December dragon

  

Air temperatures reached the mid-high 50's today, but the afternoon sun was warm enough to activate this dragonfly.  It zipped into our backyard and landed on one of the remaining hot peppers in the garden.

Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) photographed in Cotati on 1 December 2025.  

With many thanks to Eric for the great photo!

Overhead

  

Nice to see a Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) over our backyard this afternoon (8 June 2025). 

Gliding in

  

Small swarms of these dragonflies have been visible for several days now, but I've mostly seen them zipping around, chasing small insect prey.  Today I finally caught up with one perched, so here you go — a nice view of a Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea).  The spots can be subtle, but look for the dark brown patches along the inside edge of each hind wing.  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

Although fewer in number, there have also been some Wandering Gliders (Pantala flavescens) in the mix.  I didn't seen one perched, but here's a Wandering Glider in flight (below).  Note the more golden coloration (rather than looking reddish brown in flight), and the lack of a dark spot along the inside edge of the hind wing:

 

 

Both species are known as long-distance dispersers, and summer is a great time of year to watch for them, especially after warm conditions.

Dragonfly movement at the coast

 

 

I was away at a meeting this week, but Eric was in Bodega Bay and observed a significant movement of dragonflies (and some butterflies) along the coast today (4 October 2023).  He caught and photographed a couple of them to document which species were involved.

 

Pictured above is a male Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum).  Below is an example of a female:

 

 

 

Eric counted ~40 dragonflies/minute flying south along the outer coast of Bodega Head at ~10:45 a.m.  I was curious about the weather conditions at the time.  I knew it had been warm, but I didn't know how warm!

 

There are several weather stations on Bodega Head.  I checked the first and didn't believe my eyes because it had peaked at ~87°F (~30°C) today.  So I checked a second and it also read ~87°F!  Then to be sure I checked a third (and the one I generally consider the most accurate) and it peaked at ~85°F (~29°C).  Amazing!  Air temperatures that high are quite rare on Bodega Head.

 

There was also an unusual spike in air temperature this morning.  It started out in the 50s this morning, but then rose steadily to 70°F at 10 a.m. and continued to rise significantly until reaching ~85°F at noontime.  Then it plummeted back to ~70°F for the rest of the afternoon.  (The wind direction also changed with the temperature pattern, from north/northeast then veering to west.)

 

More hot temperatures are expected tomorrow, so it'll be interesting to see if there are more movements of insects at the coast.

Taking a break

 

 

Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) photographed in Chatham, Massachusetts on 20 September 2023.

Darners in the dunes

  

Arriving at the coast in the early afternoon, Eric spotted a number of dragonflies cruising back and forth along a dune ridge.  I went back to check on which species it was.  They were primarily Common Green Darners (Anax junius), but there were a few Spot-winged Gliders (Pantala hymenaea) and Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata), too.  

Although this is the time of year when we can see dragonflies moving along the coast, I'm not sure what triggered this particular movement.  It didn't seem that warm and I can see in the air temperature records that the maximum temperature this afternoon was ~66°F (19°C). Winds were relatively light today, out of the southwest this morning, becoming northwest later in the day.  Maybe the dragonflies were triggered by conditions elsewhere that aren't as apparent in Bodega Bay.

January dragon

 

 

There were record-breaking high air temperatures for this date (18 January 2021).  I'm seeing slightly different numbers from several meteorological stations in Bodega Bay, but it looks like air temperatures reached between 68-72°F (20-22°C) on the coast today.

 

Because of the warm temperatures, after some morning tasks I decided to take a quick look for butterflies near the Bodega Dunes Campground where it tends to be calm and warm on days like this.  I struck out with butterflies, but I spotted one Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) perched along the trail.

 

Dragons in the afternoon

We're having trouble accessing the Internet tonight, but I'm going to try to post a few quick dragonfly shots from this afternoon (25 July 2020):

 

Ovipositing darner (Blue-eyed Darner?)

Haven't had a chance to check yet.

 

 Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata)

 

Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens)

 

Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea)

Backyard dragon

 

A nice female Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) paused briefly in our backyard this evening.

