The dragonfly season for odes that emerge here in Ottawa (as compared to those that migrate from further south) usually begins for me on the May long weekend, if not earlier. Odonate larvae need the waters they inhabit to warm up to a specific temperature in order to begin the transformation process, and this usually requires several days of heat and strong sunshine. Unfortunately this year the temperature was slow to warm up, with many days of cloud and northern winds that made it feel cold even when the sun was shining – I didn’t put my winter coat away until the first day of the long weekend because morning temperatures were still quite cold!
By Sunday, May 17th the weather finally started warming up, but I still hadn’t seen any emerging odes despite checking the Greenbelt Pathway West, Bruce Pit, and Sarsaparilla Trail. It was unthinkable that the May long weekend should pass without seeing any new ode species, so when Victoria Day dawned sunny and clear I decided to head south after lunch to one of my favourite dragon-hunting sites: Marlborough Forest. I had originally planned to visit both Heaphy Road and Roger’s Pond, but it was after 3:00 by the time I left Heaphy and I was too hot and tired for another long trail, so I skipped the Cedar Grove Nature Trail altogether.
Thankfully, the visit to Heaphy alone was worth the drive. I forgot to bring my net with me when I got out of the car, and was reminded when I saw a baskettail flying over the trail. I went back to get the net, and was able to catch the next dragonfly I saw: a male Beaverpond Baskettail.
I saw a few more dragonflies flying up and down the trail, and when one landed I stopped to take its picture. It was another Beaverpond Baskettail (based on the yellow colour behind the eyes) and it was a female. Notice how the cerci appear short and far apart.
As I got closer to the water I noticed more dragonflies flying high above the trail, as well as some teneral damselflies lurking in the short vegetation next to the path. I couldn’t tell what they were, but it was heartening to see a second species (or maybe more!) on my walk.
I had hoped that the first pond would be full of perching and emerging odes, but I saw hardly any when I arrived. There were no whitefaces on the lily pads or Chalk-fronted Corporals on the ground. A couple of emeralds flew over, though not as many as I had seen walking along the trail. Then I saw a dragonfly fly out from the pond, over the trail, and land in the vegetation on the other side – when I tracked it down I found a Chalk-fronted Corporal, my first of the season! And it was perching on the same stem as another Chalkie! Its shiny wings and pale brown colour indicate that it had just emerged earlier that day.
I saw more damselflies on my way to the second pond, and more baskettails patrolling though I didn’t catch any to ascertain their identity. At the second pond I was astonished by how dragonflies many I saw flying over! The only other dragonflies I identified were a couple of Common Green Darners patrolling just above the water, a possible Racket-tailed Emerald in flight, and a whiteface that flew off before I could get a photo.
Excited to see so many dragons on the wing, I headed over to Sarsaparilla Trail to see if any emeralds had emerged there, but I saw none. I headed there the next day, too, but again saw no odes. Since the water is much deeper, with no creek flowing into it, my theory is that it takes the water longer to warm up and trigger the transformation in the dragonfly nymphs. It wasn’t until May 22nd that I finally found a dragonfly there: a Dot-tailed Whiteface.
I scared up a couple of teneral Chalk-fronted Corporals from the vegetation in the sunny clearing by the boardwalk, but saw no baskettails or emeralds flying over the path or perching in the dead branches near the picnic shelter. I didn’t even see any bluets along the path.
I was eager to find my first American Emerald of the year. Unfortunately the weather that weekend did not cooperate – both days were cool and overcast, and it rained most of Sunday. Monday was warm and sunny, so I headed over to Jack Pine Trail at lunch to check out a sunny area where I’d found teneral emeralds and skimmers a few years ago. However, while I saw two emeralds fly by I was not able to catch or photograph them, nor did I see anything else.
Tuesday was gorgeous – the perfect day for odes. It was hot, humid, and sunny, and I would have loved to go ode-hunting if I didn’t have to work downtown. Still, I was certain the nice weather would encourage a number of species to emerge, so the next day I returned to Jack Pine Trail at lunch. This time I spotted two baskettails flying along the path and managed to photograph a Spiny Baskettail when it landed on a branch.
I was also able to photograph a teneral Chalk-fronted Corporal – one of two that I saw. So while the number of individuals was still low, I confirmed there were at least two species flying at Jack Pine Trail.
