as time allowed (there are at least 50 named and unnamed
lakes in the Thousand Lakes Valley). Thankfully, there were no mosquitoes. I'd
heard it was pretty bad earlier in the summer.
Darners were all over the place. In all, I caught 27 Aeshna darners and
IDed them. The break-down was as follows:
Paddle-tailed Darner - 16
Variable Darner - 6
Shadow Darner - 5
At least two of the lakes (one of them about an acre in size), had all three
darners present. Eiler Lake had mostly Paddle-tailed and no Variable Darners.
There were three species of meadowhawk:
White-faced Meadowhawk - common
Striped Meadowhawk - 2+
Western Meadowhawk - several tenerals
I just missed netting an emerald of unknown type.
There were also three species of damselfly:
Common Spreadwing - very common
Northern/Boreal Bluet - >20
Western Forktail – <15 >
August 31, 2003
Alameda County
Anthony Fisher
Crown Beach: Walked to the pond on my lunch break:
Tramea lacerata (Black Saddlebags) 4 - one male collected
as county voucher
Spot-winged Glider 3
Wandering Glider 1
Variegated Meadowhawk 2
Blue-eyed Darner 1
Common Green Darner 2
It was warm enough, but a bit windy. The Gliders and Saddlebags were foraging
along the busy pathway, using a wall of fennel as a windbreak. I think that the
little insects that were the Dragon's prey, were being blown from the fennel to
their doom. Standing beside the path as bicycles and joggers moved by, the
Dragons glided languidly past my nose and just above my head.
At the pond, I startled a male Variegated Meadowhawk which moved to a perch
about 5 feet off the ground. This individual allowed me to approach and take
about 15 pictures, some from a couple of inches away. He was so cooperative I
decided to give him a kiss, but he flew away.
-------
Siskiyou County
Bob Behrstock, Kathy & Dave Biggs
12:30-15:00 hrs, Gumboot Lake, west of I-5. Approx. 9 miles east of Lake
Siskiyou on Forest Rd. #26 - 6462' elev, 41o 12.740' N, 122o 30.561' W (GPS
device).
Lestes congener 1 male
Lestes disjunctus probably 1,000+
Enallagma boreale* 4
Enallagma sp. (poss. all boreale) 100+
Ischnura cervula 1 male
Ischnura perparva 7
Aeshna multicolor 1
Aeshna umbrosa 10
Somatochlora albicincta (Ringed Emerald) 1 (late record); one
male collected
Libellula pulchella (Twelve-spotted Skimmer) 1
Libellula quadrimaculata (Four-spotted Skimmer) 1 teneral female
Sympetrum costiferum 200+ (about 75% tenerals)
15:50-16:30 hrs, Larry Wehmeyer Environmental Educational Area, cattail-lined
pond and small creek, North Shore Rd, edge of town of Mount Shasta.
Lestes sp. 1
Argia vivida (Vivid Dancer) 10+ at creek edge
Enallagma carunculatum/praevarum (Tule/Arroyo Bluet) 1 male
Ischnura cervula a few
Ischnura perparva a few
Aeshna sp. 1
Libellula pulchella 1-2 males
Sympetrum corruptum (Variegated Meadowhawk)1 male
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Anax junius 1 male (netted). We chased him off and on for a
couple of hours when he decided to let us catch him.
August 30, 2003
Imperial County
Douglas Aguillard & sons
It was around 105 F in the Imperial Valley, ... I started off at Hot Springs,
southeast of Holtville. I had Common Green Darner, Western Pondhawks, Blue
Dasher, Glider (sp?), White-belted Ringtail, Mexican Amberwing, Powdered
Dancers, and Desert Forktails.
Then it was off to the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge Hdqts. with a
surprise: Gray Sanddragon, *Marl Pennant Macrodiplax balteata (male),
Red Saddlebags, Wandering Glider, Spot-winged Gliders, Blue-eyed Darners, Blue
Dashers, Western Pondhawks, Roseate Skimmers, & Comanche Skimmer.
Then down the road to (what I'm calling Bob's Place). This is the east end of
Sinclair Road, where it meets the East Main Canal. Lots of White- belted
Ringtails, Spot-winged Gliders, Wandering Gliders, Blue-eyed Darner, Red
Saddlebags, Blue Dasher, Powdered & Blue-ringed Dancers.
North to the Wister Unit of the NWR, where they have found West Nile Virus, so
use lots of Deet. Roseate Skimmers, Red and Black Saddlebags, Western
Pondhawks, Blue Dasher, Rambur's Forktail.
Finished off Imperial County by going to the Dos Palmas Reserve only to find
the gate for the road locked, so we trudged to the San Andres Oasis, and found Marl
Pennants (females), Spot-winged Gliders, Red Saddlebags, and Powdered Dancers.
---
San Diego County
Stop at the Roadrunner Club in Borrego Springs. I saw Flame & Roseate
Skimmers, Common Green Darner, Western Pondhawk, and Red Saddlebag.
The it was over to the Borrego Palm Canyon part of the Anza Borrego State Park.
They are trying to recover from huge flash floods, which wiped out the canyon,
but left the Pupfish ponds alone. I had Flame Skimmers, California Dancers,
Familiar Bluets, Western Pondhawk, and Red Saddlebag.
Near Warner Springs, I had a Variegated Meadowhawk, so with that it made
for a great day and 21 species. 1 lifer for me and 1 extra county ode for
Imperial for me.
-------
Siskiyou County
Bob Behrstock, Kathy & Dave Biggs
14:15 hrs, Pumice Stone Well, Harris Springs Road, 6370' elev. Previously large
pond, now only core area with water. Many frogs, salamander larvae, and
tadpoles.
Lestes congener 1
Enallagma sp. males and females 2-4
Aeshna interrupta (Variable Darner) 5; male and female collected
Anax junius 1
Sympetrum pallipes 5
14:35-16:20 hrs, Little Medicine Lake
Lestes congener Common at lake edge
Enallagma boreale (Boreal Bluet) Common at lake edge
Ischnura cervula (Pacific Forktail) A few at lake edge
Ischnura perparva A few at lake edge
Aeshna sp Common; probably umbrosa
16:15-16:35 hrs, Medicine Lake, boat ramp vicinity, lake level down and little
activity.
Enallagma sp. 5
Aeshna sp. 5
16:45-17:05 hrs, Forest service Rd. 43N17, Blanche Lake, open, grassy lake edge
Lestes dryas*(Emerald Spreadwing*) 1 male; 3rd county sighting, 2nd
at this lake; collected
Enallagma sp. a few noted
Ischnura perparva noted
Aeshna interrupta a few
Teneral small skimmer sp. 1 (Sympetrum or Leucorrhinia)
17:10-17:40, Bullseye Lake (near above site).
Enallagma sp. 3
Aeshna umbrosa In- hand ID
-------
Los Angeles County
Jess Morton
Jess Morton got excellent photos of a pair of Arroyo Bluets from the
KMHRP, ...now we can confirm it from there.
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Aeshna multicolor possible: we watched her oviposit on a rotting
log in the creek for nearly a half hour. When she flew up we could see an egg
falling from her body.
Pachidiplax longipennis - 7 males; 1 female (netted) She was
flying over the lawn away from the creek.
August 29, 2003
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard
I had the following including some new sightings for the Santa Margarita River
area near Fallbrook. This is the one place in the County, that I'm frantically
searching for Sooty Dancer and Serpent Ringtail, but just can't seem to find
any.
Common Green Darner
Flame Skimmer
Red Rock Skimmer
Cardinal Meadowhawk (new)
Western Pondhawk (new)
Blue Dasher
Pale-faced Clubskimmer
White-belted Ringtail
American Rubyspot (LOTS!!)
Vivid Dancer
Familiar Bluet
Aztec Dancer* (new)
-------
Siskiyou County
Bob Behrstock, Kathy & Dave Biggs
09:30-12:00 hrs. Forest Service Rd. 44N30X to Orr Lake (unposted), c. 1.5 mi.
NW of Bray, c. 4,500' elev. About 8.0 mi. due east of Hwy. 97. Juniper and sagebrush
(or similar) with dried temporary ponds or sloughs filled with tall grasses.
Leppers note: Great Basin Woodnymph and (apparently) Northern Blue were both
common (and photographed) at this site.
Lestes congener(Spotted Spreadwing) Common in tall grasses; one
male collected
Ischnura perparva (Western Forktail) A dozen plus in tall grasses
Anax juniusA few around dried pools; one female collected
Sympetrum costiferum (Saffron-winged Meadowhawk) Several in
grasses and brush; male and female collected
Sympetrum danae (Black Meadowhawk) Common in grassy dried
temporary wetland depressions; male and female collected
Sympetrum internum (Cherry-faced Meadowhawk) One female
collected as a first county record, and a lifer for Kathy
Sympetrum occidentale (Western Meadowhawk) Many males and females
in sagebrush; male and female collected
Sympetrum pallipes(Striped Meadowhawk) A few, mostly females
<12:_x0033_0-14_x003a_45 hrs_x002c_ Orr Lake margin _x0028_approx. _x0031_.0 mi. NW of last stop on same road_x0029_ All of the above species _x0028_except Cherry-faced_x0029_ plus:>
Lestes disjunctus (Common Spreadwing) Just 1 or 2 among the congener;
one male collected
Aeshna multicolor (Blue-eyed Darner)Several patrolling the lake
edge
Libellula forensis (Eight-spotted Skimmer)Fairly common at lake
edge
Sympetrum madidum (Red-veined Meadowhawk) One male seen
Sympetrum obtrusum (White-faced Meadowhawk)One male collected
15:00-15:30 hrs, just north of the bridge over Butte Creek, near Bray:
Aeshna palmata (Paddle-tailed Darner) Two examined in hand
16:00-16:10 hrs. Butte Creek, Old State Highway [that is actual name!] (aka
'road to Tennant'), beside Union Pacific RR tracts
Aeshna umbrosa (Shadow Darner) Two examined in hand; one male
collected
Aeshna palmata (Paddle-tailed Darner)Several, examined in hand;
one male collected August 29
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Enallagma sp. teneral; Sent the photo to Bob Behrstock and he
thought it might be a teneral.
August 28, 2003
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard
I stopped by a little creek, near Balboa Park (near downtown San Diego) at the
intersection of Upas and Florida Canyon, and had
Neon Skimmers (3 females & 3 males)
Vivid Dancers
-------
Siskiyou County
Bob Behrstock, Kathy Biggs
From 28-31 Aug., I investigated sites in Siskiyou Co. (extreme north- central
CA), in the good company of the Biggs. The weather was mostly hot (mid-90s) and
clear with sparse clouds and little wind. Some expected species (Ophiogomphus
morrisoni and various Leucorrhinia species) were not encountered,
while others were present in abundance, providing numerous photographic
opportunities. Kathy and Dave collected specimens to scan for the CA
Dragonflies website while I photographed. Her scans will be available shortly.
The list includes approximately 26 species, including most of the California Sympetrum.
15:50 hrs. Shasta River at Hudson Rd. 8 miles north of Yreka
Hetaerina americana (American Rubyspot) Five seen, mostly males
Argia agrioides (California Dancer) one male along river,
collected
Argia emma* (Emma's Dancer*) Common along river, many mating;
male & female collected
Argia vivida (Vivid Dancer) Common along river, many mating
Ischnura cervula (Pacific Forktail) One female collected
Ischnura perparva (Western Forktail) One female collected
Anax junius (Common Green Darner) 1-2 observed
Aeshna sp. 1-2 observed
August 27-31?, 2003
Yuba County
Ralph Cutter
The past few evenings while fishing on the Yuba River (UTM coordinates are:
641367E 4342135N) we have watched thousands of dragonflies feasting on (Baetis)
mayflies. Early in the mayfly hatch the dragonflies appear to eat the entire
insect but as the amount of food increases, the dragonflies resort to
"high grading" their meal by snipping off the head and thorax and
eating only the abdomen. The river becomes littered with mayfly torsos. We have
seen the same thing on the Little Truckee but attributed these amputee mayflies
to nighthawks. There were no nighthawks on the Yuba. - Ralph Cutter, California
School of Flyfishing
August 27, 2003
Santa Barbara County
Nick Lethaby
I checked Refugio creek, W. of Santa Barbara, at lunch time today. I wastesting
my new close focus binoculars and trying my luck with damsels. Whata relief
after 5 years of backing up to focus on butterflies and dragonflies. Anyway,
here's what I saw:
Vivid Dancer - 10+
Sooty Dancer* - 6 (this is common elsewhere in the county too)
Greater Spreadwing - 6
Pacific Spiketail - 1-2
Walker's Darner - 2-3 - seen in flight only so id based on habitat,
behavior, and apparent dark S1 (not blue like on Blue-eyed Darner).
August 24, 2003
Mendocino County
Ron LeValley & Charlene McAllister
Charlene McAllister and I searched along the Big River downstream of the
Woodlands (UTM NAD83 10S, 438712E, 4351829N) for Odes. Not many were active,
but we did see a few including some late (?) Exclamation Damsels. [I have asked
to see the photos - KB]
American Rubyspot - common
Emma's Dancer - common
Bluet sp. - 2-3 seen
Pacific Forktail - 1 seen, 1 picked from a spider web
Exclamation Damsel* - fairly common, at least 10 seen and 2 netted,
photographed and one saved
Paddle-tailed Darner - 3 Aeshna seen, one netted was this species,
probably all were.
-------
Tehama County
Bruce Deuel & son David
Wilson Lake (UTM 10 6331999.5 4466834.5)
Common Spreadwing - dozens, 1 female netted and kept
Western Forktail, very abundant
Aeshna sp. 3 non-multicolor type
Common Green Darner 200
Twelve-spotted Skimmer A dozen
Saffron-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum
costiferum) - 4-5, 2 males caught, 1 kept, 1st Tehama Co.
record and a lifer for me.
White-faced Meadowhawk (S. obtrusum)
- 60-100, several caught 1 kept, 1st Tehama Co.
Black Saddlebags 1
Only after I got home did I discover there are no records in the county for S.
obtrusum either, and there are no specimens for I. perparva! I just spent the
morning printing out the county list spreadsheet which I intend to keep with me
at all times in the future. You can see I don't have any luck catching Aeshnas,
either.
-------
Alameda County
Anthony Fisher
I have a sight -only record of Tramea
lacerata Black Saddlebags ...at
a small pond in Lower Washington Square Park/ Crown Beach in Alameda, Alameda
Co. the animal flew overhead showing it's distinctive ink-blot markings on the
hind wings. Other odes about were Anax junius, Aeshna multicolor,
Sympetrum corruptum and Argia spp.
August 23, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
... at Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego, and had hundreds of Blue Dashers, 1
Red Saddlebags, 1 Wandering Glider, 3 Black Saddlebags, 2 Common Green Darners
& Pacific Forktails. Then I headed to the Upper Otay Lake east of Chula
Vista. I had Black Saddlebags, Variegated Meadowhawk, Western,
Black-fronted, & Pacific Forktails. While over at my girlfriends house
later in the middle of downtown San Diego, I had a Red Saddlebags do a
flyby.
-------
Plumas County
Bruce Deuel & son David
[We] experienced the following: ... Round Valley Reservoir (UTM 10 674167.8
4441978.4) (It was still cool with dew on the grass, so not very odey)
Pacific Forktail 5-10
Striped Meadowhawk 2
Indian Creek at the mouth of Little Grizzly Creek (UTM 10 690401.5 4434552.3)
American Rubyspot 1
Boreal Bluet 4-5 (in hand)
Tule Bluet (in hand) 2
Western Forktail 3-4
non-multicolor Aeshna 1
Common Green Darner 12
Antelope Lake, NE Shore (UTM 10 707359 4450882.6) (This was a big, dry meadow)
Blue-eyed Darner 1 female (netted)
Common Green Darner 40-50
Black Saddlebags 1
Antelope Lake, North Shore (mouth of Lost Creek?) (UTM 704803.2 4452085.4)
Lestes sp. (probably Common) 1
bluets 2-3
non-multicolor Aeshna 2
Blue-eyed Darner 1
Eight-spotted Skimmer 1
Sympetrum sp. 1
# As we drove back to the county park in Taylorsville there were hundreds
of Common Green Darners over every meadow in Genesee Valley (probably saw 2000
total). There were even 10-20 in our campground in Taylorsville (1 netted to
show David), along with another non- multicolor Aeshna.
-------
Sonoma County
Mary Abbott
# This morning on Hood Mt., on a meadow near the entrance, she reported seeing
more Common Green Darners, Blue-eyed Darners, Black Saddlebags and possibly
Spot-winged Gliders than she could believe.
-------
Santa Clara County
Bob Behrstock, Leda Beth Gray & all
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society held its second Dragonfly ID class on
Saturday, taught by well-known nature photographer and dragonfly enthusiast Bob
Behrstock. The class was held at Palo Alto's Foothill Park (Santa Clara
County), normally open to Palo Alto residents only. A similar setting is only
10 or 15 minutes up Page Mill Rd from Foothill Park at the Russian Ridge Open
Space Preserve at Skyline Blvd-- Alpine Pond, which seems to have similar
habitat and species.
After a fascinating slide presentation we went on to the field portion of the
class, and we saw the following species--
Pacific Forktail
Blue Dasher
Arroyo Bluet
Common Green Darner
Blue-eyed Darner
Flame Skimmer
Widow Skimmer
Black Saddlebags
Eight-spotted Skimmer
Variegated Meadowhawk
Western Pondhawk
-------
Alameda County
Anthony Fisher
I saw another Pantala flavescens today but couldn't collect it.
August 22, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I drove to Yreka today. On the way back to Happy Camp I stopped at several
sites to test my netting skills with a new net a friend made for me.
Fist stop was Hudson Road along the Shasta River. Skies were overcast;
temps were down 20 degrees from yesterday to the mid 70's; it was windy and a
strom cell was moving by to the west. Here is what I saw and/or netted (n):
American Rubyspot - 6 males (n) and 1 female
Vivid Dancer - (n) numerous pairs, lots of males
Emma's Dancer - (n) numerous pairs; lots of ovipositing
Aeshna sp - (1) unidentified darner cruising over river channel
Eight-spot Skimmer - (n) perched male
Flame Skimmer - 3 males patrolling
I traveled west on Highway 96 along the Klamath River to the next stop at
Cayuse River Access. It was partly cloudy, mid 70's and breezy. I saw the
following:
Flame Skimmer - (n) I netted 1 male and observed 4 others.
Widow Skimmer - (n) I netted 1 male and observed 1 female.
Western Pondhawk - (n) I netted 1 female.
I continued west on Highway 96 to Gottville River Access. Weather was about the
same, showers were scattered about, but no rain at this site. There I saw:
Vivid Dancer - a few males
Emma's Dancer - a few pairs and 3 males
Eight-spot skimmer - 1 male patrolling along river
Green Darner - several males and 1 female patrolling over river
My last stop was at Blue Heron River Access, about two miles east of the
confluence with the Scott and Klamath Rivers. The wind was calm; it had rained
earlier (hiway still had puddles); skies were clearing; temp was in 70's; and
the time was 1745 hrs. Here is what I observed:
Emma's Dancer - several males
# Green Darner - A swarm of 100's of darners had formed over the river.
They were all Green Darners from what I could see. Some were quite high in the
air. I saw a car hit one specimen. I stopped and collected it, it was a male in
great shape. This section of river had calm winds, two miles to the west at the
Scott River the wind was howling.
Variegated Meadowhawk - I netted one male.
# Today was the first darner swarm I have seen this year.
August 21, 2003
San Francisco County
Paul Saraceni
Today, in San Francisco, I observed some wandering dragonflies far from any
water, including a Common Green Darner along Polk St. and a Black
Saddlebags and 3+ Blue-eyed Darners at Mt. Davidson.
August 20, 2003
San Mateo County
Paul Saraceni
I briefly visited Sausal Pond which is on the eastern/downhill side of Windy
Hill Open Space Preserve, accessible from the parking lot/trailhead along
Portola Rd., Portola Valley, San Mateo Co. This location had a lot of odonate
activity and nice habitat.
Highlight was a female Common Spreadwing that I was able to observe from
a few inches away as it oviposited on tule stems several feet back from the
shore of the pond. Other species observed:
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 3 m.
Pacific Forktail 1 f.
Western Forktail 1 m.
Common Green Darner 20+ (including ovipositing pairs)
Blue-eyed Darner 5+
Western Pondhawk 20+
Blue Dasher 10+
Eight-spotted Skimmer 1 m.
Flame Skimmer 40+
Black Saddlebags 2
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Anax junius 2 pairs in tandem flying over the creek.
Pachydiplax longipennis- 4 males, we netted one that looked almost big
enough to be a Western Pond Hawk but the face was white. 1 pair in tandem
August 18, 2003
Alameda County
Anthony Fisher
Lestes disjunctus Common Spreadwing collected at Campus Dr.
X Keller Ave., Oakland from low vegetation next to a small pond on the Rifle
Range Branch of Arroyo Viejo Creek.
August 16, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
This evening, the 17th, I took a quick trip to Reflection Lake (10T 621560E
4488195N, elev. 5889 ft.) in Lassen Volcanic National Park, Shasta County.
There were quite a few forktails (Pacific and Western) at the east end
of the lake where it was still sunny. Along the north shore, where there was
also some sun, I observed darners flitting about and even managed to photograph
some in flight (equipment = Canon EOS 10D digital SLR with 180mm macro lens set
at ISO 1600; shutter speeds from about 1/350 to 1/3500). As it turns out, at
least some of the darners were Paddle-tailed
Darners, Aeshna palmata, a new county record.
August 16 & 17, 2003
Siskiyou County +
Dave and Kathy Biggs
Spent weekend on Mt. Shasta seeing our cabin's progress. Didn't get to go
dragonflying, but while at the lower falls along the McCloud River, we too saw
a Paddle-tailed Darner! I guess it's certainly their season now!
Surprisingly, on trip back down the Sac. Valley to SAC airport with our son, we
saw very few dragons in the valley, and most of the ones we saw were Black
Saddlebags.
August 16, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun and son Steven
My son, Steven, and I checked out Logan Lake near Old Station, Shasta County
(10T 628204E, 4502133N, elevation 4699 ft). Logan Lake is mostly tules now but
there was still quite a bit of water. Odes in capital letters are those I
didn't see on the 2003 California sightings list.
Spotted Spreadwing - common
Common Spreadwing - common
Bluet, unidentified female - 1
Pacific Forktail - common (also several andromorphic females)
Western Forktail - common
Common Green Darner - common
Blue-eyed Darner - several
*SHADOW DARNER - probably common, one female captured
*SAFFRON-WINGED MEADOWHAWK - 5 to 10
Striped Meadowhawk - common
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - 2
Four-spotted Skimmer - 1
August 13 & 16, 2003
El Dorado County
Tim Manolis & many Sac Audubon members
I led a dragonfly watching field trip for Sacramento Audubon to a couple of
sites in El Dorado County. About 15 of us had a fun time. We started on the
edge of the Central Valley in western El Dorado County at a small seep marsh
and stream near the hamlet of Clarksville (elevation 673'), just off Highway 50
near the El Dorado Hills exit. We then went up the hill on Highway 50 to Lake
Audrain near Echo Summit, at over 7000' in the Sierra Nevada. I checked these
same sites on August 13 while scouting for the trip, and the species list below
included sightings from both days:
Common Spreadwing (Lestes disjunctus) -- Common at Lake Audrain.
California Dancer (Argia agrioides) -- a male and female
collected at the Clarksville site on 13 August.
Aztec Dancer (Argia nahuana)
-- a male collected at the Clarksville site on 13 August. This is a
first record for El Dorado County. I know of a number of locations in
California (including a stream in the Roseville area of Placer County where I
have netted both species) where agrioides and nahuana coexist, but this is the
first time I have collected both at the same place at the same time. Dancers of
this species pair were present in pretty good numbers at the Clarksville site
on 13 August, including tandem pairs.
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) -- a few seen at the Clarksville
site.
Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) -- a male netted at the
Clarksville site on 16 August.
Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum) -- males netted both at
Clarksville and Lake Audrain. Bluets resembling E. cyathigerum/boreale types
were very common at Lake Audrain.
Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula) -- a few seen at both
Clarksville and Lake Audrain.
Black-fronted Forktail (Ischnura denticollis) -- common at the
Clarksville marsh.
Western Forktail (Ischnura perparva) -- a few seen at both
Clarksville and Lake Audrain.
Desert Firetail (Telebasis salva)
-- a male seen at the Clarksville marsh on 13 August represents a
first El Dorado sight record. I had everyone looking for this one on 16 August,
but to no avail.
Variable Darner (Aeshna interrupta) -- a male netted near
Lake Audrain on 13 August.
Blue-eyed Darner (Aeshna multicolor) -- a male seen patrolling
the marsh at Clarksville on 16 August.
Paddle-tailed Darner (Aeshna palmata) -- males netted at Lake
Audrain on both dates. Darners were fairly common at Lake Audrain, and may have
included Shadow and Blue-eyed darners, too.
Common Green Darner (Anax junius) -- common at
Clarksville, a few at Lake Audrain.
Emeralds. spp? -- a few emeralds patrolling Lake Audrain were
probably American Emeralds Cordulia shurtleffii, but may have included
Somatochlora semicircularis as well.
Pale-faced Clubskimmer (Brechmorhoga mendax) -- a male seen
along the stream near Clarksville on 16 August.
Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata) -- 3-4 at Clarksville on
13 August.
Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) -- 1-2 males at Lake
Audrain, and one male at Clarksville, on 13 August.
Four-spotted Skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata) -- 3-4 at Lake Audrain
on 13 August.
Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) -- 3-4 around Clarksville.
Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) -- 3-4 at Clarksville on 13
August.
Gliders (Pantala spp?) -- a few seen around Clarksville feeding
in swarms with saddlebags and darners. Probably Spot-winged Gliders for the
most part.
Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) -- a few in the
Clarksville area.
White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum) -- fairly common in
the Lake Audrain area.
Western Meadowhawk (Sympetrum occidentale) -- a male seen
along Highway 50 near Lake Audrain on 16 August.
Striped Meadowhawk (Sympetrum pallipes) -- one netted near Lake
Audrain on 16 August.
Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) -- 5-6 around the Clarksville
site on 16 August.
August 14, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Pachydiplax longipennis - 5 males, typically seen after 10 a.m.
Libellula saturata- 7 males
Enallagma- 1 female, possibly civile
August 12, 2003
Santa Barbara County
Nick Lethaby
A very early start at work enabled me to take a long lunch at the Santa Ynez
River by Paradise Road. Highlight was the county's first Pale-faced Club
Skimmers, along with the other good species, including numerous good flight
views of Giant Darners. The species summary:
Common Green Darner - 2+
Giant Darner - 2+
Blue-eyed Darner - 2+
Gray Sanddragon - 2
Serpent Ringtail - 3
Red Rock Skimmer - 20
Flame Skimmer - 15
Pale-faced Club Skimmer Brechmorgha mendax
- 2
W. Pondhawk - 2
Cardinal Meadowhawk - 2
I also had what appeared to be a Pacific Spiketail ovipositing on the far side
of the river but I'm a bit concerned about the possibility of a misidentified
female darner, given the distance.
-------
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
I went looking in a few new spots along the Sweetwater River and the Crest
Ecological Preserve near Harbinson Canyon in east San Diego County. The temps
are in the 90's with 85% humidity. It's HOT!!!! At Crest, I had a Pacific
Spiketail and several Vivid Dancers. At the Sweetwater River along
Sloan Canyon, I had lots of Green Darners, Red-tailed Pennant, and many
Black Saddlebags.
-------
San Mateo County
Paul Saraceni, Kevin McKereghan, Joe Morlan,
[We] visited Alpine Pond (Russian Ridge OSP) and Horseshoe Lake (Skyline Ridge
OSP) up on Skyline Rd. (Hwy. 35) in San Mateo Co., as well as a few other spots
closer to the coast.
Alpine Pond provided the most Odonate diversity of the locations we visited,
including what appears from the maps to be a first county sight record.
Species observed at the various locations:
Black Spreadwing* 1 m. (Alpine Pond; studied at close range with
spotting scope)
California/Aztec-type Dancer 20+ (footpaths surrounding the Skyline Rd.
ponds)
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 20+
Pacific Forktail 10+
Common Green Darner 5+
Blue-eyed Darner 10+
Paddle-tailed Darner Aeshna palmata
2 m. (Alpine Pond; 1 perched male studied at close range with spotting
scope) [description sent & accepted]
Pacific Spiketail 1 (Alpine Pond)
Cardinal Meadowhawk 6
Striped Meadowhawk 8
Western Pondhawk 5+
Blue Dasher 10+
Common Whitetail 1 f. (at a nice, accessible stretch of San Gregorio
Creek along Hwy. 84 west of La Honda; this location may have potential for
other species)
Eight-spotted Skimmer 20+
Widow Skimmer Libellula luctuosa
20+ [sight record]
Flame Skimmer 40+
Black Saddlebags 3
Spot-winged Glider 10+
August 10, 2003
Sonoma County
Dave and Kathy Biggs, Michael Ellis and his Footloose Forays group
Dave and I took Michael Ellis and his Footloose Forays group out for a
Beginner's Dragonfly outing at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa. Species there:
California Dancer - one teneral
Tule Bluet - a few
Pacific Forktail - very few
Blue-eyed Darner - many
Common Green Darner - some
Eight-spotted Skimmer - a few
Widow Skimmer - a few
Flame Skimmer - a few
Blue Dasher - many, many (6 or so at a time)
Spot-winged Glider - some
Striped Meadowhawk - one
Black Saddlebags - many, it seemed to be a good Saddlebags day!
Noticeable was the LACK of damselflies. In 3-4 hrs, the total # of fewer than
10!
Afterwards, Dave and I headed on our own up to the Russian River at Asti
Notable was the LACK of Rubyspots! The total # seen during 1 1/2 hrs (3-4:30)
was TWO!
Sightings for Asti:
American Rubyspot - 2
California Dancer - some (several dozen), one found floating in the
water (alive but too impaired to fly) and brought home to scan
Emma's Dancer - a few
Sooty Dancer Argia lugens -
a few collected to upgrade the prior photo only record. Both sexes and two
forms of the female collected: blue & pruinose!
Tule Bluets - some, one examined in hand
Northern Bluet - a few, one examined in hand
Gray Sanddragon - 2-3
Blue-eyed Darner - some
Common Green Darner - a few
Eight-spotted Skimmer - 1 male
Flame Skimmer - several
-------
Alameda County
Anthony Fisher
These sightings are for Oakland, Alameda County.
Joaquin Miller Park:
Pacific Spiketail, male and female. Female seen ovipositing in creek
along Fern Ravine Trail.
In the meadow near the Ranger Station there were
Spot-winged Gliders 5-6
Blue-eyed Darners several male and female
Pacific Spiketail a (the?) female
Merritt College:
At a seasonal pond at the end of the dirt/gravel parking lot was completely out
if season (dry). However, there was a nice cloud of Odonates foraging in the
updrafts created by the breezes at the edge of the lot.
Spot-winged Gliders, 20-25
Wandering Gliders Pantala flavescens
, 2-3
Green Darners, 2
Aeshnids 2
and a scary swarm of 1000 + bees flew by.
Leona Regional Open Space (off Keller Ave.):
A small pond on the Rifle Range branch of Arroyo Seco Creek created as flood
control for a housing development.
