The beautiful wings of a California Darner (Rionaeschna californica). Note how shiny and new they look. [You can click on the image for a larger version.] I could see this darner's wings glittering in the sun as it flew across a grassland. When it landed nearby, I leaned in for a closer view. Because the wings are so fresh, it's likely this individual metamorphosed recently. Once a dragonfly has been flying for a while, the wings lose their shine and can show nicks and other impacts.
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!
Nice to see a Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) over our backyard this afternoon (8 June 2025).
Satyr Anglewing (Polygonia satyrus)
Started the day with frost and morning fog and a beautiful crescent moon...
...and in the afternoon we noticed a Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) sunning in our backyard. In Cotati, air temperatures reached the 60-65°F range today (28 November 2024).
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:
I've been behind a desk a lot lately, so here's a photo from last month -- a beautiful Blue-eyed Darner (Rhionaeschna multicolor) perched in our backyard on 27 May 2024. The grayish eyes on this individual probably indicate a younger male.
At least some species of dragonflies can be observed across a broad portion of the year in Sonoma County, but along the coast I think of summer as prime time to watch for them.
Happy Summer Solstice! :)
I took a short walk in Walpole, MA, today (26 September 2022). I ended up at a small pond and started noticing a few interesting animals in the warm afternoon sun (more on that later). I was taking photographs and noticed a dragonfly a bit further away along the shoreline. It was a female ovipositing (laying eggs), so it was in the same area long enough for me to snap a few distant photos.
When I finished photographing the first subject, I decided to take a quick look for the dragonfly as I wasn't certain which species it was. I was scanning for a dragonfly in flight and wasn't having any luck when I noticed a fluttering movement near the ground. I looked down to see this:
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.
Late this afternoon I was walking by a wall that I pass by regularly when something caught my eye. A large dragonfly was perched there, so I approached for a closer view:
