Chris Traynor and I chat about dragonflies and damselflies a lot. We both also like to pour over old dragonfly reports, iNaturalist records, and Google maps looking for suitable habitat for this species or that, as well as interesting places to go dragon-hunting in general. It was Chris who, when searching for places to see Clamp-tipped Emerald, thought that Taylor Lake in the northwestern part of Gatineau Park might be worth a visit. There are two iNat records from the area from 2015, as well as one Brush-tipped Emerald record from a few kilometers away. The map shows a variety of ode-worthy wetlands including streams, ponds, seeps and marshes, and an exploratory hike of about 5 kilometers in the fall cemented his impressions and desire to return there during prime dragonfly season. It was also almost completely unexplored for odonates, which made it quite enticing in my eyes, and close to a spot where Chris Lewis and Bob Bracken had discovered a stream with mature Eastern Least Clubtails and other clubtails several years ago. Good Somatochlora spots in the Ottawa-Gatineau region are uncommon, and we both thought would be fantastic to discover one up in Gatineau Park. I emailed Chris Lewis about Chris’s idea to check on the trails around Taylor Lake and revisit some of her and Bob’s footsteps in Gatineau Park, and the three of us made plans to visit its northern reaches on July 8th.
If the first half of June is great for seeing all kinds of pond damsels (Family Coenagrionidae), the latter half is great for seeing all sorts of spreadwings (Family Lestidae). They may not have the bright colours or the variety of hues of the pond damsels, but what the spreadwings lack in colour they make up for with their larger size and the beautiful metallic green colouration of some of the species. Adult male spreadwings are generally one of three colours: metallic green, black, or brown, each developing various amounts of bluish-gray pruinosity on the thorax and tip of the abdomen. They can be easily identified in the hand or in a photograph that clearly shows the tip of the abdomen viewed from above, as each species has paraprocts that are distinctly different in size and/or shape. On the other hand, females and tenerals are generally duller, browner, or sometimes even bronze or orange in colour. Much like female bluets, these spreadwings are difficult to identify in the field; though some can be examined and identified in the hand, others require a microscope. As such, I have never really delved into the difficulties of identifying female spreadwings.
Last year I embarked on a new odonate project: to study the species found at one tiny park along the Jock River. This park, originally named Bow of the Jock Park before it was changed to Terry Carisse Park in 2006, consists of a narrow strip of green space that runs perhaps 500 or 700 meters along the shore of the Jock River on an elevated bank about two meters above the water. The park itself consists mostly of manicured lawn with a wooded swamp at the north end where Mahoney Creek empties into the Jock River, two launching areas for canoes and kayaks, a playground, and a thick band of riparian vegetation that almost completely blocks all views of the river from one end of the park to the other. The Jock River itself is smaller than the Rideau River, much more sluggish, without a lot of rocks or rapids that would attract the clubtails and spiketails found in Gatineau Park. It hasn’t been surveyed for odonates as well as the Ottawa River has, mainly because much of it runs through private agricultural or residential land, with only a few small parks with even smaller access points in Richmond and Ottawa.
When I went out searching for Rainbow Bluets at the Eagleson Ponds on June 10th I photographed all damselflies that had the characteristically pale thorax, orange eyes, and blue markings at the tip of the abdomen as I expected that many individuals that had recently emerged would not have developed their full colouration yet…when most teneral bluets emerge, they are a colourless pale beige with black markings, and it takes time for their colours to deepen. When I found this particular individual damselfly in the grass along the southern-most pond, I assumed it was Rainbow Bluet still developing, snapped a quick photo…then realized the field marks didn’t add up. For one thing, the green shoulder stripes were too wide, and for another, it lacked the narrow blue bar connecting the two eyespots.
The thorax was pale green, and the legs and parts of the eyes appeared orange, but the tip of the abdomen showed two irregular blue markings on top of segments 8 and 9. It had an ovipositor, so it was a female – but what species? When it flew a short distance to a blade of grass close by, I followed in order to get some photographs from the top. The eyespots looked more like those of a forktail which started to make me think: could this be a rare andromorph female Eastern Forktail?