I was looking forward to the weekend – the last one of May, when dragonflies are normally abundant with new species emerging every day. However, when I saw the forecast I was crushed – sunny Saturday morning, but with cold north winds and an overcast afternoon. Sunday was also going to be windy and overcast, and neither day was going to be very warm. Still, I headed out to Burnt Lands Provincial Park early Saturday morning, hoping to pick up a few year birds for my list.
The birding was great, and I even saw a few butterflies and my first Four-spotted Skimmer of the year together with a few Dot-tailed Whitefaces. From there I headed south to Marlborough Forest. As I had already visited Heaphy Road this season, I stopped in at Trail E4 and took a quick walk to the culvert. I was hoping to see some Aurora Damsels, and at first I thought I might see a lot of odes as a couple of emeralds were patrolling the trail. However, the sky was already filling with clouds, and after I got halfway down the trail I stopped seeing any dragonflies.
This changed when I reached the culvert – more dragonflies were present here, all skimmers perching close to the ground. I saw a couple of Four-spotted Skimmers and Chalk-fronted Corporals as well as my first Frosted Whiteface of the year.
I walked a little further down the trail, scanning the vegetation for damselflies and finding only a Taiga Bluet that hadn’t acquired its full colours yet.
A little disappointed, I drove over to Roger’s Pond next. It was a bit eerie walking down the open gravel path without the large number of baskettails flying along the trail and very few skimmers on the ground. Usually I would see at least 100 baskettails in the sky on a visit to the Cedar Grove Nature Trail in late May. I felt more hopeful when I started seeing Chalk-fronted Corporals closer to the entrance to the pond, and when I stopped at the water’s edge I saw several corporals and one or two Racket-tailed Emeralds patrolling the water. I also could expect to see at least 100 whitefaces in the vegetation on a late May visit but saw only two.
With so little to see I turned around and headed back. I stopped to check out the small loop where I had seen the Chalk-fronted Corporals earlier and found a Four-spotted Skimmer and my first Common Whitetail of the year.
I made one more birding stop on the way home which turned out to be surprisingly productive – a track leading into the Richmond Fen at the end of Dobson Lane. Eastern Bluebirds had been reported here on eBird, and as I still needed this species for my year list I was hoping to see one here. I did not expect to find a wide stream that narrowed to a trickle where it ran through a culvert beneath the road, but when I saw the large, thin dragonfly skimming over the water I wished I had brought my net. It looked like a Somatochlora emerald to me, but as I had no way of getting closer – the banks were steep, and a wire fence barred entrance to the creek – I had to keep going.
Once I passed the wetland I started seeing more dragonflies flying through the air – all baskettails, and there were at least a dozen or so. Some flew low enough that I could see dark patches at the bases of their wings, identifying them as Common Baskettails. I swung my net and caught one just to be sure.
Then I spotted a longer, darker dragonfly fly by me. Its flight was slightly bouncy, and it flew only a few feet above the ground. I followed it for as long as I could and was certain it was a Somatochlora emerald. That was when I really regretted not having my net; what a wonderful discovery! Eventually it flew away, and that’s when I decided to go back to my car to get the net. After that I spent about half an hour patrolling the road but I never did see it again. Nor did I find any bluebirds. However, I did find one more interesting dragonfly on my walk, a female clubtail that is likely a Dusky Clubtail.
Happy to finally see a large group of dragonflies, I stopped in at Richmond Lagoons on my way home – and saw not a single damselfly or skimmer around the first cell. A couple of Common Green Darners were flying above the water and that was it. I also checked Bruce Pit briefly on Sunday afternoon when the sun came out later in the day – although it was still quite windy, I found my first Fragile Forktail of the year, a few teneral damselflies near the water, and two baskettails snapping up tiny insects in a sunny spot on the wooded part of the trail. There were no other dragonflies to be seen.
This made me wonder if there is more going on than just cooler than normal temperatures. The drought last summer hit some places pretty hard, such as Roger’s Pond and the Richmond Lagoons, so perhaps that is why I saw very little at the former and nothing at the latter. Running creeks may have retained more water, and more larvae – a theory I hope to check out at a few more places in the coming days, though hopefully things will be more normal by the time the next weekend rolls around!
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