CalOdes/DSA Ode Blitz III: The Owens Valley: Mono and Inyo Counties 10–13 August 2007

Kathy Biggs <bigsnest@sonic.net>, Paul Johnson <pjpolliwog@yahoo.com> and Don Roberson <creagrus@montereybay.com>

The third annual CalOdes Blitz—a gathering of California dragonfly enthusiasts who otherwise communicate through the CalOdes Yahoo! Group, took place during the second weekend of August 2007 in California’s Owens Valley, east of the Sierra Nevada. Past years’ Blitz’s have concentrated on finding new species for the state list and have been held in the extreme northeast and southeast “corners” of the state. This year we met mid-state, but still in the extreme eastern part. This is an area where the high desert meets the Sierra Nevada and we hoped to find both desert and mountain species in close proximity. The 2003 DSA annual meeting post-meeting participants visited this very area, but the only CalOdes Blitz group members who came on the post trip at that time were the Biggs!

We did hope to add more species to this understudied and unique area. As with the DSA post-meeting trip, this gathering was centered around Bishop, with the vast majority of us camped just northeast of town along the Owens River. We planned to visit spots both within Inyo and Mono counties during the lovely cooler summer days of late August in this high desert. A “baker’s dozen” of folks interested in California dragonflies attended, the most ever, many from distant locales. From San Diego in the south came CalOdes founder Doug Aguillard and new Blitz members David and Linda Blue, along with Bob Miller from the Imperial Valley and his friend Jim Diez from the state of Nevada. Central California was represented by Paul Johnson, inland from Monterey County, and Don Roberson from the Monterey coast. Kathy and Dave Biggs, planners of Blitz III drove in straight from the DSA annual meeting in Arizona, although home is the North Bay Area. Perhaps driving the farthest were Ray Bruun and son Steven from the Redding area of northern Calif. Two new dragonfly enthusiasts, both Bishop locals and friends of the Biggs, helped plan and then attended the outings, Ron and Barbara Oriti. With folks arriving on several different days from several different directions, cell phone contact was important, but in the mountains, not always reliable. We ended up leaving messages on a giant dragonfly taped to our tent!

While we gathered on Friday, small groups went out to explore the area nearby our campsite—the Chalk Hills, Owens River, and Fish Slough. These groups were immediately rewarded with 18 species: Paiute and Vivid Dancers (Argia alberta and vivida), Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile), Pacific and Black-fronted Forktails (Ischnura cervula and denticollis), Common Green,  Paddle-tailed and Blue-eyed Darners (Anax junius, Aeshna palmata, and Rhionaeschna multicolor), Gray Sanddragon (Progomphus borealis), Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata), Eightspotted, Hoary, and Flame Skimmers (Libellula forensis, nodisticta, and saturata), Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis), Variegated and Western [Band-winged] Meadowhawks (Sympetrum corruptum and occidentale [semicinctum]), Black and Red Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata and onusta). The group found that the darners, in particular, perched in the scrub to avoid the winds, and the photographers were delighted to be able to get naturally posed shots. See <http://bruunphotography.com/dragonflies_ 081007.html> and <http://sdbirds.basiclink.com/paddle.htm>. By Saturday morning most of us had arrived, and our first day’s trips took us north into Mono County, east of Mammoth into an interesting high desert area of hot springs and fumaroles. Our first stop was Whitmore Hot Spring where hundreds of Desert Whitetails (Plathemis subornata) were breeding. Literally clouds of them arose as we drove in. A reporter from the Mammoth Times, Lara Kirkner (“a dragonfly virgin”), joined us and we all practiced ignoring gazing at, and also the looks we received from, the naked onlookers sitting in the nearby hot tub. But the tubbers later told Lara, “My kids think you guys are nerds, but I told them we are among the nicest and safest people on Earth.” A sort of nice pronouncement—safe that is, as long as you weren’t a dragonfly! Kathy, with the help of young Steven Bruun, collected a male, female and young male Whitetail to serve as county vouchers for Mono County (OC# 262877) and to place as scans on her California and Southwest Dragonfly web sites. Other species, outfitted in more colorful attire than the hot-tubbers, included the beautiful Saffron-winged, Black, and Striped Meadowhawks (Sympetrum costiferum, danae, and pallipes), Spotted Spreadwing (Lestes congener), Tule and Alkali Bluets (Enallagma carunculatum and clausum). Bringing our number of species to 26 were two female Dancers (Argia) collected. One was male-colored but none of us felt confident to make the identification. The specimens were later examined by Rosser Garrison and found to be California Dancers (Argia agrioides)—a new distribution record (*) for Mono County (OC #263903)!

