By the end of June it seemed that summer had finally arrived and the weather had returned to normal: the temperature had reached a consistent near 30°C, the state of emergency caused by the unprecedented spring flood had ended on June 12th, water levels were returning to normal, and the sun had finally come out! I was hoping that this meant that the dragonflies were also emerging on schedule again, and decided to head to Mud Lake on the last Saturday of June. Mud Lake is a fantastic place to see dragonflies in mid-summer, as all the dragonfly families except for Cordulegastridae – the spiketails – can be found there. Among the damselfly families both the spreadwings and pond damsels are well-represented; the broad-winged damselflies, mainly Ebony Jewelwings, are seen there from time to time. I had high hopes for my visit.
Usually by the time the Victoria Day long weekend arrives the first odes have emerged – in the past I’ve seen baskettails in large numbers at Mud Lake and whitefaces and emeralds in Stony Swamp. This year has been different. A persistent wind from the north has prevented the daytime temperatures from rising much above 20°C; nighttime temperatures are still in the single digits. As dragonfly emergence depends largely on water temperature, it isn’t surprising that I had only seen one dragonfly before the May long weekend, a Common Green Darner at Parliament Hill on May 6th. This is usually one of the first species I see, as they migrate north from the warm south where they emerge. Temperatures had risen from 10°C on May 3rd to 20°C on the 6th, although the morning had started out as a chilly 5°C – perhaps an influx of warm air brought this gorgeous dragonfly up from somewhere where the north wind and flooding weren’t wreaking havoc on the wildlife.
The Dominican Republic is home to 19 damselfly species and 48 dragonfly species. Of these species, four damselflies and three dragonflies are endemic to the island of Hispaniola – that is, they are found nowhere else on the planet. I did not know this when I went on my trip, however, as an amateur odonate enthusiast I certainly hoped to see a few colourful tropical species! I was a bit worried that there wouldn’t be very many odes within the resort itself, as I had heard that the resorts of Punta Cana regularly spray to keep mosquito populations down, and this would of course have an effect on all insect life breeding in the ponds and natural waterways where the chemicals are introduced. On our first two days at the resort I saw very few dragonflies – only two flying by without stopping to perch. On our third day I discovered the swamp at the top end of the resort when Manny Jimenes picked us up outside the security gate for our excursion to the National Park of the East. As our fourth day was spent entirely outside the resort (and I didn’t see any odonates on either excursion, although I’m sure there must have been some along the Chavon River), it wasn’t until our fifth day that I was able to spend more time walking up and down the road cutting through the swamp to look for odes.
On August 26th I joined Eastern Ontario Birding’s trip to Presqu’ile Provincial Park. The owner of EOB, Jon, is a friend of mine and got more than he bargained for when he agreed to pick me up at 5:30 am – as soon as he pulled up in front of my house a police car pulled up beside him to ask if he knew anything about a complaint that had been called in. Jon told the officer he was there to pick up a friend to go birding, and the police officer told him that he believed him (the eBird sticker on his car probably hadn’t gone unnoticed, and lent credibility to his statement). The police car drove off just as I was heading out the door, but we saw it stop with two other cruisers on Grassy Plains. Emerald Meadows is a quiet neighbourhood, and I certainly didn’t hear anything at 4:30 in the morning, but it made for a strange start to the day.
The August long weekend is here, and it’s been brutally hot and humid. Temperatures have reached as high as 32°C with a humidex of 41. It didn’t feel quite so hot yesterday, but today was awful. The sun was relentless, and there was no cooling breeze to provide relief. Being in the shade helped, but even so, I didn’t feel like staying out for very long.
We haven’t had much rain in the last month, so the water levels of the Ottawa River have dropped and mudflats are developing in Shirley’s Bay and Ottawa Beach. I wanted to look for shorebirds, but Shirley’s Bay didn’t sound too appealing – a long mosquito-infested walk through the woods to get to the dyke, which is almost completely open to the baking sun – all the while carrying a scope that sometimes feels like it weighs as much as I do. So yesterday I drove over to Andrew Haydon Park instead.
