The end of the 2025 dragonfly season came to an abrupt end for me. In 2023 and 2024 the warmth extended well into October, which extended the flight season of many species. That was not the case this year. While daytime highs were still quite warm, staying in double-digits until October 24th, nights got cold fairly quickly. A cold spell right in the middle of the month saw two nights fall just below zero; daytime highs were only about 13°C. After October 23 nights were all below 3°C, with five nights just below zero. As a result, I did not see as many dragonfly species this month as I had in previous years.
In fact, I saw only five species in Ottawa in all of October (an additional four were seen in Cambridge, Ontario…perhaps I would have seen more species in Ottawa if I hadn’t taken time to visit my Dad the first few days of October).
The five species were Spotted Spreadwing, Tule Bluet, White-faced Meadowhawk, Band-winged Meadowhawk and Autumn Meadowhawk. I was not able to find any Slender Spreadwings, Eastern Forktails or Fragile Forktails after October 1st.
Here is a summary of the last dates of all my October and November species over the last three years – this only includes species only observed after September 16th, i.e., those with a flight season extending past mid-September. I have included two new late-flying species, Orange Bluet and Lake Darner, as it seems there is a reasonably good chance of observing them in October if the first few days of the month remain warm…something to look for next year!
| Species reported after September 16 | 2023 Last Date | 2024 Last Date | 2025 Last Date |
| Spotted Spreadwing | September 30 | October 21 | October 13 |
| Northern Spreadwing | October 2 | September 12 | September 21 |
| Slender Spreadwing | September 30 | October 5 | July 5 |
| Orange Bluet | September 9 | September 9 | September 24 |
| Tule Bluet | October 2 | September 9 | October 7 |
| Familiar Bluet | October 2 | October 5 | September 28 |
| Fragile Forktail | September 30 | October 5 | September 27 |
| Eastern Forktail | October 4 | October 5 | September 28 |
| Lake Darner | September 22 | September 14 | September 28 |
| Shadow Darner | October 4 | October 6 | September 21 |
| White-faced Meadowhawk | October 6 | October 21 | October 12 |
| Band-winged Meadowhawk | October 4 | October 21 | October 19 |
| Autumn Meadowhawk | November 4 | November 16 | October 29 |
I spent a lot of time at Bruce Pit, where I’d had such good luck the last two years, the parking lot at Lime Kiln Trail where the Band-winged Meadowhawks are so prolific, Andrew Haydon Park where I saw my last Tule Bluet of the season, and the Eagleson Ponds where I didn’t see much at all. Despite my efforts, my season came to an end on October 29th with no dragonflies seen in November. A combination of cooler days, gusty north winds, overcast skies, and rain all in the first week of the month, as well as night-time temperatures falling below zero degrees every night after November 5th, made for inhospitable conditions for the hardy Autumn Meadowhawks that remained.
(October 29, 2025)
So now begins the long wait until spring…time to get caught up on writing blog posts, sorting photographs, and working on an brand new website for the odonata of Ottawa…stay tuned!
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