Spot-winged Glider 3
Blue-eyed Darner 3
Flame Skimmer 3 (wheeling and ovipositing)
Green Darner 1
Cardinal Meadowhawk 1
Vivid Dancer several
Western Forktail 4
*Common Spreadwing Lestes disjunctus 1 male (in hand)
-------
Humboldt County
Ron LeValley
I caught a Spot-winged Gliders Pantala
hymenaea in my backyard in McKinleyville (10 407412E
4531629N) .... I kept a voucher specimen and sent a picture to Tim Manolis.
This is the first specimen for Humboldt County.
August 9/10 2003
Tehama County
Bruce Deuel
Over the weekend I managed to secure, in my own yard, first county specimens
for Common Green Darner Anax junius
(8/9, female) and Pale-faced
Clubskimmer Brechmorhoga mendax (8/10, male). The former
was one of 4-5 catching small insects over the road in front of my mailbox at
0830 in the morning. The latter was patrolling my pool around noon. After I
swung and missed 3 times, my son caught him on his first attempt. The guy is
good with a net, but unless fishing is involved I can't get him out in the
field with me!
August 3-10 2003
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel, Kevin Larson
There have been VERY large numbers of gliders (Pantala sps.) around
..... Wandering and Spot-winged are here in the "several-many
dozens each" for instance at KMHRP (Harbor Park). I also get a few of each
daily at my hovel here in Torrance.
.... half a dozen male Cardinal Meadowhawks were found yesterday (8/10)
at the South Coast Botanic Gardens in Rolling Hills (on the PV Peninsula) by
Kevin Larson.
And,I found a couple male CA/Aztec Dancers at Geo.F.Cyn also in Rolling
Hills, also yesterday 8/10. And my 2nd brief look at what appeared to be a Gray
Sanddragon near where I saw my other "probable" a couple months
ago.
Last week a female Pantala Glider attempted ovipositing on the hood of
my pickup (it IS blue). Four or five times you could easily hear the metallic
thunk as it slammed its abdomen tip onto the hood (testing the waters?). I
looked for but could not see any eggs.....
August 7/8, 2003
Del Norte County
Ron LeValley, Bruce Deuel, Tim Manolis
We converged on Sanger Lake (10 446289E 4638830 N, 5090 feet elevation) in the
mountains of Del Norte County, close to the Oregon border, in search of new
odes for that relatively poorly-covered county.
Bruce and I drove up from the Central Valley in the morning, taking I-5 all the
way to Grants Pass, then Highway 199 south back into California.
To reach Sanger Lake, we took Forest Service Road 18N07 (signed as Knopti Creek
Road where it takes off from Highway 199 a few miles south of the Oregon
border) 15 miles east to the lake. The road climbs up to the lake along the
Middle Fork of the Smith River and Knopti Creek drainages. Along the drive we
saw a few odes along the road, mostly unidentified darners and a possible
Pacific Spiketail. At a small, sedge-lined pool less than a mile from the lake,
we saw a few Emerald Spreadwings and Pacific Forktails. We arrived at
the lake a little after 1 p.m. There was a moderate amount of odonate activity
when we arrived, but this declined noticeably within a few hours as cloud cover
built over the area in the afternoon. Ron arrived later in the afternoon and we
camped overnight. He had netted a Pacific Spiketail (10 439569E
4642202N) along the road up for a first Del Norte County record. We awaited the
arrival of odes to the lake the next morning.
Sanger Lake is a beautiful, small mountain lake rather closely surrounded by a
diverse conifer forest. It is ringed by willows and alders and a narrow fringe
of grass and sedges in places, with a few, small patches of pond lily (Nuphar).
Rough-skinned Newts were abundant in the shallows. The odonate fauna was rather
depauperate, however, at least during the time of our visit. We saw there:
Boreal Bluet -- modest numbers around the edge of the lake, the only
damselfly noted!
Common Green Darner -- a few on the morning of August 8, one of which
was netted for a first Del Norte specimen.
mosaic darner sp? -- small numbers were patrolling around the margins
ofthe lake in the early afternoon of August 7, but the first to appear on
August 8 were not seen until about 11:30 a.m., as we were preparing to leave;
so the flight period around the lake is very short indeed. We failed in our
attempts to net any, but collected a number of exuviae around the lakeshore.
Flying individuals seen appeared to be possibly Variable or Shadow darners, but
all the exuviae collected subsequently keyed out as Shadow Darner (first
record for Del Norte County).
American Emerald -- small numbers were encountered around the lake. Bruce
netted a male in the afternoon of August 7. Their exuviae were fairly common
around the lakeshore.
Crimson-ringed Whiteface -- we saw a few upon our arrival; it was the
first dragonfly to show up at the lake in the morning of August 8, at around 9
a.m. A male and female were collected for the first record for Del Norte
County.
And that was it -- the entire odonate fauna during our visit. I was surprised
at the lack of some species, such as Four-spotted Skimmer, which is often the
common libellulid at similar such lakes throughout the Sierra Nevada.
The drive back down the road to Highway 199 on the afternoon of August 8
produced some interesting observations. Common Green Darners and mosaic
darners were seen at a number of spots, but the only one any of us could
net was a female Blue-eyed Darner Ron collected for a first Del Norte
record (10 444 931E 4640028N). We saw more Pacific Spiketails, a few Vivid
Dancers, and a probable Variegated Meadowhawk along a small roadside
drainage ditch.
We caravaned down to Crescent City and then on to McKinleyville along Highway
101, making a few more stops to look for birds and odes. Most productive was a
stop at the Lagoon Creek rest area just south of False Klamath Cove, where I
pulled a female Ischnura out of a spider web in duneside brush that proved to
be a female Swift Forktail*. At the same site were about a dozen or so Spot-winged
Gliders and Common Green Darners flying north along the beach. After dinner
in McKinleyville with Ron, Bruce and I headed over Highway 299 to home.
The trip was not as productive as we had hoped, but did produce 6 new Del Norte
County records: Common Green Darner Anax
junius (specimen); Blue-eyed Darner Aeshna multicolor (specimen);
Shadow Darner Aeshna umbrosa (exuviae collected); Pacific Spiketail
Corduegaster dorsalis (specimen); Crimson-ringed Whiteface Leucorrhinia
glacialis (specimens); and Spot-winged Glider Pantala hymenaea (sight
record).
August 7, 2003
Sikiyou County
Bruce Deuel, Tim Manolis
Bruce and I drove up from the Central Valley in the morning, taking I-5 [en
route to Sanger Lake.] A brief stop at mid-morning at the I-5 rest area along
the Klamath River north of Yreka, Siskiyou County, produced views of American
Rubyspot, Vivid and Emma's Dancer, Common Whitetail and Flame Skimmer.
August 5, 2003
Humboldt County
Ron LeValley
I spent a couple of hours at Clam Beach south of Trinidad in Humboldt County
this afternoon on our Snowy Plover study. There were many dragonflies, and a
number of them Spot- winged Gliders
Pantala hymenaea I was
not able to catch or photograph any of them, but I can claim a sight record for
Humboldt County. I'm going to go out again tomorrow to try to net one. There
were also Variegated Meadowhawks in the dune grass and a single Darner
sp.
August 4/5, 2003
San Francisco County
Paul Saraceni
I observed 3 adult male Wandering Gliders
Pantala flavescens in San Francisco -- 2 on 8/4 at
Mclaren Park (associating with Spot- winged Gliders) and 1 at Mt.
Davidson on 8/5. I was able to get very close to he individual on 8/5 and it
briefly perched, though I missed my opportunity to net/photograph it. It had a
golden abdomen (from thorax to tip), including the dorsal side and bright
chestnut red eyes. Its wings were clear, though I certainly didn't rely on the
lack of spots, alone, to make the ID. I also had the chance to watch some
Wandering Gliders last week at Pt. Reyes and the adult males that are the
"glowing" golden color from tip-to-tip of the abdomen are really
quite distinctive from the Spot-wingeds (which to me, only look golden on the
sides of the rear portion of the abdomen).
August 4, 2003
San Francisco County
Paul Saraceni
I went out in the rare sunshine in San Francisco today to see if Gliders were
moving through the City and was happy to find them at a couple of locations:
Mt. Davidson (grassy hillside @ 900' altitude):
California Darner 1 m.
Blue-eyed Darner 3 m.
Spot-winged Glider 2
Mclaren Park (varied habitats including weedy meadows and pond/small creek):
Vivid Dance r 10+
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 20+ (incl. tandem pairs)
Familiar Bluet 10+ (incl. tandem pair)
Western Forktail 2 m., 1 f.
California Darner 2 m.
Blue-eyed Darner 1 m.
aeshna darner sp. 4+
Variegated Meadowhawk 1 f.
Cardinal Meadowhawk 1 m., 1 f. (ovipositing)
Flame Skimmer 1 imm. m.
Wandering Glider 2
Spot-winged Glider 40+
I also observed a juv. Black Phoebe picking off teneral bluets.
August 3, 2003
Plumas County
Greg Kareofelas
I caught Pantala flavescens Wandering Glider today, Plumas County,
Little Grass Valley res, LaPorte area. I also caught - and released (not
realizing it was also unrecorded for Plumas county - a number of Pantala hymenaea Spot-winged Glider , so I do not have a
voucher. [but we do have a good in hand sight record now! - kb]
August 2, 2003
Santa Clara County
Bob Behrstock and many members of the SCV Audubon dragonfly workshop he
taught
In Palo Alto, Foothill Park (open only to Palo Alto residents!)
Common Green Darner
Blue-eyed Darner
Flame Skimmer
8-spotted Skimmer
Widow Skimmer
Common Whitetail
Black Saddlebags
Red Saddlebags Tramea onusta
- only an old, non-confirmed record from this county prior to this
Western Pondhawk
Blue Dasher
Spot-winged Glider
Desert Firetail
Pacific Forktail
Tule Bluet - IDed in hand
Arroyo Bluet - IDed in hand
August 1, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
Today, I was chasing after a possible Sooty Dancer sighting from one of my
friends on the San Diego River at the Mission Dam, Mission Trails Regional Park
in San Diego (MTRP). I didn't find the Sooty, but discovered that Oak Creek in
Oak Canyon (runs north from the Dam) had lots of water (very unusual for this
time of year) and it full of Odes. I then headed to Lindo Lake in Lakeside and
finished up at Santee Lakes.
MTRP:
Vivid Dancers
Pacific Forktails
Tule Bluets
Giant Darner
Common Green Darners
Red Rock Skimmers
Blue Dashers
Flame Skimmers
Cardinal Meadowhawk
Variegated Meadowhawk
Spot-winged Gliders
Wandering Gliders
Lindo Lake:
Black-fronted Forktails
Pacific Forktails
Neon Skimmers
Western Pondhawk
Blue Dashers
Santee Lakes:
Familiar Bluets
Common Green Darners
Blue-eyed Darner
Red-tailed Pennants
Black Saddlebags
Red Saddlebags
Mexican Amberwings
Blue Dashers
21 species in 5 hours, quite a day!!!!
-------
Butte County
Tim Manolis
The recent monsoonal weather patterns have also carried Pantala hymenaea
up into the Sierras; ... there was a small swarm over a parking lot at
Philbrook Reservoir (5546' elev.) and at least 2 over the meadow at Butte Creek
House (5820' elev.), both in the higher elevations of Butte County. These
observations are not unprecedented; indeed, they are probably typical of the
combination of time of year and weather patterns.
Keep an eye out for Tramea calverti , folks (also for Tramea onusta
north of its normal range).
-------
Marin County
Kevin McKereghan and Paul Saraceni
We visited a number of sites at Pt. Reyes, Marin Co. today. Despite the
overcast and periods of fog, we observed a nice variety of odes (20 sp.), leps,
birds, and herps. Highlights included finding additional locations for San
Francisco-type Forktails and observing Spot-winged Gliders at almost every stop
(and while driving the roads in the area). Odonates observed by location:
Limantour Estero (incl. freshwater pond/marsh and Muddy Hollow Trail &
Pond):
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 30+
Northern/Boreal-type Bluet 3
bluet sp (tenerals) 30+
Pacific Forktail 60+
San Francisco Forktail* 2 m. (in-hand ID @ marsh nr. trailhead)
San Francisco/Black-fronted-type Forktai l 1 m. (@ Muddy Hollow Pond)
Western Forktail 2
California Darner 1 m. (perched)
Blue-eyed Darner 2
Striped Meadowhawk 1 f.
Wandering Glider 5+
Spot-winged Glider 30+
Olema Marsh:
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 10+
Pacific Forktail 10+
Common Green Darner 1 m.
Blue-eyed Darner 10+
Cardinal Meadowhawk 8+ (incl. ovipositing pairs)
Western Pondhawk 2 m.
Blue Dasher 5+ m.
Eight-spotted Skimmer 2 m.
Widow Skimmer 1 m.
Flame Skimmer 3
Spot-winged Glider 4+
Stock pond 0.2 mi. south from start of Estero Trail Road:
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 5+
Pacific Forktail 10+
San Francisco/Black-fronted-type Forktail 15+ (incl. ovipositing pairs)
Western Forktail 6 (incl. ovipositing females)
Blue-eyed Darner 1 m.
Cardinal Meadowhawk 5 (incl. ovipositing pairs)
Common Whitetail 2 m.
Bull Point Trail (incl. first creek that crosses trail):
San Francisco/Black-fronted-type Forktail 5
Western Red Damsel* 6 m., 1 f.
Spot-winged Glider 3
Pond 1/4 mi. west of Abbotts Lagoon trailhead:
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 20+ (incl. ovipositing pairs)
Northern/Boreal-type Bluet 4 m.
Pacific Forktail 10+
San Francisco/Black-fronted-type Forktail 6 (incl. ovipositing pair)
Common Green Darner 3
Blue-eyed Darner 4+
Variegated Meadowhawk 3 (incl. ovipositing pair)
Spot-winged Glider 5+
Herps included Pacific Treefrogs, Red-legged Frogs, and California Red-sided
and Aquatic Garter Snakes.
-------
Mendocino County
Ron LeValley
After watching 'flocks' of Spot-winged Gliders over in the Sacramento Valley,
we returned to the Little River Headlands just south of Mendocino on the coast.
There were numbers of dragonflies hunting in The front yard and around the
nearby Spring Ranch (State Park property just north of Van Damme Beach State Park).
I was sure that the majority of them were Spot-winged
Gliders Pantala hymenaea and I was able to net one of them. Since the
latest county list sent out by Kathy does not list this species from Mendocino,
I saved the netted individual. I'll send a photo off to Tim Manolis later.
I also saw a Black Saddlebags in the flock. Interestingly enough, I
couldn't see a dragonfly anywhere about 45 minutes after I netted the one.
Timing is everything.
July
July 31, 2003
San Mateo County
Alvaro Jaramillo
I have been reading the couple of reports of coastal Pantala with interest.
Here in coastal San Mateo county so far this season almost all Pantala have
been hymenea (Spot-winged Glider). However during the height of that warm Gulf
Coast air that got to us, to be specific on Thursday, there was a group of
10-12 Pantala flavescens (Wandering Glider) in my back
yard. This was immediately after some light rain. It almost felt like my
experiences with flavescens in Ontario, Canada. The best numbers were always
associated with humid thunderstorm systems, particularly in August. I am sure
that many individuals of both Pantala species rode in from the south on these
winds and increased the numbers we already had up in California. I would be
incredible to find out if these odonates are moving moderate distances, or
actually huge distances. By the way, this was the first good group of Wandering
Gliders I have seen this season around here, and they left as quickly as they
arrived. I am sure they were on the move. I bet that when we receive these
influxes of humid, warm, Gulf Coast air the distribution of Pantala and
probably Tramea shift northward significantly.
July 30, 2003
Sonoma County
Rod Miller
Rod found Hoary Skimmers at a little seep in Cloverdale, off River Road.
It was on private property where he was working, so the rest of us can't go see
them, but it is only the 2nd site for this uncommon bug in Sonoma Co., and the
1st site (Pine Flat Rd.) has been altered to where it may no longer be a
breeding habitat anymore. Rod said this site near Cloverdale had 2 pair of
ovipositing Hoary Skimmers (Libellula nodisticta), one of the few
Libellula to tandem oviposit) and 4-5 other males there at the same time,
Common Whitetails and either 8 or 12-spotted Skimmers too.
---
Vickie Moore and Kathy Biggs Vickie Moore is a grad student doing DNA
studies on the rare San Francisco Forktail (Ischnura gemina) and the
Black-fronted (I. denticollis) and whether they are hybridizing. The Sonoma
Land Trust has recently acquired property on the Estero and we were granted permission
to survey the site. I had found SF Forktails on the Estero last year just a few
miles from this spot, so it seemed likely. We did find them on the property,
and I collected a voucher specimen for the Land Trust. We saw 4 males SF
Forktails there, and ovipositing Vivid Dancers and emerging Meadowhawks
water, about a mile west of there and a mile east of the other site I'd
previously found, we found a larger population and collected some more
specimens for Vickie's DNA studies. This is presently the northern most known
population, although there is a specimen in the SSU insect collection from
Bodega Bay in 1980. So, I urge anyone going to Bodega Bay to look for I. gemina.
They aren't easy to spot being so tiny, and often just an inch or two above the
water level. It was partly overcast and windy and cool while we were finding
them on territory. The only other species seen at the 2nd site was one male
Familiar Bluet perched near some sheltering trees, and Blue-eyed Darners
flying overhead.
July 29, 2003
Amador County
Kathy & Jesse Monaghan
At the Monaghan's Horse Creek Ranch's ponds in Ione, they have reported seeing
the following, including a county record species, the Desert Firetail
(Telebasis salva):
Desert Firetail Telebasis salva
Western Pondhawk
Flame Skimmer
Twelve-spotted Skimmer
Common Whitetail
Widow Skimmer
Blue Dasher
Black Saddlebags
We have observed the Western Pondhawk up close and personal while he munched
away on a white damselfly and a housefly. I think we have seen a couple darners,
and lots of damselflies.
July 27, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
Late yesterday afternoon, I checked out the odes at Grace and Nora Lakes in
south central Shasta County. The best sighting was Wandering Glider, which,
despite its broad distribution, is (I believe) a first record for the county
(got a photo voucher). There was also what appeared to be a female
Twelve-spotted Skimmer that was heavily pruinose on the abdomen. The wings
looked ragged and had spots but no white at all.
Northern/Tule Bluet - ~20
Pacific Forktail - ~30
Western Forktail - ~20
Common Green Darner - common
Blue-eyed Darner - ~3
California Darner (probable) - 1
Variegated Meadowhawk - ~5
Common Whitetail - 3
Twelve-spotted Skimmer? - 1
Black Saddlebags - 2
Wandering Glider Pantala flavenscens
- 1+
Spot-winged Glider - 15+
-------
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
My first stop was at Doane Pond in the Mt. Palomar State Park. I had the
following:
Common Green Darner
Giant Darner (female)
California Darners
Cardinal Meadowhawks
Variegated Meadowhawk
Blue Dashers
Western Pondhawks
Common Whitetail
Flame Skimmers
Black Saddlebags
Blue-ringed Dancers
Tule Bluets
Western Forktails
I then went to the Historical (Butterfly wise) Bailey's Meadow, also on Palomar
Mtn. This is a place that the lep people use to come and collect over 100 years
ago. It's private property, but I've secured permission to enter, and the have
a large pond. Saw thesame as above except for lots of Spotted Spreadwings
Vivid Dancers
Then down to Wilderness Gardens County Park, as it waste of time. The Pond is
covered over with Cattails.
Common Green Darner
Black Saddlebags
July 26/27, 2003
Sonoma and Colusa Counties
Dave and Kathy Biggs
On Saturday, the 26th, we had the members of the Strybing Arboretum's Natural
Gardening course series here for a field trip to learn about using native
plants to attract dragonflies and other wildlife. We were quite pleased at how
cooperative the pond's dragonflies were!
At Bigsnest Wildlife Pond, here in Sebastopol we saw:
Aeshna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner - one male 'fly-by'
Anax junius Common Green Darner - one female came in to
oviposit in the stems of the Ludwigia (Creeping Water Primrose) which
was perfect as I'd told the class previously that this was the favored plant
for all my darners and damsels
Erythemis collocata Western Pondhawk - one male on territory
and interacting with a Dasher male
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer - 2 males in many
'dogfights' with each other and the Cardinals
Pachydiplax longipennis Blue Dasher - one male interacting
with the Pondhawk
Sympetrum illotum Cardinal Meadowhawk - 2-3 males in
determined dogfights with each other and the Flames. One female came in and so
everyone got to watch the 'courtship' and mating and ovipositing.
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail - males and females,
females ovipositing in the Ludwigia
I. perparva Western Forktail - males and females, females
ovipositing also
Then we went to another wildlife pond just 1.5 miles up the road. Mary's
pond is smaller and in direct sunlight all day. There we saw
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer - at least one male
Pantala hymenaea Spot-winged Glider - several seen overhead.
Her pond had ~50 emerge from it just exactly 60 days from when they put the
pond in, and they continue to emerge from it although I've never even seen one
at my near-by pond!
Sympetrum illotum Cardinal Meadowhawk - 2-3 males
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags - the next day Mary called
to say she had two cruising around her small pond (~8 ft circle) and I've never
had one of those at my pond either, although I once saw one in the front yard!
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail - males and females
I. perparva Western Forktail - males and females
Colusa Co.
As soon as the field trip ended, we packed up and headed to Bear Creek,
COLUSA CO., arriving there at 6 pm. We went straight to the area ~ 5 miles down
the dirt road (some of you went there with me on the DSA trip) where Rosser had
collected the lone female Desert Forktail. We hoped to discover whether she was
a vagrant or if there was a breeding population there. Right away Dave netted a
forktail and called me over, saying he'd found one. I looked at it and decided
that no, it really wasn't one, but we kept it as it was greener than most
Western Forktails, and ended up collecting 8 others. THEN when I got home and
started scanning them, I discovered that they WERE Desert Forktails! What a
surprise! This is WAY out of their known range and quite a surprise. Tim and I
were discussing this and it would probably be worth while if any of you have
any alkaline springs nearby to collect a male forktail and check its ID out!
We're wondering if they are much more widespread in this habitat than we'd ever
suspected, or if this is an isolated situation.
Anyway, we spent about an hour at Bear Creek, 6-7 PM and saw
Aeshna multicolor, Blue-eyed Darner - a few flew by
Anax junius Common Green Darner - a few
Anax walsinghami Giant Darner - a few flying over the creek
and a few over the road
Progomphus borealis Gray Sanddragon - a few
Libellula luctuosa Widow Skimmer - a few
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer - still quite common at this
hour
Sympetrum corruptum Variegated Meadowhawk - some
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags - a few
Hetaerina americana American Rubyspot - some
Argia lugens Sooty Dancer - a few
Enallagma civile Familiar Bluet - a few
Ischnura barberi Desert Forktail - many (~36) inc. males and
females in tandem
Then we drove the full length of Bear Creek Rd. to Lodga, ~ 25 miles. There
were Giant Darners along the whole creek as far as the road followed it (~15
miles) and many many Common Green Darners and Variegated Meadowhawks over the
fields.
We arrived at Fouts Springs, COLUSA CO., just at dusk, ~ 8:30 pm and there were
hundreds, if not thousands of dragonflies flying over Fouts Creek, those that
we could see well enough to IDD in the dim light were Common Green Darners. We
camped there and then spent the next morning in that area and then proceeded to
Letts Lake and then home via miles and miles of jeep trails!
Our sightings:
Aeshna multicolor, Blue-eyed Darner - a few at Lily Pond (now
almost totally overgrown with cattails), and at a glen on Goat Mt.
Anax junius Common Green Darner - thousands, everywhere, at Fouts
Spring were were extremely abundant and also at a glen on Goat Mt.
Cordulegaster dorsalis Pacific Spiketail - one male seen cruising
Bear Creek in LAKE CO (not the same Bear Creek as in Colusa Co) near Upper Lake
Macromia magnifica Western River Cruiser - one seen cruising
Fouts Creek and one exuvia found there
Erythemis collocata Western Pondhawk - at Fouts Springs and Lily
Pond
Libellula forensis 8-spotted Skimmer - very abundant at Letts
Lake, one seen at Fouts Springs
Libellula luctuosa Widow Skimmer - at Letts Lake, and at Fouts
Springs
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer - found at all stops except the
glade on Goat Mt.
Pachydiplax longipennis Blue Dasher - extremely common at Letts
Lake
Pantala flavescens Wandering Glider - always a few mixed in with
the Spot-winged Gliders.
Pantala hymenaea Spot-winged Glider - many, 1000s. We saw them
everywhere, except the moment we crossed into Lake County, they disappeared
(they would be a county record if we collected one there)! But then, we dropped
down off the ridge top then and were on the west side of the hills. They were
all over the east side, but not the west!
Sympetrum corruptum Variegated Meadowhawk - very common
everywhere
Sympetrum illotum Cardinal Meadowhawk - one male seen at Lily
Pond
Sympetrum madidum Red-veined Meadowhawk - one male seen at Lily
Pond
Sympetrum pallipes Striped Meadowhawk - one seen at Letts
Lake; one netted at the glen on Goat Mt. for an upgrade to specimen record for
Colusa Co. The glen was located along Goat Mt. Rd at N39 17.757 W22 43.531 at
an elevation of 5569'
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags - fairly common everywhere except the
glen on Goat Mt.
Hetaerina americana American Rubyspot - a few at Fouts Springs
Argia emma Emma's Dancer - many at Fouts Springs
Argia lugens Sooty Dancer - many seen at Fouts Springs
Argia sp - probably A. agrioides or A. nahuana i
Argia vivida Vivid Dancer - at Fouts Springs
Enallagma civile Familiar Bluet - at Fouts Springs
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail - at Letts Lake
Ischnura perparva Western Forktail - at Letts Lake
July 26, 2003
Colusa County
Rod Miller and Chris Heaivilin
We went back to the same Bear Creek location used for DSA 03. We saw a great
deal more than what was there a month ago.
Tramea lacerata Many.
Libellula luctuosa Many.
Libellula saturata More than you could shake a net at.
Pantala hymenaea Common as dirt.
Sympetrum corruptum Scads, but ALL juvenile.
Pachydiplax longipennis Many.
Erythemis collocata Many.
Brechmorhoga mendax Many.
Anax walsinghami Many.
Anax junius Many.
Progomphus borealis Few.
Erpetogomphus compositus Many.
Macromia magnifica Few.
Ischnura perparva Many.
Ischnura cervula Many.
Argia lugens Many.
Hetaerina americana Many.
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
I was cruising over to my girlfriends house, along Florida Canyon, which cuts
through Balboa Park. When I got to the intersection of Upas and Florida, I
noticed that there was a butterfly type garden with some water in the creek. I
stop the car and walked into the garden to immediately see a female Neon
Skimmer, and then up to 6 Neon Males flying and perching throughout the
garden. There was also Vivid Dancers, so I went running back to my car
for my camera, and came back and got some excellent photos.
July 25, 2003
Marin County
Bob Behrstock, Paul Saraceni and Eric Preston
We visited the Point Reyes National Seashore (Marin Co.), our goal to see if
both Black-fronted and San Francisco Forktails occurred together there.
From 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., we observed odonates (and birds) on the Estero Trail
where it was breezy with 100% cloud cover and temps. in the low to mid-60s.
During our visit, we enjoyed a half an hour of rolling thunder and a brief
shower. At the first large fresh water pond south of Home Bay, Drake's Estero
(approx. a 1.5 mi walk from the parking area), we encountered:
Northern Bluet (1 or 2; 1 male examined in hand)
Arroyo Bluet (1 male examined in hand)
Arroyo/Tule-type bluets 10
Western Forktail (2)
Black-fronted Forktail Ischnura denticollis (1
male examined in hand)
San Francisco Forktail (perhaps as many as 300+; at least 20 males
examined with a 20X hand lens)
Pacific Forktail (50+)
Darner - Aeshna sp. (1 blow by)
Spot-winged Glider (2, one of which was perched and, presumably,
photographed by Eric)
From 1:30 to approx. 2:10 p.m., we investigated a small, muddy cattle pond (on
the east side of the road) approx. 0.2 mi from Sir Francis Drake Blvd. on the
road to the Estero Trail. The pond had some duckweed and grazed rushes but
little emergent vegetation. The first thing we encountered was a richly colored
California Red-sided Garter Snake eating a Red-legged Frog. We also saw:
Western Forktail (6, mostly dusty blue pruinescent females)
Black-fronted Forktail (1 or two males examined in hand)
San Francisco Forktail (1 examined in hand)
Pacific Forktail (8)
Blue-eyed Darner (1)
Common Whitetail (1 male)
Cardinal Meadowhawk (5 = 2 ovip. prs and 1 male)
Our last stop was the Bull Point Trail (just past Johnson's Oyster Company).
Perhaps 300 yards down the trail, a small, clear stream crosses under the
trail/road. We observed two Coast form of Western Terrestrial Garter Snakes
here. By walking the stream, we encountered:
Western Red Damsel (12 incl. both orange and brown females, males, and
one just emerging from the creek)
San Francisco/Black-fronted forktails (2, not examined)
-------
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard
Just saw my first Wandering Glider in San Diego County today. It was in
my backyard!!! :)
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Aeshna multicolor- 1 female, she was found floating in our
swiming pool about 150 yards from the creek, I put her in alcohol and sent to
Heath Ogden in Utah for their collection who confirmed the ID.
July 24, 2003
Sonoma County
Rod Miller
I was working out on North Pythian Rd today out of Kenwood. Every step seemed
to stir up a new Widow Skimmer, both males and females. Also quite a few
Spiketails and Pantalas. Anyway, it was the
best dragonfly day I've seen while working in quite a while.
---
Kathy Biggs
On our backyard wildlife pond here in Sebastopol, there continue to be several Cardinal
Meadowhawks who are in perennial battles with each other and the 2-3 male Flame
Skimmers. Not many females around lately though and I'm not seeing much
ovipositing at all, while back in June there might be 2- 5 pairs of Cardinals
ovipositing every day. There are a few male Blue Dashers and Western
Pondhawks however that weren't here in June. And still quite a few Western
and Pacific Forktails, are here, both sexes, but rarely a Vivid Dancer
now. Visits by Black Spreadwings & Bluets have been rare.
-------
Imperial County
Richard Bledsoe
I went to green valley falls yesterday, got pix of male and female pacific
spiketail, saw male walker's darner and a female I think was
walker's that was single ovipositing, and lots of everything you reported
previously.
July 23, 2003
Imperial County
Douglas Aguillard
Back to Hell, I went today after Bob's second reporting of the Brimstone and
the Russet-tipped Clubtails. I went to the intersection of Sinclair Rd, K7
canal, and the East Main Canal. It was hotter than my trip on Saturday, and I
have to say that if you plan on going out here, bring the bug spray and lots of
water and ICE. I had the following:
East Main Canal & end of Sinclair Rd (K-7 Canal)
American Rubyspots
Powered Dancers
Blue-ringed Dancers
Brimstone Clubtail (male)
White-belted Ringtails
Roseate Skimmers
Red Saddlebags
Spot-winged Glider
At the Wister Unit of the Salton Sea NWR
Common Green Darners
Widow Skimmer
Blue Dashers
Western Pondhawks
Roseate Skimmers
Red Saddlebags
Spot-winged Glider
July 22, 2003
Imperial County
Bob Miller
I got pics of another female Brimstone Clubtail near the same location
as the one two days ago although I can not rule out that it was not the same
individual. The location was the intersection on the East Highline Canal and K
Lateral or as far east as you can go on Sinclair Road from Hwy 111.