Late this past winter I discovered a new place for birding in my own neighbourhood: Kristina Kiss Park. It really isn’t much of a park; there’s a soccer field at the northern end (Kristina Kiss is a famous Canadian soccer player from Ottawa), a playground at the southern end, and the two are connected by a footpath that runs next to what I consider its most interesting feature: a channel of water that eventually drains into the Eagleson storm water ponds. Last winter I was driving through the area one day when I noticed what looked like an ice-covered pond behind the soccer field. Sure enough, there is a pond in the northeastern corner of the park according to Google maps. When March came and the ice melted, I found my first Killdeer of the year here, and I thought it could be interesting for shorebirds later in migration. However, as the spring progressed, the pond dried up and revealed itself as a large square patch of gravel with no apparent purpose but to collect the run-off from rainwater and snow-melt. The water channel that runs between the footpath and the houses on the next street over turned out to be more interesting, though it was choked with cattails in most places – there were muskrat push-ups scattered throughout, and when the spring returned, I found many of the more common city birds nesting within the vicinity: House Finches, robins, grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, even a pair of Tree Swallows nesting in a nest box in one of the backyards!
Late July is usually when I start to notice the beautiful golden-hued Wandering Gliders showing up around town. I’ve seen a few around the ponds lately, and spent some time stalking one near the footbridge earlier today. It would follow a predictable path up and down the paved bike path, dropping lower and lower each time. Every time it dropped to about ankle height I thought it would land, but then it would see something and zip off in another direction up to 15 feet above the ground. After a while I gave up, but then when I reached the southern-most pond I found another one. This one landed right in front of me!
Wandering Glider
Wandering Gliders are called “gliders” for a reason – they spend most of their time in flight. First described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798, the Wandering Glider (also called the Globe Skimmer) is thought to be the most widespread dragonfly species in the world, found in good numbers on every continent, except Antarctica, and even at sea! Wandering Gliders are migratory, and one individual can fly about 7,000 – 8,000 km. A study published in 2016 showed that there is very little genetic difference between gliders caught in different parts of the world, suggesting that this species forms one large, interbreeding global population rather than several distinct, discrete populations which do not interact.
The Wandering Glider is part of a group known as the “rainpool gliders”. They need fresh water to breed, such as ponds and temporary pools, which is what they are searching for on these long journeys – they follow shifting weather and rainfall patterns so that they are able to reproduce year-round. This strategy differs from most members of the skimmer family, which emerge as adults in May or June and reproduce until the adult population dies out two or three months later. For example, the study noted that once the dry season begins in India, individuals migrate to Africa just as the rainy seasons is starting there.
Although the Wandering Glider is one of the larger members of the skimmer family, at about 2 inches it is still a tiny insect with wings smaller than that of the Monarch butterfly, whose famous 4,000 km winter journey is much better known and understood. This made me wonder where the two individuals I saw came from, and whether they planned to stay and breed at the ponds for the rest of their adult lives, or if they were just stopping by on their way to somewhere else.
The Stony Swamp trail I spend the least time at, other than Lime Kiln, is Trailhead P11 on West Hunt Club. It’s a lovely trail, but it doesn’t have any marshes with boardwalks; the spring flooding requires knee-high rubber boots; and turning left back onto West Hunt Club into the Saturday mid-day traffic can be a nightmare. Still, it’s a great trail system through some prime mixed deciduous and coniferous forest, and I’ve been trying to visit more often to see what kinds of species make their homes here. It’s better for breeding Wood Thrushes than the other Stony Swamp trails, possibly because the forest is denser with fewer open areas, and I’ve had more Broad-winged Hawks here in the summer than anywhere else. I visited one morning in May while on vacation, hoping to find some new species to add to the hotspot list and perhaps to see some butterflies now that the weather has gotten warmer.
The birding turned out to be pretty good, despite the lack of variety in habitats. A Wild Turkey in full courtship display attempted to block my path, but ultimately decided to mosey off into the bush. A single Field Sparrow was singing in the hydro cut, and the usual Swamp Sparrows were at the marsh. Breeding warblers included Black-and-White Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Pine Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, and 12 different Ovenbirds.
The best part of the trail for wildlife turned out to be the wide-open corridor at the back that leads to the Jack Pine loop. Here I observed a gorgeous male Scarlet Tanager singing at the top of a tree in the open near the intersection, an Eastern Kingbird flycatching, and heard both Winter Wren and Veery as well as a Broad-winged Hawk calling from somewhere overhead.
The sunny corridor at the back of the trail was also a terrific spot for insects. I was hoping to see a few butterflies, and was happy when I found my second Northern Spring Azure of the season as well as both Henry’s and Eastern Pine Elfins.
Then something larger zipped by my head, and when I looked up I saw a dragonfly flying off! I followed it for a while, then saw another hunting the vegetation at the edge of the trail. When it landed I was thrilled to see a female baskettail – my first dragonfly of the season! Although female baskettails aren’t as easy to identify as the males, the short cerci (abdominal appendages) indicate that this is a Beaverpond Baskettail, usually my first non-migrating dragonfly species of the year.
Beaverpond Baskettail
I saw a few more dragonflies flying along the path up ahead, and started walking toward them, flushing a Henry’s Elfin along the way. When I caught up to the dragonflies I realized two different emerald species flying – more baskettails, as well as a couple of American Emeralds. The eyes of both these species develop into various shades of green as the individuals mature; American Emeralds have lovely vivid green eyes, while all four baskettail species have eyes that are more of a turquoise green. The brown eyes of these individuals indicate that they have only recently emerged.
American Emerald
Most emeralds spent more time flying than perching, and often need to be caught with a net in order to identify them. However, I find that early in the season, when they have just emerged, it’s easier to find them perching, particularly the baskettails which spend more time on the wing.
American Emerald
I also saw a couple of small whiteface dragonflies, also freshly emerged as they still had a lot of yellow on their abdomens. Dot-tailed Whitefaces are the most common whiteface species in Stony Swamp, though I’ve seen Belted and Frosted Whitefaces at Sarsaparilla Trail. I was reluctant to leave the sunny open trail and the dragonflies, but it was exciting to know that dragonfly season had officially begun! With so many beautiful insects now taking wing, there’s even more reason to go outside and see what’s around!
In late August I took my usual trip to southern Ontario to see my Dad. As usual, we spent a few days at his trailer in the Pinehurst Lake Conservation Area. The birding was fine, although this time there were no flocks of migrants moving through; instead the birds still seemed busy with raising and feeding their young, even this late in the summer. For example, I saw a Red-eyed Vireo feeding a Brown-headed Cowbird, a young Indigo Bunting following its parent around, and a House Wren carrying food. We didn’t see the Broad-winged Hawk family this year either, which was disappointing. However, the insects were fascinating, and I found a lot to photograph.
After discovering the Saffron-winged Meadowhawks and Eastern Amberwings at the Eagleson Ponds on Sunday, July 30th, I returned again Friday after work, as well as on Saturday and Sunday. I checked the small crescent-shaped bay near the small building each time for the meadowhawks, to no avail; in fact, I didn’t see any meadowhawks on any of my visits at all. I got lucky and found one of the male Eastern Amberwings on the same mat of vegetation on Friday after work, but didn’t see any females.
I returned to the peninsula on the edge of the central pond where I had found the female spreadwing on a previous visit, but found no spreadwings on this visit. I did, however, find a tiny Fragile Forktail gliding low among the weeds, confirming this species’ presence at the ponds. I had seen one several years ago prior to the reconstruction, so I was happy to see that the population had either survived or re-established itself.
Fragile Forktail
This is a male, based on the green thorax and lack of ovipositor at the tip of the abdomen – young females are typically blue instead of green, and become bluish-gray with pruinosity as they age. Both sexes have exclamation points on top of the thorax, which distinguishes them from the more common Eastern Forktail. Male Fragile Forktails also lack the two blue spots at the tip of the male Eastern Forktail’s abdomen….the abdomen is entirely black, which makes it difficult to see flying in shaded areas.
Fragile Forktail
I stopped by again early on Saturday morning, which was sunnier and windier, so I didn’t see many dragonflies. There were, however, plenty of Eastern Forktails sheltering in the tall vegetation. I think this orange female is one of our prettier damselflies. Like the male Fragile Forktail, the tip of the abdomen is black when viewed from the top – it is often pale orange below. The immature Eastern Forktail is confusable only with the male Orange Bluet, which has an orange-tipped abdomen with noticeably long cerci at the end.
Eastern Forktail
My best find on Sunday was a fresh Wild Indigo Duskywing. Although I’ve been looking for them, this was my first confirmed sighting of the 2017 season. The caterpillars feed on Crown Vetch, of which there is an abundance here, particularly on the point on the east side of the pond.