An andromorph damselfly is a female which looks like a male. Female forktails (genus Ischnura) in the northeast can be quite confusing as they have two more colour forms: most have an immature form and a mature form (which, if different from the male, are both considered heterochromatic), and some have a male-like andromorph, or homeochromatic, form as well.
Of the three forktail species found in Ontario, the Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita) is the easiest to identify as the female has only an immature and mature form, both of which have the same broken shoulder stripes (resembling double exclamation marks) as the male and the same black abdomen with no blue markings on any of the final segments. Both forms are considered homeochromatic. A little further south, and once upon a Burnt Lands alvar, the female Citrine Forktail (Ischnura hastata) has only an immature and mature form as well, both of which are heterochromatic. Nothing about the three forms suggests they are all the same species: the male is primarily green and yellow with small black markings on top of the first seven abdominal segments, the immature female is primarily orange with black markings on top of segments 6-8, and the mature female is almost entirely black with brownish or olive markings on the thorax.
Similarly, none of the three common forms of the Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis) suggest they are all the same species, either: the male is primarily green and black with blue markings on segments 8 and 9; the immature female is primarily black and orange; and the mature female is a pruinose grayish purple.
Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis), male
Homeochromatic females are rare and look quite similar to the males, but may also show some variation. The thorax is typically greenish-blue, and the blue spots on top of segments 8 and 9 are variable. Some females may show an orange blush on segments 1-3, with the most orange showing on segment 3. In the photo below showing the profile it looks as though there is a hint of orange on the underside of segments 2 and 3. The thorax is also paler than that of the male, the green colour showing more yellow than blue.
Eastern Forktail, andromorph female
Finding one of these unusual colour morphs is akin to finding a four-leaf clover. This is only the second time I’ve ever seen a homeochromatic, or andromorph female; I saw my first at Hurdman Park many, many moons ago. It, too, had unusual blue markings at the tip of its abdomen. It just goes to show that these damselflies – quite possibly the most common, the most widespread, and most abundant odonate in the northeast due to its ability to colonize just about any still or slow-moving body of water – are worth a second glance as you never know if their own version of the four-leaf clover is lurking among the rest of them.
I’ve been studying the map on iNaturalist over the past few weeks, looking for new parts of Marlborough Forest to explore. In particular, I’ve been looking for ways to access it from the south, where there are very few trails or points of entry….and very few odonate records. Paden Road runs along the southern boundary, while Malakoff Road winds along its eastern boundary. There is one formal trail on Paden Road, and there are other roads that enter the forest and come to dead ends with what look like trails extending beyond them. I found four places that looked intriguing: one such trail extending beyond Mulholland Road at Harnett Road; a place further south on Harnett Road where it cuts through a large wetland; another extension beyond Weedmark Road off of Paden Road; and the Paden Road trail itself. I planned a day outing in June to see if these places were as fantastic for odes as they looked on the map. If I had time, I also wanted to explore Heaphy Road on the western boundary, which runs through another big wetland. I scheduled this project for the second Sunday in June and was looking forward to it; however, when I woke up on June 11th and saw that the forecast called for increasing cloudiness with a low chance of rain later the afternoon I wasn’t sure if I would see many bugs. However, I didn’t want to put it off as it was already almost the middle of June and soon many species would be done for the year.
Spiketails are large, brightly coloured dragonflies that inhabit small or mid-sized streams, usually with a good current in forested areas. There are three species present in eastern Ontario, all with dark brown or black bodies, green eyes, and bold yellow patterns along the abdomen that may cause them to be confused with clubtails in flight. Each species has a dark thorax with two vivid yellow stripes on the side and two smaller yellow dashes on the top. It is the pattern on the top of the abdomen that distinguishes them: the Arrowhead Spiketail has a single line of yellow arrows pointing toward two round spots at the tip; the Twin-spotted Spiketail has two lines of yellow spots with straight tops and rounded bottoms running down the abdomen, set close together; and the Delta-spotted Spiketail has two lines of widely-separated spots running down the abdomen, each pointed and distinctly triangular in shape. Because of their habitat requirements, they are considered local and uncommon, and in Ottawa the Arrowhead Spiketail is considered the rarest of the three.