I got pix of Russet-tipped Clubtail at the same location!! Trying to get
them up on our website tonight.
-------
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I floated the Klamath River from Rocky Point River Access (a few miles east of
Seiad Valley) to the Sluice Box River Access (1 mile west of Seiad Valley). The
Klamath is quite low, about 700 cfs in the Seiad area. It was hot, 106+ degrees
with a slight breeze. Our goal was to remove a tractor tire from the river as
part of our River Cleanup Week. We got the tire after much effort. I saw the
following odes.
American Rubyspot - a few males
Emma's Dancer - lots of ovipositing
Northern Bluet/Boreal Bluet - some ovipositing
Common Green Darner - males patrolling
Sinuous Snaketail - very common
Western River Cruiser - a few patrolling
Blue Dasher - few males patrolling
Eight-spotted Skimmer - few males skirmishing and patrolling
Widow Skimmer - males skirmishing and patrolling
Common Whitetail - few males
Flame Skimmer - few males patrolling
Other notable sightings: Pacific Coast Rattlesnake - in the riparian veg along
river Common Kingsnake - @ Rocky Point River Access Bald Eagle - mature bird
perched in ponderosa pine along river Green heron - flushed near hiway bridge
Black Bear - young bear across from Sluice Box River Access
I went to the Happy Camp River Park pond to try out a new dragonfly net that a
friend manufactured for me. The pond is drying up. Ode activity is still
happening. It was still quite hot, over 90 degrees @ 7pm. Here is what I found.
Bluet sp - unidentified, could not net any
Common Green Darner - several males patrolling
Sinuous Snaketail - a few on park grounds
Red-Veined Meadowhawk - (lifer) first ode netted with my new net!
Blue Dasher - male in hand
Western Pondhawk - many males and females
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - several males skirmishing and patrolling
Widow Skimmer - few males skirmishing and patrolling
-------
Butte County
Tim Manolis
I drove up to Butte County today (7/22/03) in what proved to be a futile
attempt to document Olive Clubtail (Stylurus olivaceus) for the county. Spent
most of 2 hours (9-11 a.m., by which time it was already over 100 degrees F
out) along Butte Creek near Durham. The biggest frustration is that I actually
glimpsed male clubtails that were probably this species on 2-3 occasions, but
they were always just flitting around the edge of a willow or alder and then
disappearing. This species has a way of doing that! I just KNOW they are there,
but can't quite claim it for the county list (even as sight record) just yet.
There are MILLIONS of Variegated Meadowhawks and Spot-winged Gliders
in the Sacramento Valley right now. Along the short stretch of Butte Creek that
I hiked there were hundreds of each. Everywhere else I stopped I saw them
milling about, and there were dragonflies of either of these two species
constantly crossing the highway in the rice country. It is like Alfred
Hitchcock's "The Birds" only with dragonflies instead. It made it
that much more difficult to atttempt to spot a clubtail amongst the clouds of
gliders and meadowhawks along Butte Creek. I definitely saw a few Wandering
Gliders, but the vast majority seen well enough to ID had wing spots. Other
things seen were:
American Rubyspot -- common along Butte Creek
Sooty Dancer -- modest numbers along Butte Creek
Emma's Dancer -- modest numbers along Butte Creek
Vivid Dancer -- a few along Butte Creek
Bluets -- common along the creek, in the rice country, none caught and
IDed for sure but I'm guessing Familiar and Tule made up the bulk of 'em
Western Forktail -- a few along Butte Creek
Common Green Darner -- not very common , a handful seen here and there
Gray Sanddragon -- a male along Butte Creek -- only clubtail IDed for
sure!
Pale-faced Clubskimmer -- fairly common along Butte Creek -- at one
point I saw a little group of 4-5 chasing each other around.
Blue Dasher -- 1-2 seen
12-spotted Skimmer -- 2-3 seen
Common Whitetail -- 2 seen
Widow Skimmer -- a few seen
Black Saddlebags -- surprisingly scarce; a few seen at the Oroville
Wildlife Area.
-------
Napa County
Greg Kareofelas
Eticuera Creek - UTM 10 562813E 4288531N (the water flows were really
diminished since June)
Anax walsinghami Giant Darner - several seen
Sympetrum madidum Red-veined Meadowhawk- one collected.
July 21, 2003
Inyo County
Tom & Jo Heindel
Had fun working on a "lavender" damsel that I netted at Haiwee
Reservoir. It was an immature male Emma. We spent yesterday morning at Owens
Lake (Keeler, Dirty Sock and Cottonwood Marsh) birding and odeing. The list
follows:
Emma's Dancer (Argia emma) imm male in hand at Haiwee Reservoir
Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) 1 male in hand at Dirty Socks,
others seen
Alkali Bluet* (E. clausum)* 1 male in hand at Dirty Socks, others
seen
Desert Forktail (Ischnura barberi) 3 (1 male & 2 females)
photo at Dirty Socks
Black-fronted Forktail (Ischnura denticollis) male photo at
Cottonwood Marsh
Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata) at Dirty Socks and photo
(male and female) at Cottonwood Marsh, 50+
Comanche Skimmer (Libellula comanche) males photo at Cottonwood
Marsh, 3+
Bleached Skimmer (L. composita) photo of ovipositing in tandem at
Cottonwood Marsh, 10+
Eight-spotted Skimmer (L. forensis) 14, all males but 1 female at
Cottonwood Marsh
Flame Skimmer (L. saturata) 2 males at Cottonwood Marsh
Desert Whitetail (Plathemis subornata) 25+ , all males but 2
females photo at Cottonwood Marsh
Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) 1 male in hand at Dirty
Socks
Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) 2 male and female at
Cottonwood Marsh
Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) 2 males at Dirty Socks and
Cottonwood Marsh
They all were enjoying the heat and humidity which is more than I can say for
us!
July 19, 2003
Imperial County
Doug Aguillard
My first stop was at the East Main Canal and the K-7 ditch east of Sinclair
Road. I had the following.
American Rubyspots (photos/ everywhere)
Powered Dancers (photo/ everywhere)
Blue-ringed Dancers
Familiar Bluet
White-belted Ringtails (lots and some excellent photos)
Roseate Skimmer
Western Pondhawks
Comanche Skimmers (lifer & excellent photos)
Black Saddlebags (excellent photos)
Red Saddlebags (photos)
Wandering Gliders (lifer)
Spot-winged Glider
Then it was off to the Wister Unit State Hunting Lands
Roseate Skimmers (lots)
Western Pondhawks (excellent photos)
Blue Dashers (excellent photos)
Widow Skimmers
Wandering Glider (photos)
at Davis & Schemp Rds.
Blue-ringed Dancers
Rambur's Forktails
Desert Forktail
Common Green Darner
Western Pondhawks
Blue Dashers (lots)
And then the shock, I went to the Imperial site of the New River Water Project
where there should have been lots of Odes (usually is)
Blue Dashers (a few)
Blue-eyed Darner
17 species for the day, and only had to drink one gallon of water before 1:00
p.m. :)
-------
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel
Today was Palos Verdes' Butterfly count. I did KMHRP of course, and kept track
of Odes, and other stuff :
Bluet sps. - 1
Pacific Forktail . - 1
Damsel sps. . - 3
Green Darner. - 30
Giant Darner . - 1 - NEW park sight record
Blue-eyed Darner. - 16
Variegated Meadowhawk . - 3
Blue Dasher. - 50
Flame Skimmer. - 14
Black Saddlebags. - 1
Red Saddlebags. - 1
Wandering Glider. - 25
Spot-winged Glider. - 1
Dragon sps. . - 30+
July 18, 2003
Imperial County
Bob Miller
Spent the day dragon questing and what a day it was! Picked up two new ones for
me and a few that I had never seen in Imperial County before. The remnants of
hurricane Claudette passed through here this morning. The wind was pretty
strong and the overcast was heavy which I think kept a lot of dragons tucked
in. It was only 105 but the humidity was killer and I'll bet the heat index was
WAY up there!! It did sprinkle a few times about noon. I started out from
Calipatria and went east to the East Highline Canal which is the eastern
boundary of the agricultural area. Then headed northwest along the canal to
Niland. From there it was a few miles west to the Salton Sea and I worked my
way back south along the sea. Sounds like a short trip but that is a lot of hot
ground to cover!
There were two spots that were really amazing and if you were headed this way I
would say hit these two spots! All but four of the Odes listed below were seen
at this first location although most were seen in many places.
Sinclair Road east from Hwy 111 will end at Wiest Road. Get on the south bank
of the small canal (K Lateral) and continue east till it ends at the East
Highline Canal. There used to be a house at this spot many years ago so there
are still some trees and vegetation there. The Damsels were all in the canal
itself. Lots of White-belted Ringtails here but I had good looks at
three Russet-tipped that I could not net. Their eye color is most
notably different from the Ringtails. I was able to net the only Brimstone
Clubtail that I saw and got some nice pics before releasing it. There were
two Comanche Skimmers, many Red Saddlebags and lots of Spot-
winged and Wandering Gliders here. Also had a three foot Gopher Snake here
too!
The second hot spot was at the corner of Davis and Schrimpf Roads near the
Salton Sea. Here I found the first maleRed-tailed Pennant that I have
seen in Imperial County. I was also able to compare the many Roseate Skimmer
females with one Red-tailed Pennant female and now realize that I will have to
start paying closer attention to the Roseates in the future! Comanche Skimmers
here too... and the only Common Green Darner for the day!?
I just realized that I had not seen a single Forktail all day! I was really
looking closely at the dancers for anything other than Blue-ringed but
you almost have to net everything to sort em out and you can only do so much in
this heat!
American Rubyspot
Powdered Dancer
Blue-ringed Dancer
Familiar Bluet
Western Pondhawk
Blue Dasher
White-belted Ringtail
*Russet-tipped Clubtail Stylurus plagiatus
*Brimstone Clubtail Stylurus intricatus
Comanche Skimmer
Red Saddlebags
Spot-winged Glider
Wandering Glider
Black Saddlebags
Roseate Skimmer
*Red-tailed Pennant Brahymesia furcata
Common Green Darner
July 7-18, 2003
Santa Barbara County
Nick Lethaby
Red Saddlebags Tramea onusta
- 5+ at Lake Los Carneros on July 7. This is a common dragonfly (at
least this year) with up to 6 seen at four different locations in the coastal
Plain (above + Goleta Slough, dune pond on the Coal Oil Point reserve, and
Santa Barbara Bird Refuge)
Giant Darner Anax walsinghami
- 1, Upper Santa Ynez River where Paradise Road first crosses the
river on July 18
Gray Sanddragon Progomphus borealis
- 4, Upper Santa Ynez River where Paradise Road first crosses the
river on July 18
*Serpent Ringtail Erpetogomphus
lampropeltis - 1, Upper Santa Ynez River where
Paradise Road first crosses the river on July 18
Pacific Spiketail Cordulegaster
dorsalis - 1, San Isidro Creek on July 21. Also I
have seen this species at Refugio Creek as well.
These are all sight-only records. I will probably start looking at the more
obvious damsels over the next few months as well.
July 17, 2003
San Mateo County
Alvaro Jaramillo
I got on the mountain bike and headed up Montara Mountain, San Mateo Co.
yesterday. Its one of the three large mountains in the Bay Area, but one that
has almost no water so you would expect odonate activity to be low. This was
the case, but surprisingly up above 380m in elevation there were several (10 or
more) Pacific Spiketails cruising up and down the trails. The habitat up
there is taller, lets call it 'old growth' coastal chaparral. I wonder where
these bugs are coming from, they certainly can't breed up there. Also around
were many Spot-winged Gliders, and at least two Wandering Gliders.
-------
San Diego County
Doug Aguillard
I stopped at the Las Pilitas Native Plants Nursery (north of Escondido), where
I remembered that they had a very small pond with native plants surrounding it.
The pond is probably no bigger than 20' X15'. Well, I got there and saw a Blue
Dasher, Black-fronted Forktail, and 2 *Neon Skimmers.L. croceipennis
Also had a Pale-faced Clubskimmer on the Santa Margarita River, but
nothing else as the clouds from Hurricane are making things cooler down here in
SoCal.
July 16, 2003
Sonoma County
Kathy Biggs
I had an appt. in Santa Rosa today, so checked out Lake Ralphine afterwards.
They have really lowered the lake to make ready for a remake of the boat dock
area. It has really impacted the odes! Here's my misery list:
Dancers - 3, all probably CA Dancers, one female seen well
Bluets - less than 2 doz. all of Tule/Arroyo type and the one male seen
well was a Tule. (I hadn't realized Dave had taken the net out of the
car!)
No forktails seen. No emergent vegetation at all now as lake is below level
where the cattails stand.
Green Darner - 2-3 males
Pacific Clubtail - 1 female
8-spotted Skimmer - ~6
Widow Skimmer - 3-4
Common Whitetail - 9
Flame Skimmer - 6
Meadowhawks - 2, one very teneral, the other a female Striped.
Black Saddlebags - 7
That's all for the whole lake!
-------
Siskiyou County
Bruce Deuel
Along the Upper Sacramento River, at the Cantara/Ney Springs Wildlife Area
(just below the Box Canyon Dam), I saw:
Vivid Dancer - 8-10, 1 ovipositing pair
Common Green Darner - 2
Pacific Spiketail - 4-5
Pale-faced Clubskimmer - 1
-------
Marin County
Paul Saraceni
I hiked the Estero Trail at Pt. Reyes, Marin Co. During the 7-mile roundtrip
hike from the trailhead to Sunset Beach, I checked the series of 4 ponds for
Odes. I observed the following:
Vivid Dancer 1
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 80+
Northern/Boreal-type Bluet 20+
Pacific Forktail 40+
San Francisco-type Forktail 130+
Common Green Darner 4
Blue-eyed Darner s 20+
Variegated Meadowhawk 1 m.
Cardinal Meadowhawk 7
Blue Dasher 1 m.
Common Whitetail 1 m.
Twelve-spotted Skimmer 1 m.
I did not identify any of the S.F.-type Forktails in-hand, but presumed they
were that species (vs. Black-fronted) by location (all within 1/4 mile of the
salt-water Drake's Estero, some around a puddle on the edge of the salt marsh
at Sunset Beach). They were particularly numerous in the sedges bordering the
first pond, where there were 80+, including several ovipositing tandem-pairs.
With some searching, they could be found on the edges of all of the ponds along
the trail. Bob Behrstock mentioned that he may check out the location and net a
few in order to confirm their species.
July 15, 2003
San Diego County
Peter Ginsburg
De Luz area:
Am. Rubyspot
Vivid Dancer (fem.)
Arroyo Blue
Western Forktail
Pacific Forktail
Desert Firetail
Giant Darner
Green Darner
White-belted Ringtail
Blue Dasher
Western Pondhawk
Flame Skimmer
Neon Skimmer
Red Rock Skimmer
Pale-faced Clubskimmer
Black Saddlebags
Also, a Giant Darner was working the river crossing on Sandia Creek
Road.
Blue-eyed Darner and Red Saddlebags seen at Lake O'Neill.
July 14, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
Played hooky today, and ventured up into the mountains where it's been about
100 degrees lately. I went to the Green Valley Campground (State Park), where
the Sweetwater River runs down a canyon over large boulders and creates
waterfalls, but also pools of water. There was lots of dragonflies, and a few
new ones for me.
Common Green Darner- 1
Walker's Darner- 1 (lifer & no pic)
Pacific Spiketail- 1
Blue Dasher- 3
Cardinal Meadowhawk- 5
Flame Skimmer-- 20+
California Dancer- 20+
Northern Bluet- 30+
*Lavender Dancer Argia hinei* - 7 (lifer & got pics)
Western Forktail- 3
Desert Firetail- 3
July 11 & 14, 2003
San Francisco County
Paul Saraceni
On July 11 & 14 I checked a couple of San Francisco coastside locations,
both of which are within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), for
San Francisco Forktails:
Marine Drive, Presidio:
This is the road in the Presidio that ends at Fort Point National Historic
Site, located at the southern base of the Golden Gate Bridge. As the Road nears
Fort Point, there are several seeps and a sedge-lined ditch Located along the
southside of the road (some parking and the Bayshore are on The northside of
the road). On the morning of July 11, I observed 70+ S.F. Forktails within
the sedges at this location. The forktails can be observed from the paved
roadside, so there is no need to walk in the fragile habitat. Be careful as
there is quite a bit of tourist traffic (cars & buses, as well as runners
and cyclists) on the road. My understanding is that this site hasbeen surveyed
by and is monitored by NPS staff.
Sutro Baths:
This is the freshwater (spring-fed) grassy pond located in the ruins of the old
Sutro Baths just north of the Cliff House at the Ocean end of Pt. Lobos Ave.
(Geary Blvd.), and adjacent to the seawall. It can be reached by hiking
downhill towards the Ocean from the large dirt parking lot on the northside of
Pt. Lobos Ave. (it's a great birding location). This afternoon, July 14, I
observed 40+ S.F. Forktails (including several tandem pairs) within
thesedges and other grasses on the eastside of the pond (there is an obvious
footpath that skirts the pond). Also at this location, I was surprised to find
a male Swift Forktail (observed at very close range) near the NE corner
of the pond. 10+ Western Forktails, 1 male Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet,
and 1 Blue-eyed Darner were also at the pond. In the vegetation on the
plateau above the pond, near where the spring-trickle runs down hill, I studied
at close range a grayish male Familiar Bluet; 3 female bluets in the
same area were left unidentified, but may have been the same species.
Also, at the Lobos Dunes boardwalk, located above Lobos Creek at the Presidio
Trust HQ parking lot on the eastside of Lincoln Blvd. (across from Baker
Beach), there were 20+ Vivid Dancers.
July 13, 2003
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
Karen LeMay, Les and Cindy Lieurance, and I spent the late morning at Alpine
and Bon Tempe lakes a few miles south of Fairfax. We did not walk up to
Lagunitas Lake where Tony Harrow and Al Brewster had found skimmers such as Widow
Skimmer and Red-veined Meadowhawk to be plentiful today.
Species we observed without walking too much:
Spotted Spreadwing 1 male (in hand id.)
Black Spreadwing 10 males (in hand id.)
Vivid Dancer dozens
Tule Bluet several-id. in hand -several dozen more (presumed)
Arroyo Bluet one male id. in hand
Western Forktail 20+
Pacific Forktail 15+
California Darner 1
Common Green Darner 2
Western Pondhawk 2 males
Eight-spotted Skimmer 10 males
Widow Skimmer 1 male
Common Whitetail 2-3
Flame Skimmer 5
Cardinal Meadowhawk 1 male
Red-veined Meadowhawk 1
Striped Meadowhawk 1
meadowhawks 2 tenerals
Species we did not observe: Exclamation Damsel (season may be over locally)
Pacific Clubtail (season may be over locally) Grappletail (still being reported
in the mountains inland)
-------
Yolo County
John Sterling
This afternoon many hundreds or thousands o Spot-winged Gliders swarmed
over northern Woodland (in Central Valley north of Davis, Yolo County).
July 11-13, 2003
Lassen & Modoc Counties
Tim Manolis
Annette and I took a 3-day mini-vacation to northeastern California, primarily to
explore portions of the Lassen Trail (another hobby), .... We spent Friday
morning getting up there, and spent the next two mornings looking for trail
markers, etc., but managed to make a little time for odonate exploration each
afternoon. The trip racked up 40 species, so it was pretty successful. Sites
visited included:
Zamboni Hot Springs and Long Valley Creek, along Hwy 395 about 8 miles south of
Doyle, Lassen County, 3:30-4:30 p.m., 7/11. Sunny, hot, and breezy.
Pit River, about 8.5 miles north of Alturas along Hwy 395, Modoc County, brief
stop on morning of 7/12 (Sunny, warm and breezy all day).
Dorris Reservoir, Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, near Alturas, Modoc County,
mid-morning 7/12.
Pit River at Canby Bridge, 5 mi. SW of Canby, Modoc County, late morning 7/12.
Ash Creek Campground along Ash Creek, Lassen County (6 mi. SE of Adin),
afternoon of 7/12.
Willow Creek, at and near Willow Creek Campground, along Hwy 139 about 3
mi. NE of Hayden Hill, Lassen County, afternoon of 7/12.
Willow Creek Wildlife Area, Hwy 139, Lassen County, late afternoon of 7/12.
(This is a different Willow Creek than the one near Hayden Hill, quite a few
miles north of the Wildlife Area -- there are too many Willow Creeks in the
area, it gets very confusing!).
Silver Lake and Cooper Swamp, on the eastern border of the Caribou Wilderness
Area, Lassen County, afternoon of 7/13.
Odonates found were:
River Jewelwing* (Calopteryx aequabilis*) -- 8-10 along the Pit
R. north of Alturas
American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) -- Along the Pit R., Ash
Creek, and Willow Creek near the campground.
Emerald Spreadwing (Lestes dryas) -- abundant, 100s seen, many
teneral, at Cooper Swamp.
Western Red Damsel (Amphiagrion abbreviatum) -- 5- 6 seen along
Long Valley Creek.
Paiute Dancer* (Argia alberta*) -- common at Long Valley Creek,
many tandem pairs and ovipositing.
Emma's Dancer (Argia emma) -- a few seen along Long Valley Creek
and the Pit River.
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) -- widespread and common many places.
River Bluet (Enallagma anna)* -- two males netted at Willow Creek
Wildlife Area.
Boreal/Northern Bluet (E. boreale or cyathigerum) - - a few seen at
Silver Lake.
Tule Bluet (Enallagma carunculatum) -- scarce at Long
Valley Creek, common at Dorris Reservoir and Willow Creek Wildlife Area.
Alkali Bluet (Enallagma clausum) -- a male and female netted at
Dorris Reservoir.
Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula) -- fairly common, Willow
Creek Wildlife Area, Dorris Reservoir.
Black-fronted Forktail (Ischnura denticollis) -- 2-3 seen along
Long Valley Creek.
Western Forktail (Ischnura perparva) -- widespread and common.
California Darner (Aeshna californica) -- a probable patrolling
male along Ash Creek near Adin.
Blue-eyed Darner (Aeshna multicolor) -- widely seen, at
most spots in small numbers.
Common Green Darner (Anax junius) -- Scarce, a few seen at spots
such as Dorris Reservoir, along the Pit River; darners in general very scarce.
Pacific Spiketail (Cordulegaster dorsalis)
-- one seen flying along the Norvel Road (County Rd. 104)
near the eastern edge of Clover Valley on 7/13 is a first sight record for
Lassen County.
Pacific Clubtail (Gomphus kurilis) -- 3-4 seen along Ash Creek at
Ash Creek Campground.
Grappletail (Octogomphus specularis) -- common, easily 40-50 seen
in a short stretch of Ash Creek at the campground.
Great Basin Snaketail (Ophiogomphus morrisoni) -- fairly common,
15-20 seen along Ash Creek at the campground.
Pale Snaketail (Ophiogomphus severus) -- a male seen along the Pit
R. north of Alturas.
Gray Sanddragon (Progomphus borealis) -- 6-8 seen along Long
Valley Creek.
Emerald (sp?) -- one at Silver Lake looked like American Emerald
(Cordulia shurtleffii) , another at Cooper Swamp may have been one, too.
Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata) -- Fairly common along
Long Valley Creek, Zamboni Hot Springs, Dorris Reservoir, along the Pit River,
etc.
Hudsonian Whiteface (Leucorrhinia hudsonica) -- a few males at
Cooper Swamp.
Comanche Skimmer (Libellula comanche)
-- a few males seen, one collected, at Zamboni Hot Springs,
first record for Lassen County.
Eight-spotted Skimmer (Libellula forensis) -- the most
common and widely seen skimmer, including many sites well away from water.
Hoary Skimmer (Libellula nodisticta) -- common at Zamboni Hot
Springs, 20+ seen. A female seen along Willow Creek .7 mi. N of Willow Creek
Campground along Hwy 139.
Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) -- common and
widespread, often co-occurring with 8 spots.
Four-spotted Skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata) -- modest numbers
at Cooper Swamp and Silver Lake.
Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) -- 3-4 males at Zamboni Hot
Springs and nearby Long Valley Creek; a male along Ash Creek at the campground;
common along Willow Creek near and at the campground.
Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) -- 6-8 along the Pit River at
Canby Bridge, 4-5 along Willow Creek at and near the campground.
Desert Whitetail (Plathemis subornata) -- 4-5 males, along Long
Valley Creek and at Zamboni Hot Springs.
Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea) -- swarms seen in the
Central Valley between Chico and Sacramento on the drive home.
Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) -- Fairly
common at Dorris Reservoir, including ovipositing pairs. A few seen elsewhere,
e. g., Willow Creek Wildlife Area; abundant along Hwy 99 in the Central Valley
on the drive home.
*Cherry-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum internum) -- fairly common,
20-30 seen, at Willow Creek Wildlife Area; many teneral, 3 females collected.
Western Meadowhawk (Sympetrum occidentale) -- 2-3 seen along Long
Valley Creek, other possibles seen elsewhere (e.g., Willow Creek Wildlife
Area).
Striped Meadowhawk (Sympetrum pallipes) -- one along Long Valley
Creek, a few at Ash Creek Campground, possibly others seen elsewhere, but in
general, scarce.
Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) -- one seen at Dorris
Reservoir.
July 12, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
I decided to go back today to the Santa Margarita River today above Fallbrook,
where I had been a few days ago, and had seen some lifers. Today held even more
lifers for me.
Gray Sanddragon 1
White-belted Ringtail 1
Flame Skimmers 5
Red Rock Skimmers 8
Pale-faced Clubskimmer 20+ (lifer)
American Rubyspots 4 (my 1st in SD County)
Pacific Forktail
Vivid Dancers
Arroyo Bluets (lifer)
Familiar Bluets
I then headed south towards home, but stop at my favorite Cemetery- Greenwood
Common Green Darner 1
Red Saddlebags 7
Black Saddlebags 2
Blue Dashers 20
Pacific Forktails 4
July 10-11, 2003
San Francisco & San Mateo Counties
Paul Saraceni
After stopping by Coyote Pt., San Mateo Co. yesterday on the way to my office
and finding one male San Francisco Forktail (presumed, not ID'd by hand)
among many Pacifics in the cattail-lined ditch near the Yacht Club, I
got the urge to find some in San Francisco. A little research on the Web led me
to a Presidio Trust restoration document that mentioned the general location
where this species was found in 1999-2000 during environmental impact surveys.
I drove to that area this morning, found the seep and ditch containing sedges
(approx. 10' x 100') and was stunned to observe 60+ male and 10+ female S.F.
Forktails during about 20 minutes of looking in overcast conditions (no
other Odonates observed). I caught one male and one female by hand and was able
to ID the male in hand based on lack of "hook" at the bottom of
paraproct, before releasing.
July 10, 2003
Inyo County
Jo Heindel
I spent a couple of hours where I believe the Blue-ringed Dancer was
sighted [Owens River] and had a most refreshing time wading through the water.
I saw 50-100 River Bluets and many Familiar Bluets but no dancers. I
covered only a small portion of the area and will spend another morning there
in a week. I must have had over 100 bluets as well as Pacific Forktail,
Common Green Darner, Blue-eyed Darner, Flame Skimmer female ovipositing, Variegated
Meadowhawk, etc.
July 9, 2003
Napa County
Andrew Rehn
Eticuena Creek 4 mi N Lake Berryessa on Knoxville-Berryessa Rd.
Anax walsinghami Giant Darner
-----
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
Santa Margarita River / Sandia Creek
Red Rock Skimmers -quite a few
Gray Sanddragons 1
Flame Skimmer - 1
Familiar Bluet -1
I then went to Live Oaks Springs County Park in Fallbrook and had
Flame Skimmer - 1
Blue Dasher - 1
Vivid Dancers - 4
July 8, 2003
San Francisco County
Paul Saraceni
I made a brief visit to Pine Lake Park in San Francisco, which is located at
the west end of Stern Grove and most easily accessible from the intersection
of Crestlake and Wawona. The highlight was a female BLUE DASHER that I
photographed near the NW corner of the lake, which I believe is the first
record (overdue) for Odes-poor SF County. Species observed included:
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 1 m.
Pacific Forktail 20+
Western Forktail 3 f.
California Darner 2 m.
Blue-eyed Darner 5+
BLUE DASHER Pachydiplax longipennis
Cardinal Meadowhawk 1 m.
The 2 Forktail species (10+ Pacific, 2 f. Western) along with a female
Northern/Boreal-type Bluet were also at Mallard Lake in Golden Gate Park on my
way home.
San Mateo County
Alvaro Jaramillo
I live basically right on the coast in San Mateo County, and most of the summer
it is cold and foggy here. Exactly where I live its about as good for odonates
as the middle of Antarctica for most of the time. The benefit is that when it
does get warmer and we see some overnight, or quick arrivals here it is almost
surely due to migrants or long-distance dispersal (what is the difference
really?). During the heat wave of about two weeks ago nothing really arrived
here in Montara, except that VIVID DANCERS started showing up here and
there. I think these were local hatches, rather than migrants, but that is a
guess. Now it started warming up again during the last couple of days and we
are expecting even hotter weather today and in the next couple of days. What
has been interesting is the sudden arrival (1 in Montara two days ago, over 20
in Montara yesterday) of SPOT-WINGED GLIDERS. These definitely appear to
be arriving migrants from somewhere. My guess is that they will build up in
numbers if the weather stays hot, and if what I have seen in past years
happens, then a few BLACK SADDLEBAGS will show up. Now there are a lot of good
ponds just inland here on the San Mateo coast that have odonates, but what I am
referring to is the immediate coast where the fog and cold weather is much more
persistent.
-----
Orange County
Andy Lazere
San Juan Creek is accessed from the Ortega Highway (74) above Ronald W. Caspers
Wilderness Park. Go north at the sign for Lazy-W Ranch/San Juan Fire Station.
The road only goes for about 1 mile and the creek crosses it three times
providing access. This is in the Cleveland National Forest and you will need an
Adventure Pass or National Park Pass. Thomas Guide page 924 B2.
Ca/Aztec dancer 2
A female examined in hand appeared to be a Blue-ringed Dancer based on
the mesostigmal plate. I released it unaware that this would be a county
record. Guess I need to go back and get a voucher.
Red Rock Skimmer 7 all male
---
San Diego County
Andy Lazere
Estuary of San Mateo Creek/Trestles Thomas Bros P. 993 B3
Pacific Forktail 1
Blue-eyed Darner- many
No Seaside Dragonlet!
July 7, 2003
Marin County
Paul Saraceni
I made a brief visit to Rodeo Lagoon in the Marin Headlands, in a successful
attempt to find Swift Forktails (thanks to a tip from Bob Behrstock) --
I observed 1 male and at least 3 females on the south side of the cattail-lined
pond at the east end of the large lagoon. Check the weedy paths that head in
from each of the picnic tables. There were many Pacific Forktails in
that area, and I caught and ID'd- in-hand a male Arroyo Bluet
July 6, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I floated the Klamath River west of Happy Camp today. We put-in at Independence
Bridge and took out at Coon Creek River Access. Strong afternoon winds hit us
at about 1430 hrs. We floated six miles. I noticed the following odes.
American Rubyspot - several males
River Jewelwing - 3 males patrolling
Sooty Dancer - 2 males
Emma's Dancer - many pairs ovipositing
Northern/Boreal Bluet sp - abundant, many pairs ovipositing
Common Green Darner - 4 males patrolling
Pacific Clubtail - several males
Sinuous Snaketail - fairly common
Western River Cruiser - 7 males patrolling
Western Pondhawk - 3 males perched and patrolling @ take- out
Eight-spot Skimmer - 1 male perched and patrolling @ take- out
Widow Skimmer - 3 males @ take-out
Common Whitetail - 3 males patrolling @ take-out
---
Marin County
Paul Saraceni, Eric Preston, Kevin McKereghan, Bob Behrstock and Tony Harrow
Eric Preston, Kevin McKereghan and I [Paul] escaped fog-bound SF to do some
Ode-ing at Alpine and Lagunitas Lakes, near Fairfax, Marin County (directions
provided in prior posts to CalOdes). Shortly after we began looking around
Alpine Lake, Bob Behrstock and Tony Harrow coincidentally arrived and, after
introductions, we all joined forces for a great day in the field. Thanks to
Bob, we were able to enjoy some in-hand observations of several species. Some
nice leps and herps were around as well. Our efforts were focused around the
marsh and slough at the east end (boat ramp) of Alpine Lake and the north side
dike, SW corner marsh, and stream adjacent to the parking lot at Lake Lagunitas.
Our list for the day (8:15 AM - 3:00 PM), including conservative estimates:
Alpine Lake = "A"
Lake Lagunitas = "L" stream below Lake Lagunitas = "S"
Spotted Spreadwing 10+ (A,S) (in-hand study of 1 m.)
Black Spreadwing 10+ (A,S) (in-hand study of 1 m.)
Vivid Dancer 30+ (S)
Northern/Boreal-type Bluet 2 (A)
Tule Bluet 1 m. (A) (in-hand ID)
Arroyo Bluet 1 m. (A) (in-hand ID)
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 80+ (A,L,S)
Exclamation Damsel 2 m. (S)
Pacific Forktail 20+ (A,S)
Western Forktail 60+ (A,L,S)
Common Green Darner 8+ (A,L)
California Darner 1 m. (A)
Blue-eyed Darner 10+ (A,L,S)
Pacific Clubtail 3 m., 1 f. (L,S)
Pacific Spiketail 1 f. (S)
Variegated Meadowhawk 1 imm. (A)
Cardinal Meadowhawk 1 m. (A)
Red-veined Meadowhawk 4-6 (L,S) (including tandem pair)
Striped Meadowhawk 3 imm. (A)
Western Pondhawk 5+ (A,L)
Blue Dasher 20+ (L)
Common Whitetail 40+ (L,S)
Eight-spotted Skimmer 80+ (A,L,S)
Widow Skimmer 20+ (L)
Flame Skimmer 40+ (A,L,S)
Black Saddlebags 8+ (A,L,S) (including tandem pair)
Bob commented that he has not previously seen four species of Sympetrum near
the coast in one day. Our only disappointment on such a fine day was not
finding any Grappletails at the stream below Lake Lagunitas, where Bob had
observed them several weeks ago.
Colusa County
Dave and Kathy Biggs
Bear Creek at Hwy 20, 4-4:30 pm
We only had time to spend a half hour down along the creek right near the Hwy
20 bridge (~ 200 yds). We had hoped to get to the area ~ 5 miles down the
road to search for the Desert Forktail that Rosser found one female of at the
DSA trip, but we just didn't have time or energy left for that. I hope to get
there or get a report from someone else who has time to go there soon! I
checked the grasses for forktails (none at all seen of any species) while Dave
watched/photographed the Anisopterans. We found most species to be in higher #s
than at DSA except the Flame Skimmers:
Am Rubyspot Hetaerina americana - 12
Emma's Dancer Argia emma - 200+
Vivid Dancer A. vivida - 2 doz.
No/Bo Bluet type Enallagma cyathigerum/boreale - 100
Tule/Arroyo Bluet type E. carunculatum/praevarum - a doz
White-belted Ringtail Erpetogomphus compositus - 3 doz
Gray Sanddragon Progomphus borealis - 12
Giant Darner Anax walsinghami - 6
River Cruiser Macromia magnifica - possibly one seen; no new
exuviae on the bridge
Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata - one male rescued
from floating
Widow Skimmer Libellula luctuosa - 1 doz
Flame Skimmer L. saturata - 2-3 doz
Variegated Meadowhawk Sympetrum corruptum - 3
Black Saddlebags Tramea lacerata - 2-3
July 5, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
Today, my family and I took a look at Big Lake, which is at 5850 feet and about
seven miles north-northwest of Manzanita Lake. Big Lake is on Forest Service
land. As was the case about three weeks ago, the mosquitoes drove us mad,
though it wasn't as bad this time (we actually stayed 20 minutes). We spent
most of the 20 minutes fending off mosquitoes.
Emerald Spreadwing - ~30
Walker's Darner - one male caught, two or three other darners seen
that may have been Walker's
Pacific Spiketail - one flyby
After that, we went to Plum Valley Reservoir (no mosquitoes!), elevation 4700
feet, about 3 miles north-northeast of the junction of highways 89 and 44 at
Old Station. There we found:
Emerald Spreadwing - perhaps 20 individuals
Tule Bluet - common
Northern Bluet - common
Pacific Forktail - ~10
Western Forktail - common
Common Green Darner - 1
Darner (probable California) - 1
Striped Meadowhawk - many young/teneral
Common Whitetail - ~10 (some had more white on the wing than I'm
accustomed to seeing but not as much as it should have to be Desert Whitetail;
I wasn't able to catch one for photo
Eight-spotted Skimmer - 2+
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - ~10
Black Saddlebags - 1
---
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel
I made a brief stop at Legg Lake in El Monte - San Gabriel Valley area. The
lack of aquatic vegetation there (all tules and any other aquatic veg removed
probably for "vector" (mosquito) control coincided with a distinct
lack of Odes. Plus stocked Bass and Trout surely don't help! The difference
between it and KMHRP where there is lush aquatic veg is astounding. I saw at
Legg Lake:
Bluet sps. - 3
UN-ID'd teneral damsel sps. - 3 (One almost completely lime green was
beautiful)
Mexican Amberwing - 1 - no recent record from KMHRP so very interesting
to me
Red Saddlebags - 2 - I wouldn't be surprised if these came from the
Sanctuary across the street where there is aquatic vegetation in the river and
at ponds.
Hoping for a current Amberwing at "my local patch", I took a break
from packing to move to check KMHRP (Harbor Pk.) today, 7/6/03. I only did the
developed west side of Machado Lake,so this was a brief look at a small part of
the habitat.
Bluet sps. - 8 - presumed Tule - mostly black
mostly blue Bluet sps. - 2 - Northern or Boreal?
Pacific Forktail - 150+ - many in wheel
UN - ID'd damsel sps. - 25
Green Darner - 11+
Blue-eyed Darner - 2
Blue Dasher - 50 - mostly males some prs. in wheel
Flame Skimmer - 3
Black Saddlebags - 4
Red Saddlebags - 2
NO Amberwings though...
-----
Siskiyou County
Dave and Kathy Biggs
Dave wanted to access the Medicine Lake Highlands area, a loop we've enjoyed
making at least once a year now for several years: At Pumice Stone Well off the
highway to Harris Springs:
Spotted Spreadwing (one female examined in hand)
Pacific Forktail
Western Forktail
Boreal Bluet (examined in hand)
Tule Bluet (examined in hand)
CA Darner - probably this species
Blue-eyed Darner - 2 examined in hand
American Emerald - 5 caught and released, assume all others were the
same species, although a few looked larger but might just have been females
4-spotted Skimmer - a few
8-spotted Skimmer - some
12-spotted Skimmer - abundant! (we saw a lot of spots before our eyes!)
Common Green Darner - 1-2
Little Medicine Lake (across the road from Medicine Lake):
Spreadwing sp. - a few tenerals seen
Pacific Forktail
Western Forktail
Northern/Boreal Bluet sp.
Tule/Arroyo Bluet sp.
Blue-eyed Darner - several seen, one female found floating almost
dead
American Emerald - emerging by the score with at least 5000 exuvia about
the pond, each blade of emergent vegetation containing several. No Mt. Emeralds
could be found although we looked at each emerging dragon thru binoculars if
there appendages were noticeable
Crimson-ringed Whiteface - a few emerging. Examined in hand to determine
they were not Red-waisted.
Dot-tailed Whiteface - several found emerging, 3 males already on
territory
8-spotted Skimmer - many, no 12-spotted here!
Variegated Meadowhawk - one male
Meadowhawk sp - 2 yellowish tenerals seen
Bullseye Lake, 6 miles southeast of Medicine Lake
Spreadwing sp. - a few tenerals seen
Pacific Forktail
Western Forktail
Northern/Boreal Bluet sp.
Tule/Arroyo Bluet sp.
Blue-eyed Darner - several seen, another female found floating almost
dead
American Emerald - some emerging
Crimson-ringed Whiteface - many few emerging. Examined in hand to
determine they were not Red-waisted.
Hudsonian Whiteface - a few emerging 8-spotted Skimmer - many, no
12-spotted here either!
-----
Del Norte County
Ron LeValley
...We escaped the fog and went up to Sanger Lake south of Sanger Peak at around
5,000 feet elevation. At a little pond just south of Sanger Lake we had:
Emerald Spreadwing Lestes dryas
(a dozen or so, photos taken)
Mountain Emerald Somatachlora
semicircularis (6 or so, one captured and photo
taken)
At Sanger Lake we had:
Boreal Bluet (one examined in hand, hundreds present)
Mountain Emerald (only a couple)
Eight Spot Skimmer (one seen)
Chalk-fronted Corporal Libellula julia*
(many present, photos taken)
-------
Inyo County
Tom & Jo Heindel; Matt Heindel
Desert Spiketail Cordulegaster dorsalis deserticola at Baker. It was
a life ode for Matt and he was thrilled. We will certainly keep a close eye to
see if there any are Cordulegaster dorsalis dorsalis in Inyo
Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum) collected at Baker Meadow, ~3.2 km (2
miles) W of Big Pine, Inyo County, CA. Elevation 1360 meters (4462 feet)
July 4, 2003
Sierra County
Douglas Vaughan
I spent a couple of days this week in the Sierra, most of the time looking for
odes in Sierra County. I've spent a lot of time in this area, and I realized
last year that several species missing from the Sierra County list were
*surely* present. For example, I have seen or collected Grappletail (Octogomphus
specularis) at a couple of spots along Gray Eagle Creek near Long Lake(el. about
6500', a bit higher than the normal range cited in Tim's book), and Shadow
Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) is fairly common, albeit later in the season, at
Bear Lake. Both of these sites are in Plumas County, very close to the Sierra
County line. Appropriate habitat appears to exist in Sierra County, too. All
told, more than a dozen species have been reported from both Nevada County to
the south and Plumas County to the north. However I found no new county
records. Especially notable was the absence of any activity along streams
flowing into the N. Yuba River, between about 2600' and 5400'. The species list
follows; except where noted, I saw only one or a few of each:
Emerald Spreadwing (Lestes dryas)
Emma's Dancer (Argia emma) -- several, at scattered locations
Vivid Dancer (A. vivida) -- ditto
Boreal Bluet (Enallagma boreale) -- this and the following
species were identified in hand; at Lower Tamarack Lake (el. about 6700')
teneral bluets were present in swarms, and larvae, emerging adults, drying
tenerals, dead tenerals, and exuviae were present by the hundreds on emergent
grasses
Northern Bluet (E. cyathigerum)
Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula)
Western Forktail (I. perparva)
Blue-eyed Darner (Aeshna multicolor) -- a few at scattered
spots
Pacific Spiketail (Cordulegaster dorsalis)
American Emerald (Cordulia shurtleffi)
Crimson-ringed Whiteface (Leucorrhinia glacialis) -- abundant
at some lakes, not seen at others
Four-spotted Skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata) -- present almost
everywhere, abundant locally; emerging amid bluets at Lower Tamarack Lake
Striped Meadowhawk (Sympetrum pallipes)
---
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
I explored a small unnamed lake at 6600 feet on top of Table Mountain about two
miles north-northeast of Manzanita Lake (Lassen Park). The unnamed lake is only
partly in the park; I accessed from outside the park. There were four species
present:
Emerald Spreadwing - abundant, there must have been thousands, mostly
young and teneral at the lake -- there were also quite a few in wooded
clearings away from the lake
Northern/Boreal Bluet - common
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - ~20
Four-spotted Skimmer - ~10
-----
Siskiyou County
Dave and Kathy Biggs
Dave and I checked out Widow Springs Pond @ Widow Springs Rd. off Pilgrim Creek
Rd., McCloud, near our property. This pond has been wonderful in the past, but
its water is being diverted to fill the pond of a nearby property owner and is
now mostly a cold creek with an attached mud marsh. We did see a few odes however:
Western Red Damsel - 3-4
Western Forktail - ~5 (all very green on the thorax)
Anisopteran species - 1 flyby
-----
Del Norte County
Ron LeValley
.... along Elk Creek about a mile south of the Oregon Border off Highway 199:
Sooty Dancer Argia lugens (1 female) - photos taken
Swift Forktail (only a few)
Grappletail Octogomphus specularis
(common along the creek) - photos taken
Darner sp. (one)
-------
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Stockton, along Five Mile Creek
Pachydiplax longipennis - 7 males; 1 female (netted)
Libellula saturata- 3 males
July 3, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
Oak Hill Cemetery in Escondido-
Red-tailed Pennants
Flame Skimmers
Black Saddlebags
Red Saddlebags
Familiar Bluets
Black-fronted Forktails
Pacific Forktails
Guajiome Regional Park in Oceanside.
Common Green Darners (VERY COMMON)
Red Saddlebags
Mexican Amberwings
Variegated Meadowhawks
Blue Dashers
Familiar Bluets
Pacific Forktails
Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego. ONLY Red Saddlebags, and Pacific Forktails.
What happen to everything else????
-----
Colusa County
Dave and Kathy Biggs
Bear Creek @ Highway 20-
Dave and I drove up to Siskiyou Co (where our cabin has FINALLY been started)
for the holiday weekend. We usually drive right by Bear Creek on our way there
and back, so we decided to check to see if having ~65 folks there, many with
nets, had made any noticeable difference.
Bear Creek at Hwy 20, 7:30 pm (and still quite warm) We only had time to spend
about 10 mins parked along the dirt road just between Hwy 20 and the 'NO
Trespassing" sign about 1/4 mile down the road:
Giant Darners - many (~6) were swarming over the road, feeding. Another
3-4 were still flying their beat over the creek.
Flame Skimmers - many along the road and still flying a beat.
Black Saddlebags - several flying and feeding above the road (one looked
red to us, but we couldn't be certain)
July 2, 2003
Sonoma County
David A. Hofmann
Today I parked my car in Spring Lake Regional Park and hiked into the adjacent
Annadel State Park. There is a nice, small lake called Illsanjo Lake a few
miles into the state park. I found a picnic table at the base of the dam next
to the open water, there were reeds on both sides. In fact reeds prevent access
to much of the water except at the dam. While sitting at the picnic table I
saw:
Eight-spotted Skimmer - 4 (liked to harass the male Widow Skimmers, like
kingbirds harassing anything)
Widow Skimmer - 4 (a couple in wheel, then watched the female
"drop" eggs.
Common Whitetail - 2
Flame Skimmer - 2
Blue Dasher - over 100+ a few in wheel (so many males 98%, but so few
females)
Black Saddlebags - 6
Blue-eyed Darner - 1
Pacific Forktail - 6 (a couple in wheel)
Western Forktail - 4
On the way up the trail to the lake and back down to Spring Lake additional
sightings were:
Red-veined Meadowhawk - 6
Common Green Darner - 5
Blue-eyed Darner - 25+ (seemed to be common patrolling the trail and
forest openings)
It was good to get out to see the bugs, but was disappointed in the number of
butterflies seen.
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I had to travel to Medford, Oregon today. I had a friend who knows rare plants
with me. We stopped at several sights looking for plants and whatever crossed
our path. Here is what we found. At Gunsight Ridge elev 5,500' West of Yreka we
went up Gunsight Ridge in search of Siskiyou Mariposa lily.
Emerald Spreadwing (lifer)- perched in low veg
-------
Shasta County
Greg Kareofelas
At Battle Creek UTM, 10 576646E 4554159N, 2800' elev
Macromia magnifica Western River Cruiser - one female
collected
July 1/2, 2003
Modoc County
Bruce Deuel & Tim Manolis
Today Tim Manolis and I went back to the Willow Creek Ranch at MP 25-27 of Crowder
Flat Road on the Devil's Garden, as well as other stops. I will try to report
what we saw, and hopefully Tim can correct any errors or omissions I make.
First stop was the seasonal pond at MP 21.5.
Emerald Spreadwing - 1 female.
Tule Bluet - a few i.d.'d in the hand, of the 10-20 present.
Pacific Forktail - 1-2
Western Forktail - 10
Common Green Darner - a pair in tandem and 1-2 extra males.
Variegated Meadowhawk - 8-10
Eight-spotted Skimmer - 2-3
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - 1
2nd stop was where Willow Creek crosses Crowder Flat Road.
Aztec Dancer - 2 in hand of several dancers seen
Tule Bluet - 3-4 in hand
Northern Bluet - 1 in hand (20 or so total bluets seen)
Pacific Forktail - 1-2
Western Forktail - 10
Variegated Meadowhawk - 4-5
Western Pondhawk - 1 female
Common Whitetail - a couple
Eight-spotted Skimmer - a few
Four-spotted Skimmer - a few
3rd stop was Willow Creek Ranch itself. We covered about 2 miles of the
channelized creek, some wide irrigation ditches, and the ponded area at the N
end near the ranch buildings. Damsels - they were abundant along the creek, and
included many tenerals of dancers, bluets, and forktails. The ones we had in
hand or otherwise i.d.'d were
Aztec Dancer - 1
Vivid Dancer - 4-5
Pacific Forktail - 3
Western Forktail - 6-8
Common Green Darner - a few patrolling the dry uplands, and a few along
the canals.
Blue-eyed Darner - 2
Pale Snaketail - up to 10 seen well, 1 specimen kept
Pacific Spiketail Corduelgaster dorsalis
- 1 female ovipositing along the creek, 1st co. sight record
Western Pondhawk - common along the wide irrigation canal
Common Whitetail - 6-10, mostly on west side of ranch.
Eight-spotted Skimmer - maybe 50 seen
Hoary Skimmer - 3-4 seen
Four-spotted Skimmer - as common as the eight-spots, or maybe more so.
Finally, we stopped at the Pit River just west of the Canby Bridge, finding
many more Eight-spotted Skimmers and a couple of Common Whitetails,
along with
American Rubyspot - 1 male (still no county specimen)
Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum
- 4; 1st county record, specimen kept
---
Sonoma County
David A. Hofmann
After seeing the long list of odes seen during the recent DSA field trip, I was
sorry I missed it. I visited Spring Lake in Santa Rosa today and had a few odes
to report as follows:
Eight-spotted Skimmer -quite common
Widow Skimmer -a few
Common White-tail -a few
Flame Skimmer -a few
Blue Dasher -many
Cardinal Meadowhawk -a few
Black Saddlebags -a few
Blue-eyed Darner -quite common
Common Green Darner -a few
Northern Bluet -a few
---
Lassen County
Tim Manolis
Bruce Deuel has already reported on a visit to Modoc County that he and I made
on 1 July. After Bruce and I split up in Fall River Mills that afternoon, I
stuck around to look for odonates at a few spots in Lassen County.
My first stop was along the Pit River Canyon Road southeast of Pittville. At a
small, marshy pond along the road, among other things, were a number (10+) of
territorial male Blue Dashers (Pachydiplax
longipennis) , one of which was collected for
an overdue first Lassen County record.
I then spent July 2 at a number of spots around Susanville and Honey Lake.
Flowing Wells is a tiny oasis southeast of Wendel and east of Honey Lake, very
near the Nevada state line along the road to Pyramid Lake. There is a small
well there, but it is capped, and the water still flows, but out of a small hose,
to feed a small, dense stand of cattails, etc., at the foot of a lonely
cottonwood tree. Not a lot of dragonfly activity, but a nice assortment,
including a handful of Flame Skimmers (Libellula saturata), a Hoary
Skimmer (Libellula nodisticta), a Western Meadowhawk (Sympetrum
occidentale), a Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata), a Vivid Dancer
(Argia vivida), an Aeshna sp? overhead, and 2-3 teneral bluets.
Others and I have seen Flame Skimmers Libellula
saturata) at
a number of sites on a number of occasions in Lassen County (they are common
along Long Valley Creek in the southern part of the county), but there was no
voucher specimen for the county, so I netted one.
Most of the midday of July 2 was spent chasing snaketails along stretches of
the Susan River in Susanville. Both *Great Basin Snaketail (Ophiogomphus
morrisoni) and Bison Snaketail (Ophiogomphus bison) are
fairly common here, the only known site where they occur together, and I caught
an apparent hybrid here last summer, so I was interested in seeing if there
might be more. But of 6 netted (3 of each) and many others seen, I saw no
definite signs of hybridization. Among other things, River Jewelwings
(Calopteryx aequabilis) were out along the river, always nice to
see.
A last stop in the afternoon on the way home was Clear Creek, west of Westwood.
It was very windy, and dozens of Eight-spotted Skimmers (Libellula
forensis) were huddled low and tame in the lee of bushes.
Eight-spots, as is more-or-less usual, were widespread and abundant in Lassen
and Modoc counties during the two-day trip. Among other things on the boggy
margins of Clear Creek, about 8-10 *White-faced Meadowhawks (Sympetrum
obtrusum) were my first of the year.
June
June 28, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
Started today at the Dos Picos County Park (pond) in Ramona.
Spotted Spreadwings
Blue-ringed Dancers
Familiar Bluets
Western Forktails
Pacific Forktails
Desert Firetails
Common Green Darners
Blue-eyed Darners
Blue Dashers
Common Whitetails
Flame Skimmers
Black Saddlebags
Red Saddlebags
Then it was off to Kit Carson Park (pond) in Escondido.
Blue-ringed Dancers
Vivid Dancers
Familiar Bluets
Black-fronted Forktails
Western Forktails
Pacific Forktails
Common Green Darner
Blue-eyed Darner
Blue Dashers
Flame Skimmers
Black Saddlebags
Red Saddlebags
Off I went to the Daley Ranch in Escondido, to look at there ponds, but
couldn't get close to them due to excessive vegetation.
Blue-ringed Dancers
Flame Skimmer
Black Saddlebags
Finally I went to the Oak Hill Cemetery Pond in Escondido, and had the
following.
Blue-ringed Dancers
Familiar Bluets
Western Forktails
Pacific Forktails
Black-fronted Forktails
Desert Firetail
Flame Skimmers
Variegated Meadowhawks
Black Saddlebags
Red Saddlebags
16 species for the day, and photos will be up on my web site soon.
http://sdbirds.basiclink.com
Lassen County
Ray Bruun
I checked out three spots in Lassen Park this morning. The first was a 2-acre
seasonal lake (elevation 6500 ft?) just above Hat Lake. Not much there. Blue-eyed
Darner (1), Twelve-spotted Skimmer (1), Northern/Boreal Bluet (~10), and
small unidentified dragonfly (1).
Reflection Lake was next and it was hopping. Lots of Four- spottedSkimmers.
Others included Blue-eyed Darner, California Darner (not positiveon that
one), and Emeralds (Mountain or Ringed?). Also had Western Forktail
and Northern/Tule Bluet.
Just up the trail from Reflection Lake is Lily Pond. Of interest were about 20
to 30 Taiga Bluets* and 2 Western Red Damsels. Western Forktail was also
seen. I didn't note thee dragons due to lack of time
June 27, 2003
Butte/Yuba Counties
Tim Manolis
Despite predictions of very hot weather, I took a quick trip this morning to a
neat little spot, Lower Honcut Creek @ the Los Verjeles Road bridge, a few
miles south of Bangor, Butte County. The creek is the Butte/Yuba county line. A
nice way to look for county odes is to wade right down a county line, because
you essentially have the opportunity to get twice the county odes, often with
only one critter. Plus wading in a cold, flowing streamis as good as any way to
spend a hot late morning.
This creek looks as good as any I have seen for Giant Darner, which would be
new for either county, but alas, none showed up today. My secondary mission was
to try and collect Western River Cruiser and Red Rock Skimmer, both of which I
have seen in Yuba County, but neither of which has been collected there.
Saw both but only caught the cruiser, the only one seen (there were 3-4 Red
Rock Skimmers present; will have to catch 'em another day). Another new county
specimen for Yuba was Sooty Dancer, a male collected (I was surprised to find
out when I got home that there wasn't even a previous sight record for
Yuba County). I netted a male and female California Dancer on the Butte side of
the creek and was a bit disappointed as I was hoping for Aztec, which is on the
Butte County list but which I have never seen in the county (California Dancer
is widespread and common in Butte). Anyway, I let them go, and then discovered
when I got home that while Aztec is known for Yuba, California isn't! So I
guess I've got to go back some time and collect some of them on the Yuba side
of the creek. . .about 3 feet away!
Species seen at this site were:
American Rubyspot -- 15-20
California Dancer Argia agriodies
- sight (in hand) county record for Yuba Co.
Emma's Dancer -- 1 male
Sooty Dancer Argia lugens specimen
record for Yuba County
Vivid Dancer -- 10-15
Familiar Bluet -- a male netted
Pacific Forktail -- a female seen
Pacific Clubtail -- a male seen
Gray Sanddragon Progomphus borealis
-- 4-5 males on territories along the creek; first sight record for
Yuba County; another one I've got to go back and collect.
Flame Skimmer -- 8
Widow Skimmer -- 8
12-spotted Skimmer -- 2
Pale-faced Clubskimmer -- 2
Western River Cruiser Macromia
magnifica - County record specimen for Yuba
Red Rock Skimmer Paltothemis
lineatipes Sight record for Yuba County
June 26, 2003
Orange County
Andy Lazere
At Laguna Niguel Regional Park today
Mexican Amberwing
Pacific Forktail
Flame Skimmer
Blue Dasher
Common Green Darner
The best habitat is at the out flow from the lake at the east end of the park.
Drive past the lake as far as you can go. Start at the footbridge at the
parking lot and work your way back up the near side of the creek.
Tehama County
Ray Bruun
For about an hour today, I looked for odes along Lower Deer Creek in Tehama
County upstream of the Hwy 99 bridge. The highlight was California Dancer, a new
county record. At least I think it was California, could have been Aztec. Had I
known it was a county record (Aztec would have been too, actually), I would
have collected a specimen. As it was, all I got was some possibly useful
pictures.
Here's a quick summary:
Widow Skimmer - ~10
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - 1
Flame Skimmer - ~10
Black Saddlebags - ~10
Pacific Spiketail (one seen along a small drainage parallel and
tributary to Deer Creek)
Pale-faced Clubskimmer - 1
Western Pondhawk - 1
Blue Dasher - 1
Variegated Meadowhawk - 1
Gray Sanddragon - 3
Pacific Forktail - ~5
Tule Bluet - ~10
Familiar Bluet probable (could have been Northern/Boreal) - ~5
American Rubyspot - a bunch
Vivid Dancer - 1
Emma's Dancer - 1
California Dancer Argia agriodies
- ~5, county photo record, upgrades previous sighting only record
Sooty Dancer - ~10
June 25, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
We finally saw the Sun today in Coastal San Diego County after almost 30 days
of Coastal Eddies. I headed for Fallbrook to the Los Jilgueros (The Finches)
Preserve. It was my first time there, and it is one of the best Dragonfly
habitats that I've seen so far in San Diego County. The Preserve has two HUGE
ponds and a riparian/marshy area. Here's what I saw:
Flame Skimmers, Red Saddlebags, Black Saddlebags, Common Green Darners,
Blue-eyed Darners, Mexican Amberwings, Blue Dashers, Blue-ringed Dancers,
Familiar Bluets, Pacific Forktails
I then headed south to San Diego's Mission Trails Regional Park, near Santee.
Flame Skimmers, Giant Green Darner, Common Green Darner, Blue Dashers,
Mexican Amberwings, Familiar Bluets, Northern Bluets
Then it was off to Santee Lakes:
Flame Skimmers, Red Saddlebags, Black Saddlebags, *Red-tailed Pennants
(lifers), Mexican Amberwings, Common Green Darners, Blue Dashers, Variegated
Meadowhawk, Familiar Bluets
-----
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
We floated the Klamath River searching for dead or dying salmon smolts. We
put-in at Wingate Bar River Access, seven miles west of Happy Camp. Our
take-out was Coon Creek River Access, eighteen miles west of Happy Camp.
Weather was fine; sunny, temps in low '80's, slight afternoon breeze. The river
has dropped and cleared, with visibility into the water several feet. We did an
eddy search looking for dead smolts. Fortunately we did not find too many dead
fish. We did see heaps of odes.
Sinuous Snaketail - abundant,
Emma's Dancer - abundant, hundreds of pairs ovipositing
Ca darner - 10+
Flame Skimmer - 4 - patrolling cut-off pool along river.
Cardinal Meadowhawk - 1 male perched on veg @ cut-off pool.
Widow Skimmer - 2 - Males patrolling cut-off pool along river.
12-Spotted Skimmer - 2 - Males patrolling cut-off pool along river.
Western Pondhawk - 1 - Male patrolling cut-off pool along river.
Blue-eyed Darner - 2 - Males patrolling edge of river.
Aeshna sp. - (I need a net!) - Lots are patrolling river edge.
Common Whitetail - 8 - Males patrolling & skirmishing @ cut-off
pool.
Green Darners - 4 - Two pairs ovipositing
Pacific Clubtail - 35+ - Quite numerous, landing on raft
Vivid Dancers - relatively abundant
Bluet sp. - abundant (probably Northern Bluet)
American Rubyspot - 50+ - Perched & patrolling river's edge
River Jewelwing - 20+ - Males patrolling river's edge. 1 - Female perched
on grape vine over water.
-----
Modoc County
Bruce Deuel
I had an opportunity to look at odes on the Devil's Garden, aka Modoc Plateau,
in the course of my DFG work. At a small pond at MP 21.5 on the Crowder Flat
Road (USFS 73) I saw
1 male Emerald Spreadwing (Lestes dryas) lifer
several bluets, including a male Tule Bluet (Enallagma
carunculatum) netted
1 male Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula) netted many
Eight-spotted Skimmers (Libellula forensis)
1 totally mysterious ode. Perched Sympetrum-like on the tip of an emergent
stem, it was dark-bodied, had a bright yellow-orange costal stripe, and dusky
tips to each wing.
At a very small pool at the end of a culvert were
a dozen male Western Forktails (I. perparva)
many Common Whitetails (L. [Plathemis] lydia)
Cruising over the road away from water were several unidentified Aeshna.
The best odeing was at the Willow Creek Ranch, along the irrigation canals and
channeled portion of the creek:
Dancers - I saw several and captured one, an apparent Aztec
Dancer (Argia nahuana).