Here's a close-up view of the impressive insect-catching spines on her legs:

 

Photographed in Cotati on 14 July 2020.

 

Saddles overhead

 

We were getting ready to do some grilling in the backyard tonight when Eric looked up to see a dragonfly cruising around overhead.  Then a second dragonfly appeared.

We don't see Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) in our yard very often, but they're known for moving long distances when dispersing.

Watching them overhead provided great views of the "saddles," the large black patches at the base of the hindwings.

 

First of the season

 

With the heat, come the dragons.  It was warm today (15 August 2019).  At the coast, air temperatures reached ~71°F (~22°C).  With these late summer conditions, we often see more insects at the coast.  I noticed a few Common Green Darners (Anax junius) on Bodega Head this afternoon, the first of the season for me.

A green-eyed welcome!

What a nice welcome to Massachusetts!  This is one of my favorite groups of dragonflies.  A beautiful Clamp-tipped Emerald (Somatochlora tenebrosa):

 

I'm on way out "out-the-door," so I don't have time to figure out which species this is yet (but now updated above and below).  But here are a couple of close-ups in case someone wants to help me with the i.d.

A close-up of the eyes and the thoracic markings:

 

And the terminal appendages, which are pretty impressive!

 

(P.S. I'll have intermittent Internet access this week, but I'll post when I can!)

ADDENDUM (25 September 2018): Just back with Internet access today.  A couple of nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night with the word "tenebrosa" in my head.  I haven't had to identify emeralds since moving to California, but my brain must have retained enough to work its way (slowly) to the identification of this dragonfly.  I've updated the name at the top of this post.

A seaside club?

Sometimes we find dragonflies washed up on the beach, but last night I was surprised by this one:

 

This wasn't a species I had seen in Sonoma County yet, so I was a little confused at first.  

 Here's a view from the side showing the beautiful blue-gray colors:

 

And here's a close-up of the abdomen — note the expanded segments at the end of the abdomen giving it a clubbed appearance:

 

There's a family of dragonflies known as clubtails, but species in that family have eyes that are separated.  Below you can see that the eyes of this dragonfly are large and touch in the front:

 

Meet the Pale-faced Clubskimmer (Brechmorhoga mendax)!

Pale-faced Clubskimmers are found in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico.  They prefer rocky streams with flowing water, including riffles and pools — definitely not beaches!  (The closest record I can find to Bodega Bay so far is a stretch of the Russian River in Healdsburg.)

So, how did it end up on the beach?  Was it dispersing, then blown offshore, then washed in?  Was it displaced by the inland fires and smoke?  With only one occurrence, it's impossible to know, but I'll be watching to see if any other inland species appear on the coast.

Here's a head-on view showing the pale face:

 

Here's one more picture for the record, showing the small amber spot at the base of the hind wings:

 

Have you seen a Pale-faced Clubskimmer close to the coast in Sonoma County?  If so, I'd love to hear about it!

October dragons

Well, this feels a little strange.  I started learning about dragonflies in New England in the early 1990s.  But I've been living in California for over 12 years now, so I'm a little "rusty" when it comes to identifying some of the species in the northeastern U.S.  

We had a fun experience with a few darners yesterday (3 October 2017) near Alstead, New Hampshire.  We found a warm, sunny field where several darners were feeding.  They were flying a little slowly, perhaps because of cooler nighttime temperatures?  And somewhat surprisingly, when we stood still in the middle of the field, the dragonflies started flying very close to us (looking for insects?) and sometimes landing on us.

Here are two examples.  I'll hazard guesses to the species' identifications, but perhaps I can get some help from some New England friends to confirm the i.d.'s.  

 

Black-tipped Darner (Aeshna tuberculifera)? 

 

Mottled Darner (Aeshna clepsydra)? perched on my mother's fleece jacket!  The striped patterning on the thorax didn't quite fit the classic pattern for this species, but I'm not coming up with another idea (at least not yet).  Here's a close-up of the thoracic stripes:

 

Then Eric spotted another beautiful darner perched on an old birch tree at the edge of a boggy swamp:

 

How about Variable Darner (Aeshna interrupta) for this one?

