Andrew Haydon Park is not a place I visit often in June; it’s more of place I visit in fall and early winter for migrating waterfowl, early spring for more of the same, and then in July through to the end of dragonfly season to look for summer odes. I’ve never looked for odes at the beginning of dragonfly season, since all of the species recorded there are easily found elsewhere, but after reviewing iNaturalist I realized there were a lot of species present that I hadn’t yet recorded there personally. Most of these are one-time observations on iNaturalist – many are very common species that fly early in the season, and only a handful fly later in the summer. This made it a great reason to stop by the park for a quick check after leaving the Watts Creek Pathway and before going on to Sheila McKee Memorial Park.
Species that I had yet to see included:
- River Jewelwing (June 22, 2017)
- Stream Bluet (July 20, 2025)
- Powdered Dancer (August 2, 2019)
- Lake Darner (August 16, 2021)
- Stream Cruiser (May 2021 and 2024)
- Common Baskettail (June 16, 2022)
- Calico Pennant (September 1, 2024)
- Black Saddlebags (August 20, 2018)
- Spot-winged Glider (June 20, 2016)
- Common Whitetail (June 19, 2021)
- Chalk-fronted Corporal (June 14, 2024)
- Four-spotted Skimmer (May 23, 2015)
I parked at the east end of Andrew Haydon Park, my best chance of finding the Stream Cruiser. I didn’t have a hope of finding the more interesting species on the list (Lake Darner, Calico Pennant, Black Saddlebags and Spot-winged Glider) as it was too early in the season, but I thought I might find some of the common early-flying skimmers and damselflies. I checked the pond first, where I spotted two Common Green Darners and a Prince Baskettail flying over the water, and two Dot-tailed Whitefaces perching on the mat of vegetation near the bridge. I didn’t see any damselflies, which surprised me….I really should have checked the western end of the park, but I was eager to get to Sheila McKee Memorial Park for clubtails.
Finally, on the sandy spit at the mouth of Graham Creek I found something more interesting: a dark dragonfly patrolling the area. Fortunately it was flying over the ground instead of the water, and I swept it neatly into my net. It was a baskettail, although it wasn’t the Common Baskettail on my list; it was a Spiny Baskettail instead.
I shouldn’t have been surprised to find this species here, given how many I’ve seen emerging on a single day at Mud Lake; perhaps they breed in the ponds at Andrew Haydon Park, too. They typically lay their eggs in lakes and ponds of all sizes and kinds, usually those near woods, and the eastern half of the park is well-forested for a recreational area!
The Spiny Baskettail was a female, and was identified by the length of her cerci (these appendages are longer than the length of segment 9) and the black colour behind the eyes, visible in the photo below.
Although it wasn’t one of the species on my list, it ended up being something much better: the first observation of Spiny Baskettail at Andrew Haydon Park in iNaturalist! It’s always exciting to add a new data point to an area, even if it isn’t something as uncommon or rare as say, a Vesper Bluet or a Mottled Darner. One of the things I love about adding observations of odonates to iNaturalist is that is helps fill in not only some of the missing parts of a species’ range, but also fills in some of the gaps of its flight season as well. Hopefully I’ll be able to return again soon and look for some of the other species I’m missing at other areas of the park!
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