Bluets - many; I caught a couple, another Tule Bluet and a Boreal
Bluet (E. boreale) , as determined the next day under a
dissecting scope.
Forktails - I saw many very small tenerals, which I assume were
forktails. (There were many tenerals of larger damsels, too.)
Aeshnas - I saw 2-3 totally unidentified; at least 1 small one,
therefore presumed to be California Darner (A. californica) ; and
a copulating pair of Blue-eyed Darner (A. multicolor). These
actually landed on a bush, but flew off again as I approached.
Common Green Darner (Anax junius) - 2-3 seen.
Pacific Clubtail (Gomphus kurilis) - a single male landed on
the levee.
Snaketails - there were many, and I caught one, which appears to be
a
Pale Snaketail (Ophiogomphus severus)
Emerald/Basketail - I saw 1 cruising over a pond-like area of the
creek; noticed the greenish (possibly blue-green) eyes, very dark thorax and
abdomen, and shape, which was heavy in front with a thinnish abdomen. But I
can't say what genus itbelongs to, let alone species!
Common Whitetail - yes, they were!
Four-spotted Skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata) - very
common.
June 24, 2003
Contra Costa County
Douglas Vaughan
I walked into Chase Pond, and stayed there between about 10:15 and noon.
Weather was clear, mild (80ish), and quite windy. Chase Pond is a muddy, sedge-
lined pond without inlet or outlet. New for the Park, however, was a Boreal
Bluet (Enallagma boreale) one collected among a few
Northern/Boreal Bluets; Also there:
Black Spreadwings (Lestes stultus) , 100+;
Arroyo Bluet (E. praevarum) , at least two among
several Arroyo/Tule Bluets;
Blue-eyed Darner (Aeshna multicolor) ,one;
Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) , two males; and
Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) , one adult and
two or three tenerals.
At Sheepherder's Pond, in addition to species reported earlier, I netted a
single male Red-veined Meadowhawk (Sympetrum madidum), also new for my Mt.
Diablo list.
-----
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I had to drive to Tree of Heaven Campground today. I stopped at several spots
for various reasons taking note of the odes I saw at each stop. Here is what I
saw today.
Tree of heaven Campground: 8 miles west of I-5 on hiway 96 along the Klamath
River.
River Jewelwing - 1 male in willows at campground river access.
Pacific Clubtail - abundant. They were everywhere. Even saw one
devouring a male American Rubyspot.
American Rubyspot - 8 males in bullrushes at campground access.
Flame Skimmer - 1 male at campground river access.
Common Whitetail - 1 male at campground river access.
Sinuous Snaketail - 25+ in dry, cobble bar south of campground.
Vivid Dancer - numerous males and females along bird trail.
Emma's Dancer - numerous males and females along bird trail.
Next stop was the Cayuse River Access pond. The pond is now 90% covered with a
bright, lime green algae and floating veg. It was cool and quite windy. We
flushed a green-backed heron.
Pacific Clubtail - Numerous in parking area and veg next to pond.
Sinuous Snaketail - Numerous in veg next to pond, few in parking lot.
Blue-eyed Darner - 2 males patrolling pond
Ca Darner - 1 male patrolling pond
Western Forktail - 2 females in veg next to pond
8 Spotted Skimmer - 3 males skirmishing over pond
Flame Skimmer - 1 male patrolling over pond
Western Pondhawk - 15+ males patrolling along pond edge, 7 females in
veg next to pond
Black Saddlebags - (lifer) 2 males patrolling over pond
Last stop was Rocky Point River Access. It was cool and windy.
Sinuous Snaketail - several in the parking area
Pacific Clubtail - 3 in the parking area
Critter of the day was the black bear that I just spooked minutes ago in my
back yard.
23 June 2003
Solano County
Mike May &
Ulatis Creek along Mix Canyon Road
Aeshna multicolor f
Vaca Mt. along Blue Ridge Road
Paltothemis lineatipes m
June 22, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
Doane Pond, Mt. Palomar State Park
Blue-eyed Darner
California Darner
Flame Skimmers
Pacific Forktails
Western Forktails
Doane Creek
Vivid Dancers
Anza Borrego State Park
Borrego Palm Canyon Desert Pupfish pond:
Rambur's Forktails Ischnura ramburii - male &
female. A new photo County record
Familiar Bluets- 6
Visitor's Center Desert Pupfish pond:
Flame Skimmer- 1
Blue Dashers- 3
Red Saddlebag- 7
Unknown Ode- 1
Culp Valley, AB State Park
Spot-winged Glider
-------
Marin County
Paul Saraceni & Dan Singer
We visited Alpine Lake (south of Fairfax, Marin County) this morning and
observed the following (in the marsh on either side of the boat ramp and along
the fire road as far as the wet swale on the east side of the road):
Spotted Spreadwing 20+
Black Spreadwing 5 (particularly at the wet swale)
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluet 40+ (incl. tandem pair)
Pacific Forktail 10+
Western Forktail 40+ (incl. ovipositing females)
California Darner4 (incl. tandem pair & ovipositing female)
Blue-eyed Darner 6+
Pacific Clubtail 1 ovipositing female. This was particularly interesting
for us to watch as it oviposited by tapping the surface of the lake with its
abdomen during short flights near the shore.
Cardinal Meadowhawk 2 adult males
Striped Meadowhawk 4 females/immatures
Eight-spotted Skimmer 10+
We drove up the road to the Lagunitas Lake parking lot for a brief look atthe
nearby stream and added the following species:
Vivid Dancer 1 teneral male
Exclamation Damsel 2 males
Flame Skimmer 1 male
-------
Yolo/Solano County
Mike May
Putah Creek just W of I-5
Argia agrioides pr
Enallagma cyathigerum m
Ischnura cervula m
Zoniagrion exclamationis 4m
-------
Nevada County
Alan Wight
Alan got a great photo of a Four-spotted Skimmer north of Truckee
June 22-25, 2003
El Dorado County
Kathy & Dave Biggs & many DSA post-trip attendees
At Grass Lake, along Hwy. 89, ~1 mile south of Luther Pass summit
*Somatachlora semicirularis Mt. Emerald - several found
emerging
*Coenagrion resolutum *Taiga Bluet - several males and
females found/photographed/collected [a lifer for the Biggs, Terri Gallion and
Bob Behrstock!] - first sighting 2003 June 22
Leuchlorina hudsonica Hudsonian Whiteface - a male collected
by the Krozters
-----
Alpine County
Kathy & Dave Biggs & many DSA post-trip attendees
At Markleeville, Grover Hot Springs Rd bridge over Markleeville Creek
Aeshna sp one seen, perhaps Aeshna californica
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer - an attempt to upgrade a
prior sighting only record failed when the male escaped the net bag
Amphiagrion abbreviatum Western Red Damsel - one male
collected
Enallagma boreale Boreal Bluet - one male collected; several
seen
Monitor Pass, just 3 miles west of county line on Hwy 89, two small unnamed
grass lakes (38d40.27' 119d37.72')
Lestes dryas Emerald Spreadwing - a few collected by various
folks; [lifer for Terri Gallion]. Seen both on the 22nd and 25th
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail - a few seen; a female
collected for county voucher; Noted by Rosser Garrison et al. at a nearby site
also
Ischnura perparva Western Forktail - a few seen; a female
collected for county voucher; Noted by Rosser Garrison et al. at a nearby site
also
Leucorrhinia hudsonica Hudsonian Whiteface - a male collected
by Roy Beckemeyer on the 25th
Leucorrhinia intacta Dot- tailed Whiteface - a few males seen
on the 25th (not present on 22nd); a male collected as county voucher
Libellula quadrimaculata Four-spotted Skimmer at least one
male seen on the 25th (not present on 22nd)
--
stream along 89, 0.7 miles west of 395, July 25, Sid Dunkle
Argia vivida 3 males, 3 females
----
Mono County
Kathy & Dave Biggs, Bob Behrstock, Terri Gallion
Highway 395, 16 miles from Bridgeport and ~2-3 miles from where Hiway 108
branches off near Fales Hot Springs Creek.
Enallagma anna River Bluet one male collected by the Biggs;
digital photo taken
Ambhiagrion abbreviatum Western Red Damsel one male collected
by the Biggs;
----
Inyo County
Kathy & Dave Biggs & many DSA post-trip attendees
Tinemaha Reservoir, between Bishop & Independence, East side of Hwy. 395
37d3.60'118d13.79'
Enallagma anna River Bluet at least one male collected by the
Biggs
Enallagma carunculatum Tule Bluet common
Enallagma clausum Alkali Bluet several seen, Roy Beckemeyer
took videos of them here
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail common
Ischnura denticollis Black-fronted Forktail some
Aeschna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner several seen/in hand
Anax junius Common Green Darner several seen
Pantala flavescens Wandering Glider many seen
Sympetrum corruptum Variegated Meadowhawk several seen
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags many seen
Tramea onusta Red Saddlebags many seen
Roadrunner seen by the Biggs, it was sitting on top of fence post!
-
At Mazourka Springs, Mazorka Canyon Rd., Independence
Argia alberta Pauite Dancer several seen, examined in
hand/collected
Argia emma Emmas Dancer several seen, examined in hand by
Biggs, Heindel, Gallion
Argia vivida Vivid Dancer a few - Paulson
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail a few - Paulson
Ischnura denticollis Black-fronted Forktail several seen,
examined in hand/collected
Telebasis salva Desert Firetail several seen, examined in
hand/collected
Aeschna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner several seen
Anax junius Common Green Darner several seen
Erythemis collocata Western Pondhawk abundant
*Libellula composita Bleached Skimmer several seen inc.
tandem ovipositing, collected by the Krotzers
Libellula forensis 8-spotted Skimmer several seen, collected by
the Krotzers
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer several seen
Libellula (Plathemis) Subornata Desert Whitetail several
seen, collected by the Krotzers
Pachidyplax longipennis Blue Dasher abundant
Sympetrum corruptum Variegated Meadowhawk several seen
-
at Billy Lake, Owens Valley
Hetaerina americana American Rubyspot several seen
Argia emma Emmas Dancer several seen, examined in
hand/collected
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail several seen, examined in
hand/collected
Aeshna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner several seen
Anax junius Common Green Darner several seen
Sympetrum occidentale Western Meadowhawk young male seen
-
Dirty Socks Hot Springs, south side of Owens Lake, Hwy 190
Argia alberta Pauite Dancer several seen, examined in
hand/collected
Enallagma carunculatum Tule Bluet several seen, examined in
hand
*Enallagma clausum Alkali Bluet several seen, collected;
lifer for Biggs, Gallion, Heindels!
Ischnura barberi Desert Forktail several seen, examined in
hand/collected by Biggs
Aeshna sp Mosaic Darner several seen; may have been Aeshna
californica
Anax junius Common Green Darner several seen
Libellula composita Bleached Skimmer several seen
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer several seen
Sympetrum corruptum Variegated Meadowhawk several seen
- -
at Baker Meadows/Creek, Owens Valley
Argia emma Emmas Dancer several seen
Argia vivida Vivid Dancer several seen
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail several seen
Aeshna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner several seen; examined in
hand
Anax junius Common Green Darner several seen
Libellula forensis 8-spotted Skimmer several seen
Pantala flavescens Wandering Glider several seen
Sympetrum corruptum Variegated Meadowhawk several seen
Sympetrum occidentale Western Meadowhawk young female seen
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags several seen
Tramea onusta Red Saddlebags several seen
- -
Tollhouse Springs (Batchelder), Owens Valley, Hwy 168
Argia vivida Vivid Dancer many seen
Aeshna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner several seen
Corduelgaster dorsalis Pacific Spiketail 1-2 seen;
exuviae common & collected by Paulson & Jim Johnson
Pantala hymenaea Spot-winged Glider one seen by Paulson
Sympetrum occidentale Western Meadowhawk one young one seen
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags one
- -
Owens River at Hwy 168
Hetaerina americana American Rubyspot several seen
- -
Owens River on Hwy 6 in Bishop, Five Bridges, N37.4169 W118.4166, 22/Jun/2003
J.C. Abbott & A.D. Smith
Ischnura cervula collected
Libellula forensis collected
- -
Antelope Spring, Owens Valley, Hwy 168 37d19.72' 118d5.09'
Argia vivida Vivid Dancer abundant/collected (300+)
Aeshna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner a few cruising over the
desert/ some collected
Cordulegaster dorsalis deserticola Desert Spiketail 3-5
males seen/photographed; others saw females & pairs. Collected by several
DSA members [lifer for many][some rejected this as C. d. deserticola and
listed it as Cordulegaster dorsalis dorsalis]
Erythemis collocata Western Pondhawk 1 female
photographed
Libellula nodisticta Hoary Skimmer some males seen/photographed/collected
by Biggs, Heidels, Gallion; a few others seen the day before
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags seen
-
Hot Ditch, Owens Valley, below Keough's Hot Springs on Keough Hot Springs
Rd. south of Bishop
Progomphus borealis Gray Sanddragon one male seen by Biggs,
Heidels, Gallion
Erythemis collocata Western Pondhawk 3 males seen by Biggs,
Heidels, Gallion
Libellula forensis Eight-spotted Skimmer (2)
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer - male & female
- -
Bog Mounds Spring nr. Deep Springs Lake off Hwy 168, 15.3 mi NE of Big
Pine, N37.2922, W118.0525, 23/Jun/2003
J.C. Abbott & A.D. Smith
Aeshna multicolor
Amphiagrion abbreviatum
Argia alberta
Erythemis collocata
Ischnura denticollis
Libellula nodisticta
Libellula (Plathemis) subornata
- -
Irrigation ditch in Big Pine @ jct. of Hwy 395 & 168, N37.1734
W118.2867, 23/Jun/2003
J.C. Abbott & A.D. Smith
Argia emma
Argia sedula Blue-ringed Dancer - seen by J.C.
Abbott & A.D. Smith
Enallagma anna
Enallagma carunculatum
Ischnura cervula
Ischnura denticollis
Sympetrum occidentale
- -
Irrigation ditch @ Hwy 395, 4.6 mi S of Big Pine N37.1049 W118.2532,
23/Jun/2003
J.C. Abbott & A.D. Smith
Enallagma anna
Ischnura denticollis
----
Mono County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
De Chambeau Ponds, north side of Mono Lake off Cemetery Rd.
Enallagma carunculatum Tule Bluet common
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail common
Ischnura denticollis Black-fronted Forktail some
Ischnura perparva Western Forktail some
Aeshna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner several seen
Anax junius Common Green Darner several seen
Erythemis collocata Western Pondhawk many
Libellula forensis 8-spotted Skimmer several seen
Libellula quadrimaculata 4-spotted Skimmer a few seen
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer several seen
Sympetrum corruptum Variegated Meadowhawk some seen
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags several seen
Tramea onusta Red Saddlebags several seen
----
Tuolumne County
Dennis Paulson, Molly Hukari
Pond at tourist lodge, Hwy 108
Enallagma carunculatum Tule Bluet few
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail few
Ischnura perparva Western Forktail few
Aeshna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner few
Libellula pulchella 12-spotted Skimmer few
Libellula quadrimaculata 4-spotted Skimmer males common
Sympetrum illotum Cardinal Meadowhawk some seen
---
Calaveras County
Dennis Paulson, Molly Hukari
Calaveras Creek at Calaveras
Argia vivida Vivid Dancer few
Enallagma cyathigerum Northern Bluet (presumably this
species) few
Gomphus kurilis Pacific Clubtail few males - new county
photo record
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer 1 male
---
San Bruno County
Sid Dunkle
Coyote Point, at the canal near the Yacht Basin which is dominated by cattails
rather than giant reed
I. gemina San Francisco Forktail
Ischnura cervula 1 male
I. denticollis 1 female. I was sorry to find this here, but I
noticed no evidence of hybridization with I. gemina
I. gemina San Francisco Forktail 7 males, 4 females
Enallagma civile
Aeshna multicolor
Libellula saturata
Sympetrum illotum
-
Marin County
Sid Dunkle
Muir Beach
Ischnura cervula
Ischnura denticollis 2 males
Zoniagrion exclamationis 1 teneral male, 1 other teneral male seen
"Whitehouse Pool" in the Golden Gate Rec Area, Inverness, at the edge
of Point Reyes Nat Seashore
Ischnura cervula
Zoniagrion exclamationis Exclamation Damsel mature males and
females - common
June 21, 2003
Imperial County
Douglas Aguillard
Spent most of the day in the Imperial Valley, and had lots of Odes to look at
and photograph. At the Imperial site, I had the following:
Imperial Water Project:
Blue Dashers 100's
Western Pondhawks 100's
Common Green Darner
Mexican Amberwings 20
Widow Skimmers 12 (Lifer)
Red Saddlebags 4
Rambur's Forktails 100's
Desert Forktail
Familiar Bluets 50+
Powdered Dancer
Sunbeam Lake:
Blue-ringed Dancers 4
Familiar Bluets 40+
Blue Dasher
Mexican Amberwing
San Diego County
Jacumba Lake (pond):
Red Saddlebag
Blue Dasher
Pacific Forktail
Familiar Bluet
Pictures will be up soon, but the most interesting picture I have is this. I
had a male Western Pondhawk, I was taking a pic of it's face when I realized
that it was eating a Damselfly. I then notice that it had taken a male who was
mating with a female at the time of capture. I will send this one to the file
section of CalOdes.
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I was at the Coon Creek River Access on the Klamath River. We paddled upstream
to Ukonom Creek to do trail work and visit Ukonom Falls. It was cool and breezy
with a high temp in the mid 70's. We had to eddy hop upstream along the
shoreline. Lots of opportunity to see odes up close. Here is what I saw:
River Jewelwing - 12-15 males in riparian veg along river
American Rubyspot - 8 males
Pacific Clubtail - in veg along access ramp
Sinuous Snaketail - in parking area
Common Whitetail - 2 males skirmishing at river access
Ca Darner - 1 male patrolling at river access
Green Darner - 2 males at river access
Aeshna sp - 2 males patrolling at access
Flame Skimmer - 1 male patrolling at access
Vivid Dancer - numerous males and females at access
Emma's Dancer - several males and females at access
Western toads were calling and pairing off in the floating veg in the cut-off
channel at the river access.
June 20&21, 2003
Butte County
Tim Manolis & many DSA participants
At "Alligator Hole" on Big Chico Creek, Bidwell Park, Butte County
(39d46.24' 121d45.98'):
Hetaerina americana common
Argia agrioides common mostly away from water
Argia emma common at and away from water
Argia lugens common mostly away from water
Argia vivida common
Enallagma civile a few away from water
Enallagma cyathigerum at least one was collected at Alligator Hole
by Roy Beckemeyer
Gomphus kurilis a number were seen and/or collected
Ophiogomphus bison 20-30 seen/collected
Ophiogomphus occidentis a few away from water
Macromia magnifica at least one male seen
*Brechmorhoga mendax - a few at water
Libellula saturata - a few at water
Paltothemis lineatipes - at least 3-4 males and 1 female were seen
Pantala hymenaea - seen above the parking lot, of course!
Tramea lacerata - 1-2 were over the parking lot
---
Tim Manolis & many DSA participants
At "Horseshoe Lake" upper Bidwell Park,
Enallagma civile a few
Ischnura cervula
Ischnura denticollis a few
Ischnura perparva
Telebasis salva a few
Aeshna multicolor a few
Anax junius a few
*Erpetogomphus compositus White-belted Ringtail - 1-2 males
near the lakeshore
Erythemis collocata - quite common
Libellula forensis - several males seen
Libellula luctuosa quite common
Libellula (Plathemis) lydia quite common
Libellula pulchella quite common
Libellula saturata - quite common
Paltothemis lineatipes - at least one seen
Pachydiplax longipennis abundant
Tramea lacerata quite common
---
Butte Creek Ecological Preserve, Sid Dunkle, DSA participant
Argia agrioides i
A. vivida 1 male
Enallagma civile 1 male
Sympetrum pallipes 1 teneral male
-
Tim Manolis & many DSA participants
At the wet meadow at Cherry Hill Campground, Butte County (40d5.73'
121d29.42'):
Amphiagrion abbreviatum more than 10 seen/collected
Argia vivida common where seep flowing
Tanypteryx hageni many, cop pairs, ovipositing females, burrows and
exuviae found/photographed/collected
Cordulegaster dorsalis Jerrell Daigle and Dennis Paulson saw/caught
several and found exuviae
Libellula nodisticta some in clearings at nearby road
Sympetrum corruptum some in clearings at nearby road seen by Dennis
Paulson & Tim Manolis
---
Colusa County
Kathy & Dave Biggs & many DSA participants
On Bear Creek, at the SR 20/SR 16 junction 39d2.365' 122d24.53;
Heataerina americana American Rubyspot common, especially at
the upper end
* **Archilestes grandis Great Spreadwing - a new county record,
one teneral male collected by Roy Beckemeyer
Amphiagrion abbreviatum 1m, on 19th by Dennis Paulson
Argia agrioides common away from water
Argia emma
A. lugens Sooty Dancer common, upper end
A. vivida Vivida Dancer 1 f
Enallagma boreale
Enallagma carunculatum
Enallagma civile Familiar Bluet a few near the SH 20 bridge
Enallagma cyathigerum few
Ischnura barberi Desert Forktail one female
collected by Rosser Garrison and a REAL SURPRISE species!
Ischnura cervula only in tall Scirpus
Ischnura denticollis 1 male, 3 females - Sid Dunkle
I. perparva Western Forktail few in low sedges
Aeshna californica - m, sighting only
Aeshna multicolor Blue-eyed Darner 1 on Sulphur Creek where
it flows into Bear Creek; others on Bear Creek and cruising over hillsides
Anax junius
Anax walsinghami Giant Darner many (at least 15 counted)
Erpetogomphus compositus White-belted Ringtail 4-5, both ends
of the area visited
Progomphus borealis Gray Sanddragon 2-3 at SH 20 bridge
Macromia magnifica Western River Cruiser several seen
&/or caught, 8 exuviae
Epitheca canis Beaverpond Baskettail - male persistently
cruising back and forth over backwater pond, collected by Dennis Paulson, given
to Natalia von Ellenrieder
Breckmorhoga mendax Pale-faced Clubskimmer 1 fished a dead
one out of the creek at the upper end
Erythemis collocata fairly common, whole area
Libellula forensis
Libellula luctuosa Widow Skimmer several seen, upper
spots
Libellula lydia Common Whitetail 1 on Sulphur Creek
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer commonest ode, 30- 40 seen
including male colored females including several male-colored females, many
females ovipositing
Pachydiplax longipennis Blue Dasher few
Sympetrum corruptum Variegated Meadowhawk 1 teneral male
Sympetrum madidum Red-veined Meadowhawk1 at the SH 20 bridge,
caught & released
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags3-4 in several places
Pantala hymenaea Spot-winged Glider - at least one seen above
Granzella's parking lot, thus proving again that this is most commonly seen at
DSA meetings from a parking lot!
--
At Fouts Spring, Goat Mt. Rd.
Douglas Danforth & Rich Bailowitz (DSA participants)
Hetaerina americana
Amphiagrion abbreviatum Western Red Damsel - county sighting
record
Argia emma
Argia lugens
Argia vivida
Enallagma boreale
Enallagma carunculatum
Enallagma civile
Enallagma cyathigerum
Ischnura cervula
Ischnura perparva
Telebasis salva
Aeshna californica
Aeshna multicolor
*Aeshna walkeri Walker's Darners
Anax junius
Gomphus kurilis
Octogomphus specularis
Ophiogomphus bison
Macromia magnifica
Epitheca canis Beaverpond Baskettail - County specimen
record; on Stoney Creek next to Fouts Spring, June 21,2003 by Richard
Bailowitz.
Erythemis collocata
Libellula forensis
Libellula luctuosa
Libellula lydia
Libellula pulchella Twelve-spotted Skimmer - sighting only
record
Libellula saturata
Pachydiplax longipennis
Pantala hymenaea
Sympetrum corruptum
Sympetrum madidum Red- veined Meadowhawk - County specimen
record; 1 mile north of Sites on June 21,2003 by Richard Bailowitz
Sympetrum pallipes Striped Meadowhawk - County
sighting record
Tramea lacerata
---
Lake County
Kathy & Dave Biggs & many DSA participants
At the pond and stream on Butts Canyon Road near the Lake Co./Napa Co.
Line, in Lake County 38D42.62' 122D28.54':
Hetaerina americana a few on stream
*Archilestes californicus California Spreadwing - teneral male
photographed by Dennis Paulson and others - new county record
L. congener Spotted Spreadwing
Lestes stultus Black Spreadwing - several tenerals and a few
adults in the wet sedge area at the shallow end of the pond. One pair caught in
wheel to make the i.d. m pr
Argia agriodies California Dancer few on stream, inc. pairs
Argia emma
Argia lugens Sooty Dancer several along the creek
Argia vivida
Enallgma carunculatum Tule Bluet common around the pond
Ischnura cervula Pacific Forktail not many
Ischnura perparva Western Forktail uncommon
Telebasis salva Desert Firetail m f - Mike May - county record
Aeshna multicolor a few over the pond and open areas
Anax junius Common Green Darner - several; 3-4 of us made a
concerted, if comical, effort to capture 1 for the 1st co. specimen, finally
succeeding when a neophyte, Kit Crump, caught one male-colored female
Erpetogomphus compositus White-belted Ringtail - 2 males seen,
county sighting only record
Gomphus kurilis several seen, inc. pr in cop
Progomphus borealis Gray Sanddragon (3 males)
Brechmorhoga mendax Pale-faced Clubskimmer at least 1 on the
inlet creek
Erythemis collocata Western Pondhawk common
Libellula forensis Eight-spotted Skimmer common both on the
creek and the pond
Libellula luctuosa Widow Skimmer common
Libellula lydia Common Whitetail common
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer common
Pachydiplax longipennis Blue Dasher about as common as the
pondhawks
Sympetrum illotum Cardinal Meadowhawk a mature male seen and
an imm. male caught to show everyone
Sympetrum madidum Red-veined Meadowhawk - a few seen
*Sympetrum occidentale Western Meadowhawk matures and immatures
seen [males collected by Doug Vaughan, Mike May & Dennis Paulson for county
vouchers]
Sympetrum pallipes Striped Meadowhawk 2-3 tenerals seen
Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags common
---
Napa County
Andy Rehn & many DSA participants
Pope Creek near Lake Berryessa
Argia agrioides California Dancer a few
A. vivida f
Enallagma carunculatum pr
Enallagma cyathigerum Northern Bluet one male IDed in
hand by Mike May
E. praevarum Arroyo Bluet a few seen/captured
Ischnura sp Forktail sp. - one male seen but not
i.d.'d before it was flushed
Telebasis salva (several tandem pr
Gomphus kurilis males & females
Progomphus borealis Gray Sanddragon several collected
Macromia magnifica foraging away from water
Cordulegaster dorsalis (1 male)
Brechmorhoga mendax foraging away from water
Erythemis collocata f
*Libellula comanche Comanche Skimmer (common @ Samuel Springs) -
June 20th
Libellula luctuosa Widow Skimmer a few
Libellula saturata Flame Skimmer a few
Pachydiplax longipennis m
Tramea lacerata (common @ Samuel Springs)
---
Plumas County
John Abbott & A.D. Smith
Lassen National Forest Campground off Caribou Rd., N40.1025 W121.1499, North
Fork of the Feather River, 1.6 mi N of Caribou, 21/Jun/2003
Amphiagrion abbreviatum
Argia vivida
Libellula nodisticta
Tanypteryx hageni
June 18, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I spent the afternoon at Kelly Lake in extreme northern Siskiyou County. The
elevation is about 4600'. There was a mass emergence happening involving
several species of odes. Afternoon winds and attacking ants made for serious
drama for all of the emerging odes. Here is what I saw.
*Chalk-fronted Corporal Libellula julia - There
were numerous flying and perched adults and 25-50 emerging larva. We would
watch as they crawled out of the lake, fight off ants and climb to a suitable
spot to perform the emergence. Numerous maiden flights were observed in the
late afternoon. Many immature adults observed along trail in woods. They seemed
to be seeking refuge from the afternoon winds.
American Emerald - Part of the emergence frenzy. Up to 100 emerging
larva observed. I had one emerge on my day pack and make it to fly away.
Another crawled up my leg! I put it on the log that was supporting many larva.
Careful observation showed emerging larva on almost every log along the edge of
the lake. It was fascinating to watch the larva perform a sit-up to finally
extract itself from the exuvia and get into the proper position to inflate the
wings. Average time for most of the emergences was right around one hour. Windy
conditions hampered many larva. We watched about 25 successful first flights.
Hudsonian Whiteface - Several were emerging. I captured those with
"bad" wings for positive identification. This was a life species for
me. These were females or immature males because they were yellow.
*Crimson-ringed Whiteface Leuchorrhina glacialis - 2 Mature males
perched on brushy veg along shore. They were all black on segments 4-10.
Another life species for me.
Blue-eyed Darner - Several males were patrolling along the shore.
Aeshna sp - Several adults patrolling along shore. No positive id
for these guys.
Vivid Dancers - Abundant. They were everywhere, along the trail, on
shore, ovipositing on floating veg. Lots of gynomorphic females. Brilliant
males were all about.
At one point we watched a female American robin come down and gorge herself on
emerging emeralds. Bird of the day was an immature bald eagle that hung around
the lake all afternoon.
---
San Francisco County
Paul Saraceni
I briefly checked a couple of locations this afternoon in San Francisco, with
similar results:
Pine Lake (pond with decent vegetation located at W end of Stern Grove park):
Northern/Boreal-type Bluet 2
Blue-eyed Darner 10+
Cardinal Meadowhawk 1 ad. male
Middle Lake, Golden Gate Park:
Blue-eyed Darner 8+
Cardinal Meadowhawk 1 young male (trace of orange on sides of abdomen)
---
Marin County
Paul Saraceni
I also stopped by Alpine Lake for an hour and observed 2 additional species:
Common Green Darner 2 (tandem pair)
Red-veined Meadowhawk 2 adult males (perched at close range)
June 16, 2003
Alameda County
Doug Vaughan
A male Widow Skimmer Libellula luctuosa
at Lake Temescal, seen well early this p.m., though never at rest. A
sighting record only, alas. Little chance for a specimen from this busy urban
park, though I suppose I might inquire about official permission....
---
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I floated the Klamath River west of Happy Camp today. We put-in at Independence
Bridge and took out at Coon Creek River Access. Here is what I noticed:
@ beach just upstream of Dragon's Tooth rapid;
River Jewelwing - 11 males patrolling willows
Northern Bluets - perched
Sinuous Snaketail - patrolling
@ lunch beach just upstream of Dragon's Tail rapid;
River Jewelwing - 5 males patrolling willows
@ King Creek eddy;
Vivid Dancer - numerous females among the river driftwood
@ Coon Creek River Access, a shallow channel separated from main river by a
gravel bar;
Flame Skimmer - 1 male patrolling
8-Spot Skimmer - 1 male patrolling
Common Whitetail - 1 male patrolling
Green Darner - 3 males patrolling, one pair ovipositing
Western Forktail - several pairs ovipositing on floating veg
Northern Bluets - several pairs ovipositing on floating veg
Aeshna sp - 2 males patrolling
To finish the day I went to the Happy Camp River Park pond. There was lots of
ode action at 1830 hrs.
Sinuous Snaketail - several on gravel road leading to pond
Blue Dasher - 1 male perched
Green Darner - several patrolling over pond
Blue-eyed Darner - several patrolling water's edge
Ca Darner - several patrolling along water's edge
Aeshna sp - several patrolling over pond
8-spot Skimmer - many males patrolling and skirmishing
Vivid Dancer - males and females in veg along water's edge
Emma's Dancer - 1 male perched
---
Marin County
Robert Behrstock
I visited Alpine and Lagunitas lakes via the entrance off the
Bolinas-Fairfax Road a couple miles S of Fairfax ($5.00 entr. fee).
At the boat landing at Alpine Lake there were plenty of odonates (and a
Pied-billed Grebe building a nest). I investigated the marshy areas on both
sides of the landing, then walked the service road a couple hundred meters to a
small pond.
Species observed (dragon numbers close but low estimates as I was pretty
"focused" on damsels):
Spotted Spreadwing 30+
Black Spreadwing 3
Vivid Dancer 2
Tule Bluet (examined) 8
Tule/Arroyo-type bluets (possibly all Tules) 200+
Pacific Forktail 40+
Western Forktail 20+ incl. many tenerals
California Darner 2
Common Green Darner 1
Eight-spotted Skimmer 10+
Common Whitetail 1
Flame Skimmer 3
Cardinal Meadowhawk Several adults
Meadowhawk sp. 40+ tenerals
At the Lagunitas Lake parking lot at the end of the road I added:
Exclamation Damsel 10+
Grappletail 4 males
At the Five Brooks Stables pond just west of U.S. 1, about 3.5 mi S of Olema, I
added:
Northern/Boreal-type Bluet 15+
Blue-eyed Darner 8+
---
Contra Costa County
Chris Heaivilin
Newhall Park in Concord. Here's what I saw on my safari.
Aeshna multicolor: Several
Sympetrum illotum: 3 (One male photographed in obelisk)
Pachydiplax longipennis: 2
Libellula lydia: Several
Libellula saturata: 3
Argia vivida: Scads
Ischnura perparva: Loads (Several photographs taken)
Ischnura denticollis: Loads harassing I. perparva
Telebasis salva: 1
---
Kings County
John Sterling
Burris Park.
Spot-winged Glider Pantala hymeneae
at Photo at
http://www.cal.net/~ani/photos.htm.
June 15, 2003
Contra Costa County
Doug Vaughan
In search of new wet places on Mt. Diablo yesterday, June 15, my wife and I
set out from Curry Point for Chase Pond but made it only as far as
Sheepherder's Pond. I'm surprised this wallow even has a name: It is currently
only about 30 by 20 feet, maybe a foot deep, with little in the way of pondside
vegetation. Yet it was alive with pond life.
And the Black Spreadwings (Lestes stultus) were
breeding like maniacs. We saw 100+ in a very small area (five examined in
hand), most in tandem; one patch of sedge covering little more than a square
meter contained dozens and sizzled audibly with their wingbeats. Perhaps this
is not an unusual phenomenon at drying ponds, but we thought it was pretty
cool.
The pond also produced three additions to my meager Mt. Diablo list: Western
Forktail (Ischnura perparva) , perhaps a dozen; Desert
Firetail (Telebasis salva) , one male and one pair ovipositing in
tandem; and Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) , several
tenerals.
---
Marin County
Tony Harrow
Lake Lagunitas
There were large numbers of Common Whitetails but males seem to
outnumber females by a large percentage. Numbers again were difficult but about
50 minimum. Maybe 20 Flame Skimmers, no cardinals, very few damselflies.
I worked hard on one fair sized dragon that looked like a clubtail ...
(lots of olive green in the thorax and abdomen). Number of species seemed much
lower than last week but actual numbers much higher because of the many 8
Spotteds (esp. 125 - 175).
---
Sacramento County
Tim Manolis & m.o.
I led a Sac Audubon field trip to look for odes to Sculpture Park in
Roseville today. All the newbies loved it, but the pickings were slimmer than I
had hoped for, and it is probably not worth encouraging DSAers to make the trip
over there. We saw:
American Rubyspot -- fairly common
Vivid Dancer -- common
California Dancer -- common
Emma's Dancer -- fairly common
Northern Bluet -- at least one netted; had a very odd pattern of disrupted
dorsal thoracic stripes
Arroyo Bluet -- a male netted
Familiar Bluet -- one probable seen; bluets were unaccountably scarce.
Black-fronted Forktail -- common
Pacific Forktail -- uncommon
Western Forktail -- fairly common
Blue-eyed Darner -- one seen
Pacific Clubtail -- a male netted
W. Pondhawk -- a female seen
Blue Dasher -- one male
Common Whitetail -- 8-10 seen
12 -spotted Skimmer -- 15 seen
Widow Skimmer -- a male seen
Flame Skimmer -- 8 seen
Pale-faced Clubskimmer -- a male seen (plus a few exuviae on rocks)
Spot-winged Glider -- one seen
The low numbers, especially of dragonflies, sort of echo my observations
everywhere at Sierran stream habitats (pond species seem to be doing better).
It really seems that the late rain and snow at higher elevations in April and
early May, with the abnormally high water levels that they precipitated and
which we are still seeing, have had an adverse affect on stream species'
emergences.
June 14, 2003
Alameda County
Douglas Aguillard
I had a few hours looking for Odes this weekend, as I was in NoCal for my
neice's High School graduation on Friday. I went to this park which has a
wonderful lake and river following through it. Del Valle Regional Park is south
of Livermore. I had the following: Flame Skimmers, Common Whitetails,
Eight-spotted Skimmers (lifers), Western Pondhawks, and
California or Aztec Dancers. I'm going back to spend more time there soon.
At Granada High School for the graduation, while sitting on the football field,
I had a Black Saddlebag do a flyover.
June 13, 2003
Shasta County
Bruce Deuel
At noon today at Turtle Bay West in Redding I saw 10 species of odes:
Tule Bluets 3
Common Green Darners 3-4
Pacific Clubtails 2
Western Pondhawks 5-7
Twelve-spotted Skimmers 6-8
Common Whitetails 10
Widow Skimmers 1 2
Blue Dashers 5-6
Red-veined Meadowhawk 1 female
Black Saddlebags 10-12 (the only species actually breeding)
Tulare County
Ali Sheehey
At Big Meadow in the Sequoia National Forest (Tulare County), I found a
nice variety of dragons and damsels. I have added photos for Western Red
Damsel, Northern Bluet, and Four-spotted Skimmer. These were all
photographed along Salmon Creek at the northeast end of the meadow on June
13th.
June 10, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun, Steven Bruun, Austin King
Lake McCumber
We chased the few odes that were still active late in the day. Right off the
bat, Austin found and caught a *Dot-tailed Whiteface Leuchorrina female,
which I believe is a year first [yes!]. We didn't see any others of this
species.Steven found and caught a male Emerald Spreadwing and later I saw a
second one. This is the first time we've seen Emerald Spreadwing at Lake
McCumber (which is to be expected as we've not looked there at this time of
year before).
Other odes included:
Pacific Forktail - abundant
Western Forktail - fairly common
Northern/Boreal Bluet - a few
Common Green Darner - a few
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - a few
June 9, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I did a short float on the Klamath River west of Happy Camp. We floated
from Wingate Bar Access to Independence Bridge Access, a total of about seven
miles. The river is still high, muddy and fast.
At Wingate Bar Access we found Sinuous Snaketails emerging and numerous
adults patrolling the access road and dried grass parking area. Also had
an adult aquatic garter snake hunting the river cobbles.
At a very small tributary creek feeding a cutoff slough behind a small sand
beach we found lots of ode action. Sharing the pool with numerous odes were two
large bullfrogs. Around the pool we saw:
Northern Bluets - males females, pairs ovipositing
Western Forktails - males; females and pairs in wheel and ovipositing
Common Whitetails - 6 males; patrolling and skirmishing
Flame Skimmer - 1 male; 1 pair ovipositing
Eight-spot Skimmer - 1 male patrolling
Aeshna sp. - 3-4 males patrolling
Cardinal Meadowhawk - 1 male perched
Pacific Clubtail - 1 male perched in willow
Sinuous Snaketail - several males
At Independence Bridge Access we encountered more emerging Sinuous
Snaketails.
Bird of the day was an immature bald eagle. Also saw several osprey and
cliff swallows nesting at Independence Bridge.
Contra Costa County
Chris Heaivilin
My neighborhood runs parallel to an area of open space that includes a big
chunk of slough/delta access. It's a great habitat for odes (with no evil
net-stomping rangers), but only the most common species are found here.
A. junius Common Green Darner
: Many spotted; one collected as the county had only my photo record
A. multicolor: Many spotted
Libellula lydia: Many spotted
L. saturata: One spotted
Meadowhawk sp.: (have to wait for slides to come back): One spotted
P. longipennis: : Few spotted
E. collocata: : Few spotted (mostly females/teneral males)
T. lacerata: Few spotted
I didn't focus on damsels, but there were scads of bluets and
forktails.
June 8, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard; Bob & Dee Parks
I decided to take my boys and get away from the June gloom of the coast and
head to the mountains where it was sunny andvery warm. We went to Doane Pond on
Mt. Palomar in the State Park. We ran into Bob and Dee Parks, which was very
fortunate for me. The pond was extremely busy. Bob and Dee netted a *Giant
Darner Anax walsinghamifor Bob and I to photograph. It was beautiful.
Flame Skimmers, Common Green Darners, Giant Darners, Blue-eyed Darners, Common
Whitetails, Western Pondhawks, Variegated Meadowhawks, Cardinal Meadowhawks,
Red Saddlebags, Blue-ringed Dancers, Western Forktails, Pacific Forktails,
& Familiar Bluets.
Contra Costa County
Douglas Vaughn
... Donner Canyon on the back side of Mt. Diablo. Temperatures were
moderate: 71 degrees in Clayton, maybe 80 on the trail.
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) --only a dozen or so; no other damsels,
though we looked for them in streamside vegetation
Common Green Darner (Anax junius) and Blue- eyed Darner (Aeshna
multicolor) --many, probably constituting the bulk of overhead swarms,
10 to 20 darners often visible over a single small patch of dry meadow
probable male Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) --I'll stop
short of certainty here, since (i) the view was fleeting, though at close
range, (ii) I have *no* experience with this species, and (iii) this species
was, I believe, documented for Contra Costa county for the first time only
recently, by Chris Heaivilin
Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) --one or two; another red skimmer
appeared to show black patterning on the sides of the abdomen, a possible
Red Rock Skimmer (Paltothemis lineatipes)
Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) --two or three overhead, one
fairly well seen (though not in the hand, alas) and showing a pale spot or two
on the top of the abdomen; a lifer
Sonoma County the fog lifted finally at mid-day
Kathy & Dave Biggs, Michael Ellis and Footloose Forays seminar
Spring Lake near Santa Rosa - the fog lifted finally at mid-day
Vivid Dancer, - one seen
Bluet sp, - ONLY ONE BLUET SEEN AT ALL!
Pacific Forktail, - many, thankfully!
Western Forktail, - NONE SEEN!
Pacific Clubtail, - one male netted
CA Darner, - several seen
Blue-eyed Darner, - several seen
Common Green Darner, - several seen
Western Pondhawk, - one green female or young male briefly seen near bridge
by children's wading area
8-spotted Skimmer, - several males seen and netted
Widow Skimmer, - mature male seen and female &/or young male seen
Common Whitetail, - possibly one female seen
Flame Skimmer, - one male netted, wings damaged. We performed dragonfly
wing surgery, removing the damaged area and it was then finally able to fly
away.
Blue Dasher, - several mature males netted, one female &/or young male
seen
Cardinal Meadowhawk, several males seen, one netted
Shasta County
Ray Bruun:
This afternoon, I took two fourth graders, my son Steven and his friend
Austin, to check out some spots I've been wondering about.
Big Springs, elevation 4590 ft. (on the south side of Hwy 44/89 in Old Station;
readily accessible from pullout just east of the springs)
Not much ode activity. We did have a half-dozen or so Western Red Damsel, a
Western Forktail (female), an unidentified damsel, and a dragonfly that was
likely an Ophiogomphus (I made the typical mistake--for me--of
attempting to net before checking out with binocs--missed with the net).
Mud Lake, elevation 4870 ft. (about 3 miles east of Old Station on Hwy 44
towards Susanville, left side of road) At this temporary pond we had about 10 Emerald
Spreadwing (life ode--they are outrageously beautiful), numerous Western
and Pacific Forktail, a few Bluet species (could only catch a
female), several Twelve-spotted Skimmer and one Variegated Meadowhawk.
I was wearing hip waders, the boys were in shorts with sandals and tennis
shoes. After about 20 minutes, when I found a healthy sized leech, they decided
to leave the water.
Plum Valley Reservoir, elevation 4700 ft. (when you're almost to Mud Lake, take
a left on the paved road to Hat Creek Rim scenic lookout--or something like
that--make an almost immediate right on dirt road; Plum Valley Reservoir is 2
miles according to the sign and 1.6 miles according to my odometer). Lots of
things were beginning to happen here. Teneral damsels by the bushel- full and
some adults, a few in wheel. Mostly Western Forktail, some Pacific
Forktail, a few teneral Bluets, and one teneral Spreadwing.
Dragonflies included many Twelve-spotted Skimmer, a few Common
Whitetail and Common Green Darner. Austin caught and released a male
Cardinal Meadowhawk. When we were halfway home, Steven says he saw a
dragon with a clubtail (why didn't he say that at the lake--aargh).
Marin County
Tony Harrow & Albert Brewster
Lake Lagunitas
It was foggy when we arrived and we found nothing at the creek near the parking
lot. By about 10am, the sun broke through and at the tule's at the east end of
the lake we found:
Flame Skimmer - one
8 Spotted Skimmers
Pacific and Western Forktails - several.
Working around to an inlet on the south east we found
8 Spotted skimmers about 20-30
Common Whitetails 5-10,
Cardinal Meadowhawks, 2-3
Beaverpond Baskettail, 2
probable Blue Eyed Darners, 3
Grappletail, 1
Northern Bluet, 1
June 7, 2003
Contra Costa County
Kathy & Dave Biggs and Tilden Botanical Garden workshop group:
Wagner Ranch Nature area near Orinda thin sunshine at times thru the
fog
Pacific Forktail some
Western Forktail some
Green Darner - one or two
Flame Skimmer - one female really showed off her splash technique of
ovipositing for us! - one nymph found
Cardinal Meadowhawks - a few males and one tandem pair oviposited for us -
one nymph found
Blue Dasher - one teneral took it's maiden flight; one cool male was eaten
by a Black Phoebe; several nymph found when we 'pond-dipped'
Shasta County
Ray Bruun:
... while canoeing at Manzanita Lake (elevation 5846 ft) in Lassen Park, we
had Boreal Bluet, Pacific Forktail, American Emerald, and Blue-eyed Darner.
June 5, 2003
San Mateo County
Tim Manolis
... I was in the San Francisco Bay area and took the opportunity to check
some spots for San Francisco Forktail (Ischnura gemina). A
formerly good spot for this species near the S. F. Airport was devoid of any
damselflies. Habitat at this site, an urban drainage ditch, has deteriorate since
my last visit there as a result of heavy growth of invasive reed (Arundo),
increased pollution, and, perhaps, drastic fluctuations in water
levels. This site was our ace-in-the-hole for showing this species to folks
coming to the DSA meeting. Hence, I will be scrambling to find another site
that has this species in the next two weeks. If anyone can help in this search,
knows of good I. gemina sites, etc., I would greatly appreciate hearing about
it.
[I found none at this site last year either for the same supposed reason - the
invasive reed. - kb]
Marin County
Robert Behrstock
I visited the creek that runs alongside the parking lot at Lake Lagunitas.
The entrance road (marked Lake Lagunitas and Bon Tempe Lake) is a couple miles
south of Fairfax on the Fairfax-Bolinas Rd. The parking lot is all the way at
the end of the entrance road. There is other good lakeside and pond habitat I
did not have time to check. Entrance fee is $5.00. The creek is partly shaded
by redwoods and partly open. The shaded part has a fairly clean bank and a
rocky edge. The more open part is weedier. Between 11:00 and 1:30, I observed:
Calif. Darner (2)
Grappletail (6 most or all Males)
Eight-spotted Skimmer (1 M)
Cardinal Meadowhawk (1 M)
Vivid Dancer (20+ incl. one emerging at noon)
Enallagma sp (1 F)
Western Forktail (3-5)
Pacific Forktail (ca 6)
Exclamation Damsel (5)
Contra Costa County
Doug Vaughan
I again visited Pine Pond on Mt. Diablo, and explored Pine Creek downstream
maybe a half mile.
The species list is short, the biggest change from last week being the absence
of damsel diversity. I found no spreadwings where I saw them a week ago, and
steamside bluets were rare, though the area still has running water and a full
pond.
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) --everywhere, 100- 200
bluets (Enallagma sp.) --only a couple of unidentified individuals
Blue-eyed Darner (Aeshna multicolor) --25 or so, all within home run
distance of the pond
Pacific Spiketail (Cordulegaster dorsalis) --one male, patrolling
the creek
Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum) -- perhaps a dozen
presumably this species (two males netted and released)
Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) --two or three males
Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) --only a few; the most prominent
species a week ago.
June 4, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
This afternoon, I spent about an hour on Cow Creek where it crosses under
Hwy 44. The creek was high enough not to be crossed with hip waders, and it was
hot out, 102oF or so. Here's what I found:
American Rubyspot - 15 to 20
Emma's Dancer - ~3 males
*Sooty Dancer Argia lugens - 1 female (almost certain that's what it
was; but if it's a year first, better not count it)[I'm counting it as I think
I had a quick glimpse of one this day also - kb]
Vivid Dancer - 1 female
Tule Bluet - 30+
Bluet, unidentified (Familiar, Northern, or Boreal) - 2 males
Forktail, unidentified (almost certain it was Pacific) - 1
Pacific Clubtail - life ode - ~10
Western Pondhawk - 2 females
Black Saddlebags - 1
Common Whitetail - 1 male
Widow Skimmer - 2 female, 1 male
Common Green Darner - 1 male
Sonoma County
Kathy Biggs
At the pond where Pine Flat Rd. crosses Big Sulfur Creek I found 2 *Black Petaltail, Tanyteryx hageni dueling.
One collected for a Sonoma County voucher. This is only the 2nd site where they
have been found in the county and the voucher upgrades the previous sighting
only record. I'm jazzed! Otherwise species seen were the same as yesterday on
Pine Flat Rd., except no Spiketail or Grappletail (it was a just a quick trip
up the mt. to retrieve shoes I left behind yesterday).
June 3, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
I headed out to the Descanso area of San Diego County, and back to the
private pond I discovered last weekend, to see if I could get better shots of
the Common Whitetails that are present, and I did.I only spent about 20
minutes, before I headed off.
Here's the field report:
Flame Skimmers (20)
Common Green Darners (4)
Blue Dashers (12)
Western Pondhawk (2)
Cardinal Meadowhawk (1)
Variegated Meadowhawk (1)
Common Whitetails (3)
Familiar Bluets (100 +)
Blue-ringed Dancer (1)
Sonoma County
Bob Behrstock & Kathy Biggs
Kathy Biggs and I looked for odonates in Sonoma County. From approximately
10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., we worked various elevations on the Pine Flat Road
above Healdsburg. This road, providing access to the Mayacamas Mountain
(Audubon) Sanctuary and beyond, has been closed for much of the last two years
and we were pleased to be able to once again enter the area. Constant bird song
featuring several species of vireos and a host of butterflies enhanced the
experience. Habitats included a largely overgrown hillside seep, several
springs at the roadside, a small creek, and several small ponds. We traversed
approx. 10.2 miles of Pine Flat Road's 12 or so total road miles.
Odonates included:
Black Spreadwing 60+
California/Aztec Dancer (2M)
Vivid Dancer (30+)
Northern/Boreal Bluet (30+)
Western Forktail (15+)
California Darner (ca 4)
Common Green Darner (ca 4)
Grappletail (1F)
Pacific Spiketail (1)
Beaverpond Baskettail (1 possible over road)
Common Whitetail (ca 10)
Twelve-spotted Skimmer (ca 4)
Flame Skimmer (ca 12)
Blue Dasher (ca 4)
Cardinal Meadowhawk (ca 10)
Red-veined Meadowhawk (1)
We then continued to the Alexander Valley Campground along the Russian
River. During our (unsuccessful) search for Bison Snaketail, we encountered:
American Rubyspot (8+)
Emma's Dancer (25+)
Vivid Dancer (15+)
*Western River Cruiser (1)
-------
Humboldt County
Pete Haggard
...banks of the Mad River between Highway 101 and the Ocean.
Exclamation Damsel Zoniagrion exclamationis
[this is a northern extension of it's known range]
June 2-4, 2003
Lassen County
Tim Manolis & Bruce Well
Bruce Webb and I were in Lassen County June 2-4, primarily to run Breeding
Bird Survey routes at Ravendale and Honey Lake, but we also did some dragonfly
searches around Susanville, Honey Lake, in the mountains south of Fredonyer
Pass, at Blue Lake in the south Warner Mountains, along Long Valley Creek near
Zamboni Hot Springs, and at spots along Hwy 395 between Madeline and Ravedale.
Some highlights of these trips were:
*Emerald Spreadwing (Lestes dryas) -- a few seen at the Dakin Unit
of the Honey Lake Wildlife Area on 2 June were my first of the year.
*Paiute Dancer (Argia alberta) -- a few were seen and a male
collected along Long Valley Creek near Zamboni Hot Springs on 4 June. This is
the only area in Lassen County from which this species has been collected.
Aztec Dancer (Argia nahuana) --
a number seen, including tandem pairs ovipositing, and a male collected, at
the outlet of a large pond along the Pit River Canyon Road southeast of
Pittville on 30 May. This is a first Lassen County record as far as I know.
Vivid Dancers (A. vivida) were also common at this site.
*River Bluet (Enallagma anna) -- fairly common along Long
Valley Creek near Zamboni Hot Springs on 4 June.
Gray Sanddragon (Progomphus borealis) -- a very teneral male
seen making its maiden flight from a sand bar in Long Valley Creek near Zamboni
Hot Springs on 4 June.
Beaverpond(?) Baskettail (Tetragoneuria canis) -- patrolling
males, almost certainly this species, were seen at farm ponds at a number of
spots around Pittville 30-31 May, and 3-4 were at a farm pond on the Williams
Ranch west of Madeline (at the northwestern corner of the Madeline Plains) on 3
June. This is the second year I have seen (presumably) this species near
Pittville, but all my attempts to net one have so far been frustrated. The
patrolling behavior and habitat almost certainly indicate this species, but
because it is identical in flight to Spiny Baskettail (T. spinigera), the
latter species cannot be ruled out entirely. Indeed, Spiny Baskettail is the
only species of Tetragoneuria definitely known for Lassen County (at
Blue Lake in the south Warner Mountains), despite the fact that it is one of
the rarest (or at least, most poorly known) dragonflies in the state! We did
check Blue Lake for Spiny Baskettail on 3 June, but there was no sign of recent
emergence (i.e., exuviae along the lakeshore) nor of flying adults.
*Hudsonian Whiteface (Leucorrhinia hudsonica) - - modest numbers,
mostly recent emergers but some adults including tandem pairs, were seen at
some un- named snow ponds south of Fredonyer Pass on 2 June and at Blue Lake on
3 June.
Hoary Skimmer (Libellula nodisticta) -- 3 or so seen along Long
Valley Creek near and at Zamboni Hot Springs on 4 June.
Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea) -- a few seen at various spots
near Pittville on 30 May and in the Honey Lake area 2-4 June. There is still no
specimen for the county, I guess one day I am going to have to try and net one!
*Desert Whitetail (Plathemis subornata) -- 3-4 seen along Long Valley
Creek near and at Zamboni Hot Springs on 4 June. Long Valley Creek is the only
known location for this species in Lassen County. Common Whitetail (Plathemis
lydia) is seen much more widely in the county, primarily at farm ponds
(e.g., we saw it near Madeline, in the Honey Lake area, and around Pittville).
Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum) --
A few males were seen, primarily at farm ponds, around Pittville on 30-31
May, and 2-3 males, one collected, were at a farm pond on the Williams Ranch
west of Madeline on 3 June. These are the first records for Lassen County.
Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) -- one seen flying along the road
near Wendel on 4 June was my first of the year.
June 1, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
I went out for the 3rd straight day in a row, and I'm glad I did. On
yesterday's trip into the local mountains, I had a large Ode, that few by, but
I wasn't sure what it was until today when I saw a second one. I went to a
little known County Park today called Flinn Springs, and sure enough, it had
water flowing in the creek. I immediately saw Flame Skimmers, and
Familiar Bluets, but what caught my eye was a really large Yellow and Black
ode. A Pacific Spiketail was patrolling the creek and chasing the
Flame Skimmers. I couldn't get a picture of it, because it never would
land. I finally went back to the car to get the net (I never use the net!!!),
and when I got back, it was no where to be found. I waited another half an hour
for it, and it never re- appeared, but I'll be back soon to find it again. So I
had also seen one yesterday in the Laguna Mountains.
So, then it was off to Greenwood Cemetery, and I had Flame Skimmers,
Blue Dashers, Pacific Forktails, Familiar Bluets, Common Green Darner, and
a new one for the Pond. 2 Red Saddlebags.
Siskiyou County
David Payne
Dragonflies are starting to emerge along the Klamath River. I timed a Sinuous
Snaketail emergence. It took 55 minutes from leaving the water to flying
away. That one was lucky. Others were attacked by ants, or could not inflate
their wings. This took place at the Gordon's Ferry River Access. I floated 12
miles from Seattle Creek to Gordons Ferry today with two of my crew folks,
Jessie and Austin. The river is really big and fast. Took and hour and half to
do float. We all paddled inflatable kayaks. River Jewelwing was dragonfly of
the day. It was only ode we spotted while on the water.
Contra Costa County
Dave & Kathy Biggs, m.o.
Pond at Wagner Ranch Natural Area
Dave and I participated in the Wagner Ranch Natural Area's open house
yesterday. They have created a wonderful wildlife pond at the school there. On
it we observed the following species:
Northern Bluets - many
Tule Bluets - some
Pacific Forktails - some
Western Forktails - many
Desert Firetails Telebasis salva - many tandem pairs
Common Green Darner - one
Western Pondhawk - one male, one ovipositing female (wouldn't pose for a
picture, so still only a sighting record)
Flame Skimmer - many, including pairs in wheel and a female ovipositing
8-spotted Skimmer - one
Cardinal Meadowhawk - many
June ?, 2003
Santa Barbara County
Tom Bradner
Willow Beach trial, south side of Santa Cruz Island
Vivid Dancer
May
May 31, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun & as listed
Saturday, the 31st, I spent about six hours finding odes in south- central
Shasta County near Shingletown. At about 10:15a.m., Rick Somers and I checked
out Glass Springs, a large meadow with numerous springs. I was really surprised
to run across only two odes, despite what looked like good habitat. One ode was
rather large (some kind of darner--but not A. junius); the other was a
male *American Emerald Cordulia shurtleffii -- life ode -- which
happened to land near me for a nice dorsal view.
We then tried a marsh along Mill Run Creek that seemed to have potential. Not a
whole lot there: male California Darner -- another life ode; two (male
and female) *Western Red Damsels Amphiagrion abbreviatum -- life
ode; teneral male Grappletail; and some bluets.
At 1:00 p.m., we picked up my son Steven at a birthday party, then drove to
Shingletown where we met Tim Manolis at 1:30. From there, the four of us went
to the third ode spot of the day, Lake McCumber. We saw:
Blue-eyed Darner - a few
Common Green Darner - a few
California Darner - one probable
Four-spotted Skimmer - abundant
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - common
Boreal Bluet - a few
Pacific Forktail - abundant
Western Forktail - common
Bison Snaketail - 2
Vivid Dancer - common
Northern Bluet - common
Western Forktail - 1 male
*Spotted Spreadwing Lestes congener - 1 female
Sutter and Placer County
Bruce Deuel
I was cruising the farm roads along the border between these two counties ...
and noticed 3-4 Blue-eyed Darners (Placer only), many Common Green
Darners, 1 Common Whitetail female (Placer), 2 Twelve- spotted
Skimmers (Placer), many Variegated Meadowhawks, and several Black
Saddlebags. I saw some probable gliders, too, but never got decent looks.
Surprisingly, I saw no damsels.
May 30, 2003
Shasta County
Bruce Deuel & Tim Manolis
Grace Lake: I arranged to meet Tim Manolis in Shingletown at 1000 for some
oding at this lake. The weather was overcast to foggy at first, but the clouds
began to burn off as we arrived at the lake. We were searching for Swift
Forktails (Ischnura erratica) which Ray Bruun had found the week
before. This represents a tremendous range extension of this primarily coastal
species. Ray had taken excellent pictures and no one doubted that's what he
found, but we wanted to see them ourselves, especially me, because that's a new
species for me. We found a total of about a dozen females between the NE corner
of the lake, the canal that goes from there to Nora Lake, and the marsh where
that canal joins a bigger one. We also found 5-6 males, finally catching a
couple on the rim of Grace Lake as we were leaving! We also saw or netted 2 Vivid
Dancers, 1 male *Boreal Bluet, 3-4 male Pacific Forktails, up
to 20 Western Forktails (Tim kept a few specimens because this population
shows an odd pattern of black and blue on segments 8 and 9), 1 imm. male Striped
Meadowhawk, a Common Whitetail (Tim only), and 3 unidentified dragons.
May 28, 2003
Contra Costa County
Douglas Vaughan
Mt. Diablo, Pine Pond
Black Spreadwing (Lestes stultus) --several; other species,
appearing smaller, may also have been present, but I didn't net one. One or
both species ovipositing in tandem.
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) --just a few
Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum) --one male collected;
several in tandem (of this and/or other bluet species).
Arroyo Bluet (E. praevarum) --one male collected; a few other
bluets in the same area.
Blue-eyed Darner (Aeshna multicolor) --one or two; also one or
two possible California Darners (A. californica)?
Cardinal and/or Red-veined Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum/madidum) --several,
in different places, all defying my net; females ovipositing in tandem and
solo.
Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) --one male
Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) --numerous; some in tandem
briefly, one female ovipositing as the male flew nearby.
May 27, 2003
Sonoma County
David A. Hofmann
Spring Lake, Santa Rosa.
Eight-spotted Skimmer =many
Common Whitetail =just a few
Flame Skimmer =just a few
Blue Dasher =most abundant
Cardinal Meadowhawk =many
Beaverpond Baskettail =only one
California/Blue-eyed Darner (Aeshna sp.) =many
Common Green Darner =many
Pacific Clubtail =only one
Pacific Forktail =many
Western Forktail =many
Colusa County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
... we went and checked out Bear Creek on Highway 20 since we will be leading
the DSA field trip there on June 20th. We found all the 'put- in' stops we had
hoped to use accessible, even as far up the creek as 5 1/2 miles. Flame
Skimmers were super abundant, we saw hundreds and hundreds of them, but many
other species had yet to emerge as we could find no flying or exuviae of
Western River Cruiser, White-belted Ringtail, Giant Darner, etc.