Sunny skies, a predicted high of 20°C, and a day off from work on the last Friday in May meant plans to visit Marlborough Forest for the first time this season with my mentor, Chris L. I had convinced her to come with me to trail E4 north of Roger Stevens Drive, home of the Ocellated Emerald, Ashy Clubtail, and Twin-spotted Spiketail – though it was too early for any of those to be flying yet. No less exciting were the possibilities for the early spring dragons that should be on the wing by now: Harlequin Darner, American Emerald, Ebony Boghaunter, and maybe a Springtime Darner or Stream Cruiser. We were sure to see plenty of whitefaces and other skimmers, some baskettails and a Dusky Clubtail or two, and some gossamer-winged butterflies to keep things interesting…the great thing about Marlborough Forest is that it is home to an amazing number of species not easily found in the city, so anything is possible!
Last year a particular OFNC outing caught my eye: a bioblitz to be held at the Morris Island Conservation Area on September 10th. Morris Island is a fantastic place for a bioblitz; the woodlands and wetlands of this 47-hectare site are home to a number of fascinating wildlife species, including several ode species not regularly found in my area of the city. I had never gone ode-hunting in September there before, as September is past the peak of ode season, with fewer species flying than in June or July. Still, it was a good chance to observe what was still flying there, and maybe find an unusual darner species or two. I attended with Chris T. and Chris L. and we photographed seven species for inclusion on the Morris Island Bioinventory Project on iNaturalist: Skimming Bluet, Eastern Forktail, Fragile Forktail, Powdered Dancer, Halloween Pennant, Autumn Meadowhawk, and White-faced Meadowhawk. So much for finding any cool darners!
Damselflies are small odonates related to dragonflies, but belong to Order Zygoptera instead of Order Anisoptera. Unlike dragonflies, damselflies have very slender abdomens, and the forewing and hindwing are similar size and shape. Two of the three families found in eastern North America – the broad-winged damsels and pond damsels – hold their wings above the body, parallel to the abdomen, while perching. The third family – the spreadwings – do not perch horizontally with their wings parallel to the body, but typically “hang” from a perch, with the wings slightly spread at an angle. Adult damselflies are not strong fliers, and generally do not travel far from water. They are most often found in vegetation or on the ground near ponds, streams, and other bodies of water. Because of their small size they can be difficult to see, but the dark wings of the jewelwings and brightly coloured abdomens of some of the pond damsels help aid in observation.
Most naturalists who have heard of Terry Carisse Park along the Jock River associate it with birds – particularly the Hooded Warbler that spent a few days there in May 2014. As a rare bird for Ottawa, this discovery put this small riparian park on the map for many Ottawa birders. Other people may associate it with the Osprey nest there, although the Osprey haven’t nested there for a few years now. I myself have returned regularly to this park in the spring and fall to look for the Rusty Blackbirds that often stop over here during migration – in May 2021 I found at least 50 of these declining birds feeding on the lawn and perched in the trees that line the river bank. Because of the thick shoreline vegetation, the wooded swamp to the north, and the open grassy areas dotted with conifers it is a good place to look for birds during migration. I had never been here during the summer breeding season, and it occurred to me this summer that it might be a good spot to look for odonates. I started my summer ode survey on July 2, 2022, continuing through early August, and found more species than I expected – including some species I’ve only seen at Petrie Island or Morris Island Conservation Area!
Bruce Pit is under-valued as a great spot to see a variety of insects at the peak of summer. Though I’ve spent a lot of time looking for dragonflies there, it can be quite good for tiger beetles and butterflies as well, including Wild Indigo Duskywing, Gray Comma, Painted Lady, Compton Tortoiseshell, and migrating Monarchs. A visit anytime during the summer can usually turn up a few interesting species, and this year I started visiting on June 17th this year, hoping to find a few different insect species for my life list.
I did not get out to Marlborough Forest as often as I would have liked this past summer; ongoing medical issues early in the season left me feeling too tired and too sore for the long five-hour outings I enjoyed so much last year. On June 2nd I visited the E6 trail with Rick Collins to look for the Sedge Wrens breeding there. We heard one without too much difficulty, though we weren’t able to spot it. Our other highlight was a female Ruffed Grouse on the trail trying to lure us away from its chicks (none seen) by giving distress calls. It was a gray, drizzly day so I didn’t see any insects worth photographing. Indeed, I didn’t take my camera out of my bag at all.
The weather was much better on June 19th, so Chris Traynor and I went to trail E4 to look for Twin-spotted Spiketails and some different emerald species for his life list. I was also eager to show him the pool below the culvert as this was where I’d seen my one and only Ocellated Emerald hanging out in 2020. It was a bit windy, but the sun was shining and the weather was warm, and the breeze made the usual biting insects less of a distraction.
Mud Lake and Andrew Haydon Park are usually excellent places to find different species of dragons and damsels throughout the summer months. In both 2015 and 2019 I had a good number of species at Andrew Haydon Park in late July, and an OFNC dragonfly outing at Mud Lake on July 21, 2013 also netted some fantastic species. I was hoping for some similar luck on an ode-hunting trip on July 24th, but this time I found fewer species and fewer individuals overall. I am not sure why there seem to be so few dragonflies around good pond habitat these past two years (such as the Eagleson ponds), but the trend is concerning.
My first stop was the shoreline at Mud Lake where I hoped to find some large river clubtails perching on the rocks in the channel behind the filtration plant. When I arrived I was happy to find two dragonflies perching on the rocks right away, and managed only to photograph one before a couple of people came along and scared them both – while I’m certain one of them was a clubtail, the one I photographed turned out o be an Eastern Pondhawk. The clubtail did not return, although I saw a couple flying out over the water several times on my visit.
By early July a variety of dragonflies and damselflies are on the wing, although some of the early species – such as the Beaverpond and Spiny Baskettails – have already finished flying for the year. This is usually the time of year when I start focusing on odes on afternoon outings in addition to enjoying them as distractions on morning birding outings. While some of the best ode-hunting can be found along the Ottawa River (including Mud Lake, Andrew Haydon Park, Petrie Island, and Morris Island) there are some great spots in my own backyard, including Bruce Pit, Stony Swamp, and the Eagleson storm water ponds (which will be the focus of a separate post of its own). Bruce Pit is a particularly great spot for odes, and some unusual ones have turned up there including Swift River Cruiser, Black Meadowhawk and Black Saddlebags. Eastern Red Damsels used to breed there prior to 2010, and I decided to spend the afternoon of July 4th wading around the edges of Bruce Pit to see if I could find any. Unfortunately, the area where we used to see them (and odes such as Amber-winged Spreadwing and Saffron-winged Meadowhawk) has become overgrown with cattails and phragmites over the year, so I wasn’t sure it was possible to walk along the shore where we used to go a decade ago (I can’t believe it has been so long …. apologies to those who have never visited my old LiveJournal site, back in the days when I used to host my images on Photobucket which no longer allows free hosting and has hidden many of my images).
On Saturday, July 3rd I accompanied the McNamara Field Naturalists on their first in-person outing since the latest Stay-at-Home Order ended on June 2nd. Ontario entered Stage 2 of its reopening plan on July 2nd, which raised the number of people who could attend outdoor social gatherings and organized public events to 25 people (as well as allowing haircuts and personal care services again). Although I am not a member of the McNamara Field Naturalists Club, which calls Arnprior home but whose explorations include a large swath of the Ottawa Valley, one of my friends happens to be in charge of putting field trips together, and asked if I wanted to help lead a dragonfly walk. I said yes, and suggested Morris Island as it’s a great place to find all sorts of odes, including several flashy skimmers and clubtails that can be found perching in the vegetation and along the trails. I was thrilled when my mentor Chris Lewis joined us, as it would be easier to find some more of the unique species with a couple of knowledgeable people looking.
OdoNotations 