Here's a close-up (dorsal view), with nice yellow highlights:

 

And in case you're interested in helping to confirm the identification of this species, here's another close-up, this time from the side so you can see the lateral thoracic stripes:

 

Fun with dragons in October!

ADDENDUM (5 October 2017): Blair confirmed all three of my identifications above, so you can now consider the identifications solid.  Thanks, Blair!

Just right

I knew it as soon as I started walking along the trail. The weather was just right for dragonflies on Bodega Head today — warm and sunny with just a slight breeze.  I was working outside for a little while this afternoon and was lucky to capture a few quick pictures for the record:

Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella)

Common Green Darner (Anax junius) 

Blue-eyed Darner (Rhionaeschna multicolor) 

 Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata)

 

Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata) 

In addition to the species above, I also observed Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea), Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens), Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum), and a fly-by dragonfly that was probably a Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata).  That was a total of nine species of dragonflies on Bodega Head this afternoon (my personal record is 10 species in one day on Bodega Head — see the post from 15 August 2015).

What eyes!

 

In mid-August, I wrote about seeing my first Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata) on Bodega Head.  (I took a distant photo of a female on 15 August 2015.)  A few weeks later, I returned to the same spot and photographed this male.

What amazing eyes!

Here's the entire dragonfly:

 

And a view from the side:

 

It'll be interesting to see if the sightings this year (including at least one ovipositing female) result in emerging individuals at this wetland next year.

Mystery spot

 

This might be tough, but can you guess where this photograph of a Common Green Darner (Anax junius) was taken?

Here's a more helpful clue:

 

It might also help to tell you that I was in San Francisco today.

Could you tell that these pictures were taken at a baseball field?  All of them were taken at AT&T Park on 27 August 2015.  The dragonflies were a nice bonus to an exciting baseball game!

In the past —  see the post from 1 July 2012 — I've mentioned that I have some fun when attending baseball games by keeping track of bird and insect sightings.

Today the most visible dragonflies were Common Green Darners.  They were actively feeding along the edges of the field.  I'm not sure exactly how many individuals were in the Park, but I photographed at least three at one time:

 

Although distant, I also photographed one tandem (male/female) pair of green darners:

 

And today I added one new "ballpark species" to my list.  I didn't get a photograph, but I saw one Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata).  I'd love to hear about your bird and dragonfly sightings at baseball games!

 

A record day

Today I set my personal record for the greatest number of dragonfly species seen on Bodega Head in one day.

Remember that Bodega Head isn't a great site for dragonflies — it's often cold and windy, and there isn't much fresh water.  But on warm days in late summer/fall, species that are known to disperse along the coast often appear.  I was happy to set my own record, and to document one species that I hadn't observed on Bodega Head before.  

How many species do you think I saw?  (The answer is below this picture.)

 

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) — male

On 15 August 2015, I recorded 10 species of dragonflies on Bodega Head.  I was excited, but also a little frustrated, because I thought I should have been able to find one more species.

I photographed 8 out of the 10 species.  Although I have seen a Blue Dasher (above) in the Bodega Dunes, this is the first time I've photographed one on Bodega Head.

The next picture is a "documentary" image — it's not a great photo, but it serves as a record.  This is the first time I've seen this species on Bodega Head.

 

 Western Pondhawk (Erythemis collocata) — an ovipositing female

Below are the other six species I photographed today:

 

 Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) — male

 

 Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum) — ovipositing pair

 

Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) — male

 

Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta) — female 

 

Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) — male

 

 Common Green Darner (Anax junius) — male, in the upper left corner of the photo
[There is also a Black Saddlebags in the upper right corner.]

And the two species that I observed but didn't photograph?  Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea) and a mosaic darner, probably Blue-eyed Darner (Rhionaeschna multicolor).

I don't think it will be easy to see more than 10 species of dragonflies in one day on Bodega Head, but I'll keep trying, and I'd love to hear about your observations, too.