American Rubyspot, Hetaerina americana - plentiful
Sooty Dancer, Argia lugens - many
Northern Bluet, Enallagma cyathigerum - hundreds; one male
collected for ID purposes
possibly other Bluets present
CA Darner, Aeshna californica - 2 males patrolling the shoreline seen
by Dave; this is a new species for the site (Bear Creek is usually not visited
this early in the season, and this season is running late)
Pacific Clubtail, Gomphus kurilis - 2 seen
*Gray Sanddragon, Progomphus borealis -1 seen
Common Whitetail, Libellula lydia - one mature male seen at the
upper area
Flame Skimmer, Libellula saturata - they literally saturated the
area! Hundreds and hundreds.
San Franciso County
Paul Saraceni
Not much to report thus far this year in SF, but a few sightings ...
Bayview Hill Park (grassy hillside):
California Darner 5+
Wandering Glider 1 (golden-yellow abdomen; light amber wash on base of
hind wings; no dark spot on wings) [if confirmed this would be a county record,
but sighting only can't be counted for Pantala . And, the amber wash could mean
that this was an immature Spot-winged Glider - kb]
Mt. Davidson (grassy hillside):
California Darner 1
Middle Lake, Golden Gate Park:
Blue-eyed Darner 10+
May 26, 2003
Sonoma County
Alan Wight
Geysers Road
Vivid Dancer - many
Common Green Darner - 1 male
Beaverpond Baskettail - 2, patrolling over asphalt
Pine Flat Road
Eight-spotted Skimmer - 1 male
Flame Skimmer - 2 (1 male and 1 female)
*Bison Snaketail Ohiogomphus bison - 1 male
Russian River at Geyserville Bridge
American Rubyspot - 3
May 25, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dennis Paulson and Netta Smith, Bob and Patti Claypole, Dave and Kathy Biggs
Shasta River at Hudson Rd.
Serendipity brought Dennis Paulson and his wife Netta Smith within an hour of
where Dave and I were meeting my brother Bob Claypole and his wife Patti north
of Yreka to look for River Jewelwings, so we were all able to meet there on
Sunday.
It was a great day, esp. considering it was raining on nearby Mt. Shasta where
we were camped, clouded over in Ashland where Dennis and Netta spent the nite
and sprinkling in Klamath River where Bob and Patti lived. With fear of seeing
not an ode out in such weather, we all drove the ~1 hr to meet at the Shasta
River just above Yreka. Clouds of clubtails flew before our cars as we drove
into the site on Hudson Rd. in mostly sunshine! :-) - a fantastic way to start
odeing on such a dubious day!
*River Jewelwing, Calopteryx aequabilis - 2 seen by Dennis, Netta and
Dave; Dave managed to photograph one. It apparently was a bit early for them
yet, although Bob says that at this time last year they were at their peak at
this site.
American Rubyspot, Hetaerina americana - many; mostly immature in
coloration
Emma's Dancer, Argia emma - many; mostly immatures and mostly
located very near the river's edge
Vivid Dancer, Argia vivida - many; many immatures but mostly
located up on the dirt roadway ~ 30 feet from the river's edge
Northern Bluet, Enallagma cyathigerum - some, one pair in tandem
collected by Dennis as the female appeared to possibly be of another species.
All seen on emergent reeds on the shoreline
possibly other Bluets present
Pacific Forktail, Ischnura cervula - one mature male and one
mature female seen
Western Forktail, I. perparva - several, inc. mature females
CA Darner, Aeshna californica - several males patrolling the
shoreline
Common Green Darner, Anax junius - 3-4 seen
Pacific Clubtail, Gomphus kurilis - super abundant! Many many
hundreds seen. One pair in copula collected. Matures and tenerals on maiden
flights both seen
*Sinuous Snaketail, Ophiogomphus occidentis - a few seen, they
appeared to be just now starting their emergence
Beaverpond Baskettail, Epitheca canis - one female seen and
collected
Skimmer sp, Libellula, one seen over the river, at a distance,
possibly a female Common Whitetail. No other skimmers seen!
All this happened in wonderfully mild temperatures to the songs and appearances
of Chats, Orioles and a Canyon Wren!
May 25 & 26, 2003
Marin County
Tim & Annette Manolis
Annette and I drove over to Novato, Marin County, on Sunday afternoon (5/25)
and stayed in a motel, then spent the morning and afternoon of Monday, 5/26,
looking at birds, dragonflies, etc., around Point Reyes Station and Olema
Marsh, sandwiched around a radio interview at 11 a.m.
On Sunday afternoon around Novato, at various little roadside drainage ditches
and wetlands, we saw a few Flame Skimmers, good numbers of Vivid
Dancers, some bluets (sp?) and Western Forktails.
At White House Pool near Point Reyes Station on Monday morning, besides two
singing Yellow-breasted Chats, which were quite a treat, we saw some Exclamation
Damsels, Pacific Forktails and a few Swift Forktails.
In the afternoon after the interview we drove out to the overlook of Olema
Marsh from Bear Valley Road. The wind had come up quite a bit and hordes of
odes, mostly damselflies, were sheltering from the wind in the lee of the trees
and brush along the short stretch of dirt road up to the overlook. There were
hundreds of Exclamation Damsels and Pacific Forktails windrowed in the
mowed weeds on the edge of the blackberry thickets, etc. Also here were at
least one more Swift Forktail, Western Forktail, a number of Cardinal
Meadowhawks, a nice male Red-veined Meadowhawk, and a female or
immature male Striped Meadowhawk. A few Blue-eyed Darners were
flying about and a male California Darner was patrolling over the marsh
near the Bear Valley Road, where a tandem pair of Cardinal Meadowhawks were
ovipositing. It was a pretty nice show. Seeing Zoniagrion exclamationis
and Ischnura erratica for the first time together, was neat but
no certain I. gemina (one possible was brief glimpse that got away).
May 24, 2003
Alameda and Santa Clara County
Alvaro Jaramillo
On a quick trip yesterday scouting for birds (I have a birding tour coming up)
on Mines Road south of Livermore I encountered a couple of Odonates. On the
Alameda Side there were several Black Spreadwings (Lestes stultus)
A small pond on Del Puerto Road east of the junction with Mines/San Antonio
Road (Santa Clara Co.) there were Green Darners ovipositing and a Tramea
lacerata flying over. I did not have much time to concentrate on damsels
etc., but there was little in evidence anyway.
Imperial County
Douglas Aguillard
Well, the weather in Coastal San Diego County has been overcast for the last
several days, so I decided to head to Imperial County and the desert (temp-100
degrees).
In Imperial and just west of Calexico, along the West Main Canal. I had the
following:
Powdered Dancers (20)
Blue-ringed Dancers (12)
Variegated Meadowhawk (1)
Familiar Bluets (4)
Roseate Skimmers (3)
Cardinal Meadowhawk
Flame Skimmers
At the New River Water Project at Imperial, I ran into fellow list member Bob
Miller who was escorting a group of Federal VIP's and others. I had the
following:
Rambur's Forktails (150),
Desert Forktail (2)
Blue Dashers (200)
Western Pondhawks (15)
Mexican Amberwings (4)
Common Green Darner
Red Saddlebags
Roseate Skimmer
Flame Skimmers (75).
The New River Water Project at Brawley was just dead, with only a few Blue
Dashers, and Red Saddlebags flying around.
I then headed west towards the Anza Borrego State Park, to check out the Desert
Pup Fish ponds. Once there, I saw a Flame Skimmer, Familiar Bluet, and
then a Aztec or California Dancer.
May 23 & 25, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
After a very slow start along Five Mile Creek in Stockton, on the 23rd I saw 3
male Western Pond Hawks acting very defensively and 5 Common Green
Darners. I saw what I thought was a spotted Skimmer but it was too far away
to photo.
On the 25th I saw two Common Green Darners in tandem, 2 male Western
Pond Hawks and an Common WhitetailI was able to photo. Briefly I saw
a Damselfly whose general color seemed to be a light beige with a subtle
touch of pink, no photo.
With the creek in such bad shape I did not have high hopes of any Odes this
year. These sightings are pure joy.
May 23, 2003
Siskiyou County
Dave Payne
I helped to stock Kelly Lake (Siskiyou Wilderness) with catchable rainbow trout
on Friday, May 23rd. We released about 500 fish.
Spring is slowly coming along. Snowbanks were still around. Sighted the first
odes of this season! I saw two male Mosaic Darners (Aeshna sp.) patrolling
over submerged willow bushes. They never got close enough for much of a look.
Kelly Lake is at about 4500 elevation on the southeastern edge of the Siskiyou
Wilderness in Siskiyou County. The lake level is very high compared to last
year. Grasses and willow bushes from last season are currently submerged. An
osprey showed up about fifteen minutes after we finished releasing fish and
contently waited for us to leave. The Klamath River is running quite high. I
have not seen any odes along the river yet.
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
In Guatay, on dry land, no where near any water source, I had a possible Tule
Bluet.
At the Sweetwater River in the Cuyamacas, I had my life Cardinal Meadowhawk,
Flame Skimmer, and a mystery Bluet.
At the south end of Lake Cuyamaca in a pond near the road, I had a adult male Cardinal
Meadowhawk, then it was off to Doane Pond on top of Mount Palomar, I had
most of the Mystery Bluets, along with up to 20 Flame Skimmers, 1 Pacific
Forktail, 1 Blue Darner, and 1 Vivid Dancer, but lots and lots of Bluets.
May 22-28, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun & Steven Bruun
It's been an eventful four or five days of odeing. Saturday (May 24, 2003)
Steven and I found a new Shasta County record and first interior California
record for Swift Forktail (Ischnura erratica) . We saw
two, possibly three, males and lots of females(20+). I collected one male and
three females. The location they were first discovered is a small marshy area
about a mile south of Shingletown at an elevation of about 3,400 feet. Shingletown
is on State Route 44, 30 miles east of Redding and 18 miles west of Lassen
Volcanic National Park in the southern Cascades. I've now found Ischnura
erratica, Swift Forktail, both a male and a female, at Grace Lake, Nora
Lake, and a small marsh between them.
Here's a species list since Thursday (I may have left one or two out):
Widow Skimmer - several females near Clear Creek southwest of Redding
Common Whitetail - various locations around Redding
*Four-spotted Skimmer Libellula quadrimaculata - two at woods
pond vicinity of Shingletown (Thu, 5/22)
Eight-spotted Skimmer - near Clear Creek
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - Clear Creek; Shingletown
*Hoary Skimmer Libellula nodisticta - two beautiful males in
meadow near Shingletown (Thu, 5/22) library
Flame Skimmer - various locations around Redding
Cardinal Meadowhawk - Shingletown and Redding
*Striped Meadowhawk Symptrum pallipes - Canyon Creek on 5/28/03
(first sighting this year)
Western Pondhawk - Shingletown and Redding
Blue Dasher - various locations around Redding
Black Saddlebags - East Turtle Bay, Redding
Blue-eyed Darner - Nora Lake
Aeshna species - female, probable California Darner at woods pond
Common Green Darner - common at most locations
Beaverpond Baskettail - about a half dozen, also in Meadow; Steven got
great photo - Shingletown and Redding
*Pacific Spiketail Cordulegaster dorsalis - teneral male at
Canyon Creek in Redding (Wed, 5/28)
*Bison Snaketail Ophiogompus bison - at our house in Shingletown!
a life ode
Swift Forktail - Grace Lake, Nora Lake, and small marsh nearby
(Shingletown)
Pacific Forktail - everywhere
Western Forktail - almost everywhere
Northern Bluet - at our house
Vivid Dancer - lots of places
Exclamation Damsel - near Clear Creek, a life ode
May 21, 2003
Marin County
Marin County's Interpretive Naturalist, David Herlocker, led this walk at
Stafford Lake. Many observers, inc. "CalOders" - Douglas Vaughn,
Wendy Dreskin, Kathy Biggs
The dragonflies were a little sparse with the advent of warm weather just
occurring this last week, but we did see several species and were able to
examine a few in hand.
Our dragonfly list:
Black Spreadwings, Lestes stultus - several seen and a few
examined in hand. Some tenerals seen.
no dancers!
Tule Bluet, Enallagma carunculatum - many, but not abundant
Northern/Boreal Bluet, E. cyathigerum/boreale - a few
Familiar Bluet, E. civile - some, not abundant
Pacific Forktail, Ischnura cervula - a few only!
Western Forktail, I. perparva - very scarce, one female seen in
hand, only 2-3 males & other females seen at all! But this is the species
David Herlocker has studied and if you want to know anything about them, he'll
be able to tell you, which I found fascinating!
Darner sp, Aeshna sp - a few seen. Probably CA Darners, A.
californica
Common Green Darner, Anax junius - one seen
Beaverpond Baskettail, Epitheca canis - a few seen, none caught
:-(
Western Pondhawk, Erythemis collocata - a few mature males seen,
no immatures or females seen at all!
Eight-spotted Skimmer, Libellula forensis - 2 males seen
Common Whitetail, L. lydia - one teneral female caught and
released. Another female possibly seen out over the pond later.
Twelve-spotted Skimmer, L. pulchella possibly seen over the pond.
no Flame Skimmers or Blue Dashers or Variegated Meadowhawks seen!
Cardinal Meadowhawk, Sympetrum illotum - at least one male,
examined in hand
Red-veined Meadowhawk, S. madidum - one young male examined in
hand (BTW: Sid Dunkle has the Marin County record for this species!)
May 20, 2003
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel
Picked the lock on the ball and chain and snuck down to Harbor Pk. (KMHRP) for
a couple hours from 11-1:30 (S. LA Co.). 10 (TEN!) species of Dragons (+1
Damsel) was a welcome change of pace!
Mosaic Darner - 1 male (looked like Blue-eyed, all we've recorded here
so far)
Flame Skimmer - 3 male, pr.tandem, 1 fem.ovipos.
Green Darner - 7 male, 2 pr. ovipos.
Variegated Meadowhawk - 2 male, 1 pr. ovipos.
Red Saddlebags - 2 males
Black Saddlebags - 1 male, 1 pr.tandem
Blue Dasher - 4 subad. males
Wandering Glider - 2
Spot-winged Glider - 2
Western Pondhawk - 1 male (first at site)
(Blue-eyed Darner and Flame Skimmer - first of year at site)
Damsels:
Pacific Forktail - 2
Placer County
Tim Manolis
I had sort of the reverse of Mitch's day in LA Co. today; lots of damselflies
and few dragonflies.
Walked along the creek at Sculpture Park in Roseville, Placer Co. (at the
Eureka Road exit off of I-80) from about noon to 1 p.m., and saw:
American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) -- fairly common, males
on territory along creek, etc.
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) -- abundant
Emma's Dancer (Argia emma) -- widespread but not common, many
tenerals but some mature males
Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum) -- bluets were quite
common, and this appeared to be the most common of them all (a few males netted
and tandem pairs seen)
Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) -- a male netted, no doubt more
present
*Arroyo Bluet (Enallagma praevarum) -- a male netted, no doubt
more present
Exclamation Damsel (Zoniagrion exclamationis) -- only one male
seen
Western Forktail (Ischnura perparva) -- quite common
Black-fronted Forktail (Ischnura denticollis) -- a male seen
Pacific Clubtail (Gomphus kurilis) -- about 8 seen, most males,
along the creek at streamside perches or in bounding flight away from water
Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) -- 2-3 seen (also some in the
backyard when I got home)
Most glaring miss here is Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula) . They have
seldom really been abundant at this site, however. There could have been Tule
Bluet (E. carunculatum) and California Dancer (A. agrioides) there,
too, but overlooked by me. I was most disappointed in not seeing Sinuous
Snaketail (Ophiogomphus occidentis) . Usually they are flying here with
the Pacific Clubtails about now. But the creek was running high and the cold,
wet April and early May weather may have delayed them a bit. Oh well, the later
they come out the better the chance they will still be flying here around the
time of the DSA meeting in June -- one can only hope.
May 13 & 20, 2003
Kings County
Ray Bruun
lower Kings River (Cole Slough, a branch of the Kings River)
Widow Skimmer Libellula luctuosa - 1 [sighting only county record]
Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata
- 2 [sighting only county record]
Black Saddlebags - several
Common Green Darner - ~dozen
Variegated Meadowhawk - 2
Pacific Forktail - common
Tule Bluet - several- photo taken
Familiar Bluet - several - photo taken
Emma's Dancer (Argia emma) -
several under bridge - photo voucher taken
Northern/Boreal Bluet Enallagma boreale or
E. cyathigerum - one of these
species, either would be a county sight only record
American Rubyspot Hetaerina americana - common- photo
voucher taken
May 18, 2003
San Joaquin County
Kathy Crump
Today's sighting of a male Black Saddlebags and a group of 5 Common
Green Darners flying around the swimming pool is no where near as exciting
as you all have been seeing but the Black Saddlebags is the first of the year
here in Stockton along Five Mile Creek after Water Hyacinth covered the water
from bank to bank followed by 3 months of mechanical harvesting.
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel
Torrance backyard
I also saw my first Black Saddlebags of the year today
Sacramento County
Tim Manolis
His backyard
Blue-eyed Darner foraging over the house
Kings County
Kathy and Dave Biggs
Nevada Road/State Route 43
Enallagma civile (Familiar Bluet) - a few males and
females, one male specimen taken for county voucher
North Fork Kings River/Grangeville Rd.
Anax junius (Common Green Darner) - one male seen
Aeshna sp - probably a Blue-eyed Darner, one seen
Enallagma civile (Familiar Bluet) - a few males and females
E. carunculatum (Tule Bluet) - a few, one male collected
for county voucher
Ischnura cervula ( Pacific Forktail) - one male seen
I. denticollis (Black-fronted Forktail) - one male seen
May 16, 2003
Orange County
Kathy and Dave Biggs, Liz Cooper, Sandra Huwe, Larry Shaw, and Trudy Hurd (in
various combinations thru-out the day)
San Joaquin Marsh & San Diego Creek
Pantala flavescens (Wandering Glider) - 3-4
Pantala hymenaea (Spot-winged Glider) - 2-3
That's IT! Not even a damselfly seen!
Los Angeles Co
Kathy and Dave Biggs, Jody and Wes Biggs and Stephanie Barrows
In Jody and Stephanie's back yard, on the lawn
Enallagma civile (Familiar Bluet) - one male
May 15, 2003
Los Angeles County
Kathy and Dave Biggs
Legg Lake (Whittier Narrows area)
Ischnura cervula (Pacific Forktail) - a very few and NOTHING else
but 2 Aeshna off in the distance! We're seen Red Saddlebags and
Mexican Forktails here before so were very disappointed!
Whittier Narrows trail -
Anax (Common Green Darner) - one
Orange County
Kathy and Dave Biggs
Upper Newport Beach
Ischnura cervula (Pacific Forktail) - 1 male, that's it!
May 13, 2003
Contra Costa County
Bob Behrstock
Tilden Regional Park
A short walk through the Botanical Garden at Tilden (East Bay) Regional Parks,
and associated parking lot edges today produced:
Vivid Dancer (about 60)
Exclamation Damsel (4) (photos of one male)
Cardinal Meadowhawk (5)
Calaveras County
Alvaro Jaramillo
...at White Pines Lake in Calaveras County I saw a couple of California
Darners as well as Pacific Forktails. It was cool in the Sierras,
with the higher reaches under several feet of snow still so not very good for
Odonates
Mono County
Jon Billimore
Salt Creek
Common Green Darner Anax junius - 2+ Males
Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis - 1 Male
Black Saddlebags Tramea lacerata - 1 Male
Bluet sp
Forktail sp, teneral? (blue tail, turquoise thorax, golden yellow
abdomen with black rings at nodes)
possilby a Wandering Glider Pantala flavescens - 2+ (red eyes
top, blue underside, yellow face, clear wings, pale turquoise to side of
thorax, golden yellow abdomen with black markings towards end)
Furnace Creek Ranch - parking lot, next to golf course
Flame Skimmer Libellula saturata - 2+ Male
Red Saddlebags Tramea onusta - 2+ male
Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis - 1 male
Black-fronted Forktail Ischnura denticollis - 3 males
May 12, 2003
Sonoma County
Chris Heaivilin, Bob Behrstock and Kathy Biggs
Lake Ralphine, Santa Rosa
*Aztec Dancer, Argia nahuana - one male (whose ID was determined only
after repeated viewing with hand lens, referring to Tim's book, the drawings
from Aquatic Insects of CA and Rosser Garrison's drawings.... darn they are
difficult!
Vivid Dancer, Argia vivida - several
Tule Bluet, Enallagma carunculatum - many
Exclamation Damsel, Zoniagrion exclamationis ~dozen males
Pacific Forktail, Ischnura cervula - some, males and females
Darner, Aeshna sp - one, probably A. multicolor
(blue-eyed) - one male
Pacific Clubtail, Gomphus kurilis - many males
Beaverpond Baskettail, Epiticea/(T.) canis - many males seen, a
few females
8-spotted Skimmer, Libellula forensis - several males seen
Common Whitetail, Libellula lydia - several males, perhaps a
female
*Widow Skimmer, Libellula luctuosa - one female took her maiden
flight
Flame Skimmer, L. saturata - several males seen
Cardinal Meadowhawk, Sympetrum illotum - many males seen
One species added afterwards at Bigsnest Wildlife Pond:
Western Forktail, Ischnura perparva - 1 or 2
Shasta County
Doug Vaughan
TURTLE BAY WEST
--Though promising looking, this area yielded only an unidentified meadowhawk
(Sympetrum sp.), a teneral of one of the "pale-striped"
species (pallipes or corruptum?)
MARY LAKE
--We saw mostly tenerals, and I was a little self-conscious about swinging my
net, even at unidentified mature adults, among the dog-walkers and fishermen in
this suburban area. I guess I have to get over that.
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) , at least a few adults
bluets (Enallagma sp.) , tenerals
Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula), at least one teneral
?Black-fronted Forktail? (I. denticollis) , an equivocal
identification, since I have no experience with this species, but I don't know
what else it could have been;
Com. Green Darner (Anax junius) , two adults
meadowhawks (Sympetrum sp.) , two, including one mature adult
Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) or Com. Whitetail (Plathemis
lydia) , a teneral female, but I should have been able to identify it
anyway...sorry!
BATTLE CREEK WILDLIFE AREA--A very brief spot at the pleasant "Coleman
Rd." unit. No one else there. Many more adult damsels, most unidentified
owing to haste and ignorance.
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida)
*Emma Dancer? (A. emma)
Grappletail (Octogomphus specularis) , one teneral female
May 11, 2003
Napa County
Chris Heaivilin
Lake Henessey
Common Whitetail ~10
L. saturata -a few
Jon Billimore
Napa River Nr Rutherford
Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum - 1 male
Flame Skimmer Libellula saturata - 2+ males
Eight-spotted Skimmer Libellula forensis - 2+ males
Common Whitetail Libellula lydia - 2+ males
Vivid Dancer Argia vivida - 1 male
Pacific Forktail Ischnura cervula - 1 male
Bluet sp. probably northern, Enallagma cyathigerum
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
Crest Preserve east of El Cajon
I had a fresh Vivid Dancer female
... Lindo Lake in Lakeside
saw one Flame Skimmer, several Pacific Forktails, and what I
think was a quick look at a Rambur's Forktail (The jury is still out).
... Santee Lakes in Santee, and it was here that held the best for the day.
There was thousands of Pacific Forktails, many Blue Dashers and Flame
Skimmers, providing some great photo opportunities. I also thought I had a
Exclamation Damsel, but after reading Tim's book, I'm know thinking it was an
andromorphic Pacific Forktail. I put the photos up soon. I also had Familiar
Bluet.
... Greenwood Pond
there was low numbers of Pacific Forktails, one Flamer Skimmer, and a few
Blue Dashers.
May 10, 2003
Sacramento County
Tim Manolis & many observers
Led a dragonfly walk at Stone Lakes NWR in westcentral Sacramento Co. today.
Lots of interested folks but disappointingly few dragonflies. There were hordes
of damselflies, mostly tenerals around the grassy margins of the marshy ponds
there, but only a few Green Darners flying around, a handful of Variegated
Meadowhawks and one pondhawk. The damsels were mostly Familiar
Bluets and Pacific Forktails, with a few Tule Bluets and Western
Forktails. I was seeing more activity locally a month ago. The cool, rainy
weather of April has seemed to knock back ode emergence to early March levels.
Sonoma County
Kathy & Dave Biggs, Harry & Gloria Conley
Sebastopol
At ~7 pm we found a newly emerged 8-spotted Skimmer sitting just above
its exuvia on the pond. It's the first one to ever emerge from our pond so a
real surprise! Also at the pond today were many Cardinal Meadowhawks,
Pacific and Western Forktails and Vivid Dancers. The Conley's reported that
their bbackyard pond has had several hundred Cardinal Meadowhawk's emerge and
that now they were finding more and more.
San Mateo County
Jon Billimore
May Helen Putnam Park - Petaluma
Flame Skimmer Libellula saturata - 1 male
Mosaic Darner sp.
Pacific Clubtail, Gomphus kurilis
May 6, 2003
San Mateo County
Jon Billimore
San Francisco Airport - Animal shelter
Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum - I male
Forktail sp. - 1 male possibly Ischnura gemina
Marin County
Bob Behrstock & David Herlocker
From 11:15 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., David Herlocker (Marin Co. Open Space District
Naturalist) and I visited Stafford Lake Co. Park west of Novato, Marin Co.
Parts of the lake have a pretty much denuded shoreline but one large and one
smaller pond are densely vegetated on their margins, and there is a clear creek
flowing in the area where the Renaissance Festival is held. A large number of
odonates have been observed at the park.
Enallagma sp. tenerals (30+)
Tule/Arroyo-type Bluets (more black above) (10 males)
Northern/Boreal Bluet (more blue above) (1 male on algal mat)
Black Spreadwing (12)
Pacific Forktail (50+)
Western Forktail about 5)
California Darner (about 10 incl. cop. pairs)
Beaverpond Baskettail (2)
Cardinal Meadowhawk (5+)
** *Red-veined Meadowhawk Sympetrum madidum (1 imm male, 1
female) Both were golden yellow, had black on the ventral surface of the
abdomen showing as black saw teeth low on the sides, black legs, a
saffron-colored costal stripe, and two broad pale bands on each side of the
thorax. [new early flight data - by 4 days- kb]
Santa Barbara County
Jon Billimore
Lake Los Carneros, Goleta
Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata - 1 Male
Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis - 1 Male
Mosaic Darner sp - 1 Male
May 8, 2003
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
Corte Madera, CA
Conditions poor: Very windy, cool-high 50s to low 60s (about 30 degrees F.
cooler than this date last year), partly cloudy, intermittent bright sky.
Weather probably suppressed the species totals by at least 50%. Viewing and
photography impossible in open situations because of the wind.
Muir Beach parking lot vicinity (especially nettle patch near outhouses) and
alder-lined channel adjacent to entrance road. 11:50 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula) ~ 20
Swift Forktail (I. erratica) ~10
Exclamation Damsel (Zoniagrion exclamationis) ~10
Trail marked with pink cable, east side of U.S. 1, 2.5 (road) miles N of
Panoramic Drive intersection in Stinson Beach. Trail, forest openings, stream,
and meadow. 2:23 p.m.-3:35 p.m. (A good spot on a better day)
Black (presumably) Spreadwing (Lestes stultus) 1F
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) 3
Darner (California?) (Aeshna californica) 2 distant
Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum) 1F
Stinson Gulch/McKinnan Trail, 1.5 (road) miles N of Stinson Beach 3:40
p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula) ~ 1M
May 7, 2003
Sonoma County
Kathy Biggs & Nancy Bauer
On my backyard pond here in Sebastopol
one female CA Darner finished emerging
several pair of ovipositing Cardinal Meadowhawk
male and female Western Forktail
male and female Pacific Forktail
several male Vivid Dancer warming themselves on the walkway
one male Exclamation Damsel on the pond looking for a mate
May 6, 2003
San Francisco County
Jon Billimore
Coit Tower
Mosaic Darner sp - 1 Female
May 1, 2003
Sonoma County
Calls from Rod Miller reported the following seen during his lunch
break:
Healdsburg area, Geysers Rd:
Beaverpond Baskettail - 1
Pacific Clubtail - 1
CA Darner - 1
Flame Skimmer - 1 male
*Grappletail Octogomphus specularis - 1 (first report of the year
- 32nd species)
April
April 19, 2003
Imperial County
Bob Miller and Lea Anne
Near the city of Calexico near the Mexican border:
..., Lea Anne and I had several *American Rubyspots Hetaerina americana,
Powdered Dancers and Blue-ringed Dancers mixed in with hundreds of Familiar
Bluets on the very large Central Main Canal. The Central Main Canal crosses
Hwy 111 between Jasper and Cole Roads and is the main water supply for all parts
of the Imperial Valley between the New and Alamo Rivers so it turns north and
flows along side Austin Road for many miles.
The Imperial site of the New River Wetlands Project was surprising for what was
NOT there. Saw only one individual each of Red Saddlebags and Western
Pondhawk. Familiar Bluet (~200) and lots of Rambur's Forktail (~2,000)
though.
April 16, 2003
Sonoma County
Rod Miller
Hall Rd, Sebastopol:
Rod called twice during his outdoor lunch break, first to report a Spot-winged
Glider overhead and then to say he'd also had a Wandering Glider fly
over. This seemed quite early to him for our county.
April 12, 2003
Imperial County
Doug Aguillard
New River Water Projects - Brawley:
Blue Dasher -20 (all females)
Common Green Darner -1
Black Saddlebags -1
Rambur's Forktail -50+
** *Powdered Dancer -2 (lifer)
*Blue-ringed Dancer -12
Familiar Bluet -12+
** *Desert Firetail -(lifer)[new early flight data! -kb]
New River Water Projects - Imperial:
Blue Dasher -200+ (mostly females, but about 20 blue males)
Common Green Darner -3
Red Saddlebags - 4 (lifer)
Rambur's Forktail -1000+
Powdered Dancer -2
Familiar Bluet -24
April 8, 2003
Inyo County
Alan Wight
Salt Creek, Death Valley.
We saw a few Desert Forktail here, including at least one apparent
female. And a Variegated Meadowhawk.
April 7, 2003
Los Angleles County
Mitch Heindel
Today in extreme S. LA Co., there was a fair bit of Ode activity... First at
Lost Cerritos Wetlands in Long Bch. just above the Orange Co. line., there
were:
Variegated Meadowhawks - 4+
Green Darner - 3
Red Saddlebags - 2 (ph.)
I couldn't ID the 6 damsels though got some pix which might help
later.... Maybe Vivid Dancers?
Then at my local patch (KMHRP-Harbor Pk.), I found:
Blue Dasher - 10!
Varieg. Meadowhawk - 4
Green Darners - 6
...and a number of un ID'd Damsels, besides the Pacific Forktails...
some looked like Arroyo Bluet....(photo'd a pair in tandem oviposit)
The Red Saddlebags and Blue Dashers were my first locally this year... Still no
Mosaic (Blue-eyed) Darners which were abundant last summer at KMHRP.
Sacramento County
Tim Manolis
Had my first extensive hike around nice odonate habitat today, 7 April 2003.