The group at Little Hot Creek, 11 August 2007. Back (left to right): Ray Bruun, Dave Biggs, Bob Miller, Jim Dietz, Doug Aguillard, David Blue. Front: Steven Bruun, Linda Blue, Kathy Biggs, Barbara and Ron Oriti, Paul Johnson (missing, Don Roberson). Photo courtesy Lara Kirkner, Mammoth Times.

Leaving the nudists behind, we ventured a few miles further to Little Hot Creek. No wonder there were no nudists— the mosquitoes about ate us alive! Finding way more dragonfly food than dragonflies, we ventured quickly on to Hot Creek itself. This incredible area of boiling springs immediately adjacent to the creek, and part of the creek itself, has boiling cauldrons. Only a few Odes braved this area, but it was incredible to behold with beautiful blue pools, roiling black bubbles, hissing vents and rugged scenery. By the afternoon the group was exploring remote springs high in the mountains on the west side of Hwy 365 in the Sierra Nevada, hoping to add new species to the county lists, but, alas, recent cold weather had literally wiped out the fauna. Everyone retreated back to the lowlands and “Plan B”! After a sheltered lunch in town, we proceeded south into Inyo County and stopped quickly at Klondike Lake where, although it was very windy, the stop produced a Bleached Skimmer (Libellula composita) for our list. Then it was on to the fabled Antelope Spring high in the Deep Springs area of the White Mountains. We were hoping to find the desert race of the Pacific Spiketail (Cordulegaster dorsalis deserticola), which would be a “lifer” for almost everyone. There was only one quick fly-by by a male, but Paul Johnson did find three exuviae, so we are assured that they are still breeding there. Other species not previously seen but found here included Wandering and Spot-winged Gliders (Pantala flavescens and hymenaea) bringing our list to 30 species. That night the stars, meteorites, and satellites regaled us. A few of us even attempted sleep! Story has it that some participants chased bats with nets that were chasing dragonflies. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which species had the nets!

A spot along the banks of the Owens River itself – reachable only via 4-wheel-drive vehicles. There were other interesting spots too, where naked hot-tubbers had to be circumnavigated. Photo by Don Roberson.

     Hot Creek. Photo by Don Roberson.

Sunday found the day to be clear and bright and we decided to go back to Klondike Lake before the winds returned. While most of us scoured the shoreline and nearby grassy knolls, Paul took off further down the road. Our group was happy to find the River Bluet (Enallagma anna), absent in most of our domains, at the lakeshore, but the Red-veined Meadowhawk (Sympetrum madidum) and Desert Forktails (Ischnura barberi) eluded us. Then, Paul returned. He stood watching us for a while and made inquiries as to what we were finding. Finally we asked him what he’d found. He said, that, well, if we were willing/able to travel over some rough 4WD roads, he thought he could show us an Olive Clubtail (Stylurus olivaceus)! Believe me, it didn’t take the group long to pile into the 4WD vehicles some of us were driving and we were off! The first Olives found were clinging to foliage along the dirt bank cuts of the Owens River, but others were later located in the scrub nearby. All the photographers took turns taking images. There were a lot of smiles. This was species number 32 for the group, but also the time when many participants had to start heading home (Ray and Steven Bruun had already left, and therefore missed seeing the Olives). A few more species were added by the stragglers in the group, the Biggs and Oritis. At a spring near Mazourka, Desert Firetail (Telebasis salva) was added, and at ponds off Mazourka Rd., American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana). Along the Owens River overflow channel north of Mazourka Rd. a Desert Forktail (Ischnura barberi) was finally found, species number 35. Pre-trip species found by Kathy and Dave at Deep Springs in the White Mountains and at a scouting trip at the Hot Springs with the Oritis included the Blue-ringed and Emma’s Dancers (Argia sedula and emma) and a Red-veined Meadowhawk (Sympetrum madidum), bringing the species list to 38. Photos of many of the species encountered are available on the participating photographer’s web pages. Plans are brewing to time next year’s CalOdes Blitz to follow upon the heels of the 2008 DSA annual meeting in Oregon. Stay tuned!