Spent a few warm, sunny hours from about Noon to 3 pm at Sacramento Bar along
the American River Parkway. Habitats here include a few small suburban
streamlets that feed into the American River, the river itself, and (the
predominate habitat) ponds of various sizes in the extensive dredge tailings
that make up most of the bar. Things seen included:
Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) -- quite common, 100s seen, many teneral but
also including many mature adults some in tandem and ovipositing (mostly along
small streamlets, but even a few along the river).
** *California Dancer (Argia agrioides) -- though none were netted (all
were teneral or immature) a few (10-15) almost certainly this species were seen
well long a dike between two large ponds where I see them regularly every year.
Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) -- some of the modest number of
mature bluets (many tenerals seen) were apparently this species (one male
netted, examined and released).
Tule Bluet (Enallagma carunculatum) -- ditto as for Familiar
Bluet (a tandem pair netted, examined and released).
Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula) -- very common, many teneral
but some mature including ovipositing females and tandem pairs.
Western Forktail (Ischnura perparva) -- ditto as for Pacific
Forktail.
Black-fronted Forktail (Ischnura denticollis) -- one male
definitely seen, possibly a few others.
Common Green Darner (Anax junius) -- 8-10 males seen patrolling
the larger, more open ponds.
*Blue-eyed Darner (Aeshna multicolor) -- 15-20 patrolling males,
one tandem pair seen, at ponds and a few along the river.
California Darner (Aeshna californica) -- widespread and common,
40+ seen, males patrolling ponds and 4-5 tandem pairs, these usually flushed up
from perches on grasses near ground level a few meters from ponds. One female
foraging low over grasses growing along a trail some distance from water.
Beaverpond Baskettail (Tetragoneuria canis) -- 5- 10 seen, most
males patrolling borders of larger ponds. One aerial combat seen involving 3
males, one knocked to the water's surface briefly.
* Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata)-- 3-4 tenerals seen
making their maiden flights up from the marshy edge of a large pond into nearby
weeds and brush.
** *Eight-spotted Skimmer (Libellula forensis) -- One teneral
coming up from water's edge into shrubby willows.
** *Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) - - Ditto as for
L. forensis.
*Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) -- One mature male patrolling
a marshy corner of a large pond near the river.
I regularly visit this site at various times of year, including mid-April. This
seems like a bit more activity than usual this early in the season. A visit on
11 April 2000 that covered about the same ground at the same time of day and
under similar weather conditions produced 12 species, many of them the same, a few
different.
Stanislaus County
Dave & Kathy Biggs - Del Puerto Canyon
We took the 'long cut' between Interstate I-5 and Livermore and made a few
stops! It was sunny but only in the low 60s.
Californa Dancer - one teneral male. Interesting that Tim Manolis saw
this species this same day in Sacramento Co.!
Vivid Dancer - many (brought several males home to scan)
*Northern Bluet - some (brought one male home to scan)
CA Darner - several males (brought one male home to scan)
Skimmer sp. - one teneral made its maiden flight past us. It had a brown
abdomen with a continuous straight yellow line. Looked most like a Widow
Skimmer to me, but I'm not CALLING it that!
Skimmer sp. - this one looked Meadowhawk size and was seen up stream on
territory, but with no color or marks showing.
April 6, 2003
San Diego County
Dee and Bob Parks
Santee lakes - We found another freshly emerged Mexican Amberwing so Bob
took several pictures of that. Then I netted some damselflies for him to look
at under the microscope. I also saw Flame skimmer and a Blue- eyed darner.
Los Angeles County
Dave and Kathy Biggs
Legg Lake, Whittier Narrows
The ONLY Odonata we found flying were Tule Bluets & Variegated
Meadowhawks in small numbers. No Mexican Amberwings or Red Saddlebags yet.
April 5, 2003
Imperial County
Dave & Kathy Biggs, Bob Miller, Dee Parks and SDNHM field trip members
At the New River Wetlands Project:
Familiar Bluets - abundant (brought one male-colored female home to
scan)
Rambur's Forktail - many (brought one male-colored female home to scan -
but I had THOUGHT I was collecting a male!!)
Desert Forktail - many (brought one male home to scan)
*Western Pondhawk - a few matures, one emerging
Common Green Darner - several
*Blue Dasher Pachidiplax longipennis - a few tenerals just
emerging and a few mature males on territory
*Black Saddlebags Tramea lacerata - a quick glimpse by a few of
us
Red Saddlebags Tramea onusta - several, inc. ovipositing pairs.
We observed these pairs closely and saw that, like the
Black Saddlebags, they do the "Tramea Dance".
Variegated Meadowhawk - a quick glimpse by a few of us
Brawley site, we added:
Pacific Forktail - one male. And he was collected as an 'extra' when I
swooped down to catch a Rambur's Forktail! You just never know what
you'll come up with. It made species #9 - not bad for the first week in April
and cool weather!
April 4, 2003
San Diego County
Dave & Kathy Biggs, Bob Parks
Santee Lakes, Santee, (cool, overcast & quite breezy)-
Pacific Forktails - a thousand or more, mostly densely packed at the far
end of the last pond where they were sheltered by the cattails. Many stems
looked as if you were looking at photos of stalled traffic in LA! Of note were
that one stem would have end to end single I. cervula, another would have ALL
tandem pairs, while yet another would have pairs in wheel! Interesting! A few
were seen along the sides of the ponds also.
** *Mexican Amberwing (Perithemis intensa) - one female found
just an inch above her exuvia on the first lake. No color, but wing patterning
visable. We collected her exuvia for me to post on the website soon. She is the
first reported of her species this year. [and it turns out she is new early
flight data too - kb]
Variegated Meadowhawk - 1-2 tenerals
April 1, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
Beaverpond Baskettail at West Turtle Bay. The eyes weren't quite the
teal color I would expect. [photo showed young male, not yet colored- up - kb]
March
March 31, 2003
Imperial County
Bob Miller
We have dragons!! It has been warm all week but it will cool down from 92 to
about 80 this weekend with mid 50 at night. At the New River Wetlands project
we have good numbers but not awesome numbers as it will be later. In the past
few weeks there have been Rambur's and *Desert Forktails, ....Familiar
Bluets are the most common flyer. Common Green Darner, Variegated
Meadowhawk and plenty of Red Saddlebags about. ...Last week I saw a
very fresh dragon but could not refind it. Almost positive it was Blue Dasher.
Been watching the big canals for dancers and rubyspot but none yet.
March 30, 2003
Sonoma & Marin Counties
Kathy & Dave Biggs
It took us 2 yrs. but we were finally able to document that the *San
Francisco Forktail, Ischnura gemina, breeds along the Estero
Americano which is the boundary between Sonoma and Marin Counties. We observed
~ a dozen, all males, along the area and collected 3. The first time we saw the
species there we didn't have nets with us, and the Estero Americano is very
difficult to kayak during windy weather.
See the scans here.
We also saw a few Darners, which by size and grayish coloration we
presume to have been CA Darners, and we counted 20 Western Pond Turtles.
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
I looked for odes at the Mouth of Cottonwood Wildlife Area this afternoon. I
concentrated my efforts on some man-made ponds close to the entrance. Here's a
summary:
Pacific Forktails (Ischnura cervula) were present at all the
ponds and was the most common ode. I didn't bother counting them, there were so
many. At least 20 to 30 in wheel.
Western Forktail (Ischnura perparva) - 5 or 6
*Black-fronted Forktail (Ischnura denticollis) - many individuals
and pairs at marshy end of one pond
Bluets - Unidentified -3
Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) - about 6, one pair
in wheel.
March 29, 2003
Sonoma County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
We celebrated our 34th anniversary by going to the Sonoma Horticultural Gardens
here in Sebastopol. Not only were the flowers gorgeous, but so were the *Excalamtion
Damsels Zoniagrion exclamationis. We saw about 3 dozen, mostly
matures. Most were seen along the walkway into the 'yellow garden' or in the
'yellow garden'. We saw one Darner fly by. Also seen were a Morning
Cloak and 2 beautiful muted Anglewings mixing it up.
March 28, 2003
Shasta County
Bruce Deuel and Ray Bruun
Ray Bruun and I went to Mary Lake in western Redding, Shasta Co., today and had
our best ode day so far (of course that was very easy to do!). We saw the
following:
Variegated Meadowhawks, 18-20 including 2 ovipositing pairs
bluets, 10-15 tenerals
Tule Bluet, 1 male
forktails, 20-30 teneral
Pacific Forktails, 4-5
Western Forktails, 3 including a pair in wheel.
We were pretty stoked.
March 27, 2003
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel
...For an hour now there has been a Spot-winged Glider(Pantala hymenaea)
hunting the lee side of my bottlebrush.
This is in Torrance, in S. L.A. Co.. I mentioned in my post 3/21 I saw a
probable Pantala Glider that day. The following day I saw another probable.
Today I have had prolonged views at very close range and there is no doubt as
to the identity.....
I knew it was going to be a good day when I saw the first Ode of the year IN my
yard this morning, a female Green Darner.
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
I spent three hours mid-day today at Marin County Open Space District's newly
acquired Bahia property (northern Novato). The site is about 1 to 1.5 mi E (on
Atherton Ave.) of U.S. 101 and then north on Bugeia several blocks until it
ends (becomes Bahia en route). Gate on left. Trails ascend the hills and skirt
the wetlands. The site is immediatly east of the Rush Creek wetlands visible
from U.S. 101. I was mostly in terrestrial habitat such as paths through oak
woodlands but ventured to marsh edge. There is a lot of saline habitat but
there are some ponds with freshwater vegetation. Both birds and flowers were
numerous.
Most interesting were two Lestes, a male and a female of
the stultus/dryas type in a grassy meadow with a sparse oak overstory. I
photographed the female, but even if the images are good, they may not be
identifiable. Judging from the dark thorax of the male, chunky build of the
female, and low altitude (approx. sea level) they were probably Black
Spreadwings (Lestes stultus). I have asked for permission to snatch a
specimen. If stultus, they almost three weeks earlier than previous
state records. While there, I also observed:
Enallagma sp. (1 brown female, prob. carunculatum)
Pacific Forktail (2 M)
Western (1 M)
Calif. Darner (c. 10 M)
Variegated Meadowhawk (c. 8 M)
[note from Kathy:
* **Spreadwings Lestes seen today, probably Black
Spreadwings by Bob's description in a phone call. For either Black or Emerald
Spreadwings, this would be a full month earlier than any previous record!]
Contra Costa County
Chris Heaivilin
...Oakley; Definitely an Aeshna. Possibly multicolor. Watched
it patrol until it landed in tall grass. Got close enough to see that it was
female...
Sonoma County
David Hofmann
...at Lake Ralphine where Kathy went yesterday. The only odes seen were Pacific
Fortails!!
San Diego County
Lynn Monroe
At the damaged and repaired Pupfish Pool at the Borrego Palm Canyon trailhead:
When we went there on March 27, as expected no dragonflies were flying. Gene
did find one dragonfly floating on the water. He fished it out--and it was
still alive, though with one badly damaged forewing. It turned out to be a Spot-winged
Glider, P. hymenaea--a Lifer for us!! He left if on a shrub,
and it had disappeared by the time we returned. Elsewhere this spring we did
see a few damsels and a Sympetrum corruptum.
March 26, 2003
Sonoma County
Kathy Biggs
...I had another opportunity to spend an hour or so walking around Lake
Ralphine in eastern Santa Rosa around noon today. Although it was quite windy,
many Odonates were emerging:
Dancer sp, Argia - 1 male wing clapping on the trail. Still milky
gray colored. By size comparison to the Bluets I would guess it to be a Vivid
Dancer.
Bluets: many emerging and now some on territory. One pair caught in copula were
*Tule Bluets Enallagma carunculatum. Others appeared to be of the
Northern/Boreal type.
Forktails - many seen, all IDed were Pacific Forktails.
Other: At one stop where I sat, about 6 ft. up from the shoreline, an all dark
damselfly nymph with boldly streaked gills was struggling on the ground, being
attached by the tiny ants! I thought it might be an Exclamation Damsel, but
even thought I knocked the ants off it, it continued to writhe, seemingly in
pain. A few mins. after this, while sitting in the same spot, up crawled yet
another damselfly nymph (pale colored)! It crawled about checking grass stems
and narrowly evading the prowling ants, finally finding a stem upright enuf,
although only 2" tall, to emerge on and before I left it had emerged at
least half way out of the exuvia. I started looking about at the tiny little
tuffs of grass and was amazed to find an exuvia or emerging damsel on many of
them, maybe 2-3 dozen in the immediate area! All these seemed to be pale
colored nymph and were probably Forktails or Bluets.
No darners or darner exuvia seen.
But Pacific Clubtails were busy emerging. I found at least 12 emerging
or newly emerged individuals. And there were dozens and dozens of exuvia. Some
were emerging from rocks that stuck out from the water, 1- 2 ft off shore. Many
were emerging either on the ground or on grassy inclines 2.5 - 8 ft. from the
shore, and one was found with his exuvia near-by that was 24 ft from the water,
and up an incline so about 12 ft above the water level. All this compares with
the one I saw emerging on the lake last week. In the same spot where I saw the
emerging damsels, there were 6 Pacific Clubtails emerging also. The wind had
blown 1 into the water and its wings were deformed and the ants were beginning
to crawl over it. I am just amazed to find so many tenerals being preyed on by
the ants.
AND I saw 1-2 * **Beaverpond Baskettails Epithica canis! The
first reported this yr. in CA. My first sighting was of one patrolling the path
near the shoreline, and the 2nd, only 50 ft away so perhaps the same
individual, perched long enuf, along the shoreline, for me to see that it was
mature enuf to have the teal eye color already! I believe that makes 12 or 13
species reported as on the wing this calendar year. None were seen patrolling
the shoreline from the water yet.
No Skimmers seen there. However, a male Cardinal Meadowhawk was on the
pond here at home, so I saw at least 7 species.... not bad for March!
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
Visited Rodeo Lagoon today. The freshwater marsh across Bunker Rd. from the
east end of the (saline) lagoon is good odonate habitat. Near the intersection
of Bunker and Field roads, there is a low red- topped maintenance bldg. and
another concrete brick structure with no roof. A long parking lot begins there
as well. Near the picnic tables by these structures are several corridors
through the brush where you can get to the edge of the lagoon. Both forktails
were sunning on blackberry vines, poison oak, poison hemlock (I believe), and
other trailside weedy growth. The Swift Forktails are considerably larger than
the Pacifics, and have a bright blue and black striped thorax. As their name
suggests, they are a bit hyperactive.
From approx. noon to 12:45, I observed:
Enallagma sp (1 F, prob. carunculatum, tried for a photo but
I bluet)
Pacific Forktail (c. 30, mostly M)
Swift Forktail (4M, 2F)
Calif. Darner (3-4)
Cardinal Meadowhawk (2M)
March 24, 2003
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
...Muir Beach (12:03-13:35 hrs), parking lot vicinity, and alder- lined creek
along entrance road.
California Darner (3 Males)
Pacific Forktail (6 M, 1 F)
*SWIFT FORKTAIL Ischnura erratica (8 Males)-first report
of year (photos)
Trail to small clearings, creek side and forest, east side of U.S. 1, c. 2.5 mi
N of Stinson Beach. Parking area with pink metal cable crossing entrance.
(14:00-15:51 hrs)
California Darner (c. 15, nearly all males)
Vivid Dancer (1)
Stinson Gulch, posted McKennan Trail, c. 1.4 mi N of Panoramic Hwy. Turnoff in
Stinson Beach. Open service road leading into wooded trails (15:57-17:09 hrs)
California Darner (2)
Shasta County
Bruce Deuel & Ray Bruun ....all we saw were 9-10 Pacific
Forktails (including 1 pair in copula, the female of which promptly started
ovipositing when they finished) and 1 probable Variegated Meadowhawk (it
just passed by without stopping).
Sonoma County
Gloria Conley
~50 Cardinal Meadowhawks have emerged this week from their Sebastopol
backyard pond! ...and one Darner
March 23, 2003
Colusa County
Greg Kareofelas
Little Stony Creek at Goat Mt. Rd.
Cordulegaster dorsalis Pacific Spiketail – 1 male collected, CA Chart #28
March 22, 2003
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel
...90 minutes at KMHRP (Harbor Pk.) in So. LA Co..
Green Darner Anax junius - 1 male
Variegated Meadowhawk - Sympetrum corruptum - 1, which
flushed when a
large broad-winged dragon flew over. Looked like Pantala as opposed to Tramea
(was not Anax) And then:
Pacific Forktail - Ischnura cervula -18
some unidentified non-Ischnura damsel, probably a bluet (Enallagma sps.)
When I told my wife I was going to look for dragons, she said I was an
odeometer!
"I wish that I could fly
into the sky
so very high
like a dragonfly"
-Lenny Kravitz
Sonoma County
Gloria Conley
5 Cardinal Meadowhawks emerging on her pond. [poor things must have been
shivering! It was only 58 out and drizzly all day! I don't know WHAT they
thought they were doing in this weather! -kb]
Imperial County
Bob Miller
Imperial Valley while birding extreme sw area mostly along canals and away from
pond or marsh areas:
Common Green Darner - ~30
Red Saddlebags - ~20
Variegated Meadowhawk - 4
Rambur's and *Desert Forktails - ~200
*Wandering Glider Pantala flavescens - 4
March 21, 2003
Sonoma County
Kathy Biggs
Today I found 2 Cardinal Meadowhawks emerging here at Bigsnest Pond
(Sebastopol). There also were 3 males on territory, 2 of which found females
and mated and oviposited, also on the pond were 2-3 Pacific Forktail and
in a shallow mini-pond planter, I discovered one newly emerged * Western
Forktail Ischnura perparva male.
Alan Wight
I also saw one Cardinal Meadowhawk on Lichau Road today
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
I spent several hours this afternoon at the east end of Alpine Lake. The
entrance is on Sky Oaks Rd, (c. 1.5 mi S of Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in
Fairfax), on the Fairfax-Bolinas Rd, Marin Co, CA. After paying ($5.00 entrance
fee), fork right toward Bon Tempe Dam and Alpine Lake (signed). Odonates
observed:
Vivid Dancer, Argia vivida (c. 12 on sunny trails and hillsides near a
creek. Most were teneral)
Enallagma sp. (carunculatum?) One female in grasses near the lake shore
Western Forktail, Ischnura perparva (four bright, territorial
males on a sunny, grassy-edged pond and one in grass near the lake shore)
Also flying: Spring Azure, Acmon Blue, Common Ringlet, Monarch, Field Crescent,
and Propertius (or similar) Duskywing--learning these duskywings.
March 20, 2003
Sonoma County
Kathy Biggs
Today I saw the first Cardinal Meadowhawk at Bigsnest Pond (Sebastopol).
This compares to other first dates:
1998 - April 11
1999 - April 15
2000 - March 22
2001 - March 29
2002 - April 6
2003 - March 20
Also seen were Pacific Forktails
Gloria Conley & Kathy Biggs
At Gloria's Sebastopol pond, about 2 miles from Bigsnest Pond, we found 6 Cardinal
Meadowhawks in the process of emerging and many other exuvia!
March 18, 2003
Sonoma County
Kathy Biggs
In hopes of seeing some of the season's first dragonflies, I went for a
leisurely stroll around Lake Ralphine in Santa Rosa (Sonoma Co.). I didn't find
any on the south side of the lake, but on the sunnier north side there were
Pacific Forktails here and there, and dozens and dozens of emerging Bluets
All were quite teneral, still flesh colored and making their maiden flights. I
only saw one adult male, he was more blue than black on his 3rd segment, so
probably a Northern Bluet, but I didn't catch him to get the confirmation of
ID. Then out on a rock just off shore I found a female * **Pacific Clubtail
Gomphus kurilis emerging. She was still on her exuvia and her wings
were still folded sail like above her abdomen. I got to watch her spread them
and then within just seconds she took off for the nearby trees. I 'saved'
several bluets from spider webs, hoping to find one I could ID, and even one
that tried to emerge on a horizontal surface and wasn't being successful. The
ants were attaching it! Who would have thought that ants would be dragonfly
predators! But they were all too teneral to get IDs on.
Alan Wight
I saw my first Vivid Dancer of the year on Lichau Road, Cotati, today.
It appeared to be a young male.
San Diego County
Lynn Monroe
We are spending 6 weeks in in Anza-Borrego State Park and we saw a *Red-
rock Skimmer Paltothemis lineatipes female today.
March 16, 2003
Santa Clara County
Alvaro Jaramillo
The first odonate of the year was a surprise, a teneral *Sympetrum
illotum Cardinal Meadowhawk at the Half Moon Bay Flower
Nurseries, at the upper part of the Pilarcitos Creek Valley (HWY 92.... Its my
earliest illotum ever, and a surprise to find one on the cold, coastal side of
the Santa Cruz range in my opinion.
March 15, 2003
Sacramento County
Tim Manolis
I had a *Flame Skimmer Libellula saturata cruise through
the backyard in the afternoon ... It was a tan/orange female or young male. It
just came sailing low through the yard from the back (north) to front (south)
and over the roof of our house and out of sight (headed south). Flight seemed
very purposefully directional in nature. Dispersal from an emergence site?
(they breed in the fish pond in our back neighbor's yard). I was a bit
surprised to see on yesterday, since it had rained heavily the night before.
The afternoon was mostly sunny, but still cool. This is the first calendar year
since I have been keeping track of such things that the first Anisopteran I
have seen for the year has NOT been a Variegated Meadowhawk!
-------
San Diego County
Lynn & Gene Monroe
*Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum) - photographed in
ABDSP
March 12, 2003
Contra Costa County
Chris Heaivilin
Pacific Forktails: The terminal appendages match up and they have the
four blue spots on dorsal thorax surface. No Anisoptera yet. I'm waiting for
more species to show before I dust off the camera.
March 9, 2003
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
I inspected two ponds along Battle Creek just downstream the Coleman Fish
Hatchery in southern Shasta County. I also checked the creek. Eight Forktails,
five of them IDed as Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula), and two
dragonflies were found. One dragonfly was an adult male Variegated
Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) the other was probably a Variegated
but was very teneral and seen only briefly. The five Pacific Forktails that I
identified were all female. Two of the Forktails were among the cattails by the
creek.
Imperial County
Bob Miller
Imperial site:
Familiar Bluet - ~1,000
** *Rambur's Forktail - ~100
** *Red Saddlebags - 20
Common green Darner - 9
Imperial Valley:
*Spot-winged Glider - 2
March 8, 2003
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
....at a furniture store along 101 in San Rafael today and there was a Vivid
Dancer in the parking lot, a young male, I believe, so I guess things are
picking up.
Sonoma County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
Near Graton, off of Green Valley Rd., we saw 2 California Darner and one
female male-colored Pacific Forktail at the same spot, fairly near a
creek.
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel
Six to eight Pacific Forktail (Ischnura cervula) at KMHRP (Harbor
Pk.) today!!!! This is southern Los Angeles County. The border of Wilmington
and Harbor City splits the lake there, and San Pedro butts up to the south
side. Technically its city of L.A.. These were in a flooded swale area below
the dam. At least 4 males, maybe some pictures... I'm Excited !!!
Imperial County
Bob Miller
Brawley site:
Familiar Bluet - ~130
March 7, 2003
Shasta County
Bruce Deuel and Ray Bruun
Ray Bruun and I went back to Turtle Bay East Fishing Access in Redding today
and found 23 Pacific Forktails (all adults, 4-5 females) on 2 ponds. We
also had our 1st teneral Variegated Meadowhawk. Mourning Cloak and
Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies were flying as well.
March 6, 2003
Sonoma County
Alan Wight
I saw a single male California Darner along Lichau Road in Sonoma
County. There was also a teneral damselfly that might have been a Bluet.
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
Went on a hike today on the Steep Ravine Trail off Panoramic Hwy, (about 1.5 mi
East of Hwy. 1 at Stinson Beach), Marin Co, CA. Saw four Vivid Dancers (Argia
vivida), none bright, at a small sunny seep along the trail.
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel
I just saw the first damsel I've seen this year at KMHRP (Harbor Pk.) in S. LA
Co..... and the first since early October... It was rather colorless, pale tan,
and unidentified, but at this point a thrill! The long dry spell (over 4
months) is over for damsels! I expect the next several days of warm weather
should produce more. Now if I could just ID one!
March 5, 2003
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
Two CA Darner seen near Pt. Reyes. I photo'd another about a mile from
there just outside Stinson Beach.
Sonoma County
Rod Miller
One CA Darner seen in the foothills near Healdsburg.
Shasta County
Ray Bruun
They're here!! Today at East Turtle Bay, I saw at least 4 male Pacific
Forktails and two female forktails, one of which appeared to be Pacific the
other not (it appeared to be completely black on top with a light colored
stigma--but this may have been the lighting). Both females were laying eggs.
All forktails that I saw were adults.
March 3, 2003
Sacramento County
Tim Manolis
I managed to corral a teneral male * **Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile)
in our backyard this afternoon. He was having difficulties with a spider's web
on the side of the house. Handling him very gingerly, I was able to examine the
terminal appendages in hand in order to make the ID. The pale areas of young
bluets are often very pale, almost white, but this guy's pale areas were
actually a rather dingy tan (he looked pretty dark overall at any distance).
This may have been due to him being VERY recently emerged and/or cold
(temperature in the upper 50s deg. F, so I expect it was a major factor).
February
February 23, 2003
San Diego County
Lynn Monroe
We photographed a female * Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida), at
Hellhole Canyon in the Park.
February 22, 2003
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
About 1.5 mi N of Stinson Beach, observed one ***Aeshna flying
back and forth in a clearing. When it landed, I could note in binoculars that
it was smallish and dusky, both suggesting California Darner, (Aeshna
californica), the most likely early emerging Aeshna. [later verified
as CA Darner - kb]
Sonoma County
Kathy & Dave Biggs
While cleaning Bigsnest Wildlife Pond, I didn't see a flying ode, but the next
best thing: a forktail exuvia on the pond. So, at least one has emerged
in '03. There is hope yet!
February 21, 2003
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
Spent the noon hour at the pond near the Five Brooks Stables (Hwy. 1 between
Olema and Bolinas). Observed 10 male and two female Pacific Forktails (Ischnura
cervula), plus about 15 teneral Ischnura that were very newly
out of water, still on bits of emergent vegetation near shore, and just a few
inches above the water's surface.
Sacramento County
Tim Manolis
Went out ... in my first serious search for odes thus far in 2003. Spent an
hour or so walking around the vernal pools at George Dunmore Park near Florin,
Sacramento County and saw a grand total of one male Pacific Forktail. Conditions
looked much better for larger numbers and greater variety, but that is usually
the case on nice sunny days this early in the season.
Los Angeles County
Mitch Heindel
Harbor Pk. (S.LA Co.) Ode update....
7 Variegated Meadowhawk - 1 female ovipositing
2 *Green Darner males
February 9, 2003
Marin County
Bob Behrstock
I participated in a walk with the Marin Co. Open Space District to the Rush
Creek wetlands east of 101 and north of Atherton Ave. (NE Novato). It was a
curious day as by 2:30 in the afternoon, people were hiking in T-shirts in the
sun, but when we stepped into the shade of the woods, the morning's ice was
still present on the puddles. Along the edge of one large, grassy-edged marshy
inlet were at least 12 Variegated Meadowhawks (Sympetrum corruptum),
mostly males but a few tandem or cop. pairs were seen. No damsels were found.
February 5, 2003
Sonoma County
Alan Wight
I saw a Variegated Meadowhawk over lunch today at the top of Lichau Road
near the Fairfield Osborne entrance. Nice looks! Also Margined White, Mourning
Cloak, and Golden Eagle.
February 4, 2003
Sonoma County
Rod Miller
Rod called to say that while working along Ross Rd. (out of Sebastopol), he saw
his first dragonfly of the year: an extremely teneral forktail! There
was only one, and it was so teneral as to still be pink with yellow-toned
wings. This is the earliest they've ever been found emerging in northern CA.
It's been in the mid 60s all week, with lows at ~35. We suspect it was a
Pacific Forktail, Ischnura cervula, since that is traditionally our
first ode to emerge each spring, usually first reported around the 27th.
Marin County
DAVID HERLOCKER
I saw a female Ischnura cervula, on a trail along a temporary
creek! I wonder where she blew in from?
Monterey Co.
R.J. Adams
I was working with my students on the CSUMB campus (Monterey Co.) and a
dragonfly landed on some nearby plantings. It was dark brownish-red with two
small white spots on either side of the thorax. It held its wings down and
forward and there was a light tan tinge to the leading edge of the wing. It was
easily collected with my hands and I've compared it to the photos on the web
site..... [he sent me the specimen and it was a Varigated Meadowhawk whose
'portholes' were nearly completely obscured - kb]
February 2, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
This morning at the Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego, I observed over 30~40 Pacific
Forktails Ischnura cervula in the large pond. Some were breeding.
This is a known year-round location for this species.
January
January 29, 2003
Imperial County
Bob Miller
Monday Jan 29, just at sundown I had what appeared to be a female Powdered
Dancer Damselfly (very tan color) fly through my yard. It moved too quick for
me to catch it or see it land though. Have not seen any since!
January 25, 2003
Imperial County
Bob Miller
On Jan 25 with a San Diego Natural History Museum field trip we had two female *Roseate
Skimmers Orthemis ferruginea at the SB Salton Sea NWR in Imperial
County.
January 22, 2003
Monterey County
RJ Adams
Just a quick note concerning a recent hike on the Fort Ord Public Lands near
Portola and Reservation Rd. south of Salinas, Monterey Co., CA.
Variegated Meadowhawk Sympetrum corruptum observed briefly as it
was sunning on a twig in a grass and oak field.
January 13 & 15, 2003
San Diego County
Bob Miller
Jan 13 and 15, while leading birding field trips for the ABA Conference at the
Salton Sea, we had two individual *Variegated Meadowhawks Sympetrum
corruptum (photographed) in the same location on both dates at the
Anza-Borrego Palm Canyon Campground in San Diego County.
January 3, 2003
San Diego County
Douglas Aguillard
Greenwood Cemetery
** *Pacific Forktail Ischnura cervula
Contributions
of sightings have been made by these people, please contact Kathy Biggs if you have questions:
R.J. Adams
Doug Aguillard
Kathy and Dave Biggs
Bob Behrstock
Jon Billimore
Ray Bruun
Bob Claypole; Patti Claypole (please email to Kathy Biggs)
Jeff Cole
Gloria & Harry Conley
Kathy Crump
Greg de Nevers
Bruce Deuel
Wendy Dreskin
Michael Ellis
Anthony Fisher
Darren Fong
Terri Gallion
Leda Beth Gray
Pete Haggard
Keith Hansen
Chris Heaivilin
David Herlocker
David Hofmann
Steven Dean Irvine
Alvaro Jaramillo
Greg Kareofelas
Ron LeValley
Steve Linsley
David Lukas
Ron Lyons
Tim & Annette Manolis
Rod Miller
Lynn Monroe
Joseph Morlan
Becky Olsen
Sue Padgett
Dee & Bob Parks
Dennis Paulson & Netta Smith
Dave Payne
Steve & Connie Potter
Joseph Ramirez
Andy Rehn
Alison Sheehey
Susan Steele
Carolyn Straub
Douglas Vaughan
Edward Whisler
Alan Wight
Ken Wilson
Gary Zamzow
Return to
California Dragonflies Thank-you for your interest!