I was glad to confirm that both Wild Indigo Duskywings and Fragile Forktails were still present in the area, and to see another Eastern Amberwing. The ponds have become one of my favourite birding and nature spots, and with plenty of time left in the ode season, it will be a great place for studying wildlife for the next few months!
I have never really spent much time looking for odes at the Eagleson storm water ponds, as most of my outings start there first thing in the morning when it isn’t hot enough for many dragonflies to be flying. However, after seeing the unidentified female spreadwing there on Saturday morning, I decided to head over on Sunday after my visit to the Old Quarry Trail. While I’ve seen Common Green Darners, Twelve-spotted Skimmers, Autumn Meadowhawks, Eastern Forktails, Tule Bluets, and Familiar Bluets there since the reconstruction, the arrival of the unidentified spreadwing and even the Delaware Skipper made me wonder whether other species had taken up residence recently. I wasn’t expecting anything too exciting or unusual, but I figured I might at least see some of the common pond skimmers found nearby at places like Bruce Pit and Stony Swamp. Perhaps I should have raised my expectations a bit, for what I found there surprised me!
My last day off was Tuesday, and the forecast finally called for a decent amount of sun during the morning and afternoon. I invited a friend, Jon, to go dragon-hunting with me at Morris Island since he was eager to become re-acquainted with odonates after a long absence. There were a few particular species on his must-see list, including Cobra Clubtail, Cyrano Darner and Dragonhunter; I’d seen all of these at Morris Island before, though I wasn’t optimistic about our chances of seeing the Cyrano. Although it is considered to be a widespread species, inhabiting swamps, small lakes, and slow-moving rivers of the eastern half of the continent, adults are rarely seen. It is thought that once they emerge they immediately fly up into the tree-tops where they spend most of their time. Adult males can sometimes be found patrolling their territory, and this appeared to be just such a case with the one that I caught in the parking lot of the Morris Island Conservation Area last year. That was on June 25th, however, I was worried that we might be too late to see them.
June is one of my favourite months. Normally the weather is hot and sunny by the time the solstice rolls around, the birds are all in full song, and newly-emerged butterflies and dragonflies are returning to woodlands, fields and wetlands. However, the weather this month has not been great. The rain from May continued on and off this month, keeping water levels of the rivers and ponds higher than normal, and likely delaying the emergence of many insects. The weekends have been nice, at least; I’ve been able to get out early in the day in order to look for new birds for my year list and any butterflies and dragonflies that may have emerged. While my enthusiasm has certainly declined since our amazing trip to Costa Rica, I’ve found myself regaining interest in visiting trails and conservation areas close to home, hoping to find some species I haven’t seen since the previous summer.
The day after my trip to the Bill Mason Center, I made plans with Chris Lewis and Chris Traynor to head out to the Cedar Grove Nature Trail in Marlborough Forest to look for odes around Roger’s Pond. I would be co-leading an OFNC outing there the following weekend with Jakob Mueller, a reptiles and amphibians guy, and wanted to get an idea of the dragonflies and damselflies that were flying. As we weren’t meeting at the parking lot there until 8:30, I headed out to Sarsaparilla Trail first, then the Rideau Trail for a quick look around.
When I got back from Costa Rica I didn’t much feel like doing any birding back here in Ottawa. I’d been spoiled by all the colourful, tropical birds and exotic species that I’d seen – Costa Rica was a dream come true for me, and it was hard to return to reality. As soon as I got back I started thinking about a return trip there, wanting to spend more time in the rainforest so I could see birds such as Cotingas, Jacamars and Bellbirds. And oh, the hummingbirds and tanagers there!
It was difficult to get excited about birding in Ottawa, and the weather didn’t help. It was cold and rainy when we left and still cold (only 16°C) when I returned. The thought of going dragon-hunting stirred my interest somewhat, and when the weather warmed up the weekend after we got back, I decided it was time to take my net out of hibernation.
Doran and I spent a week in Costa Rica from May 27 to June 3rd. We’d been planning this trip since February, and it was a thrill when we finally landed in Costa Rica after a 4:00am start that took us first to Toronto, then to Liberia after a five-hour flight down through Florida and across the Caribbean Sea. When we left Ottawa it had been cool and rainy, but the moment we stepped outside of the airport we were engulfed by the heat and humidity of the tropics. Although the humidity of the 30°C days seemed unbearable at first, we grew used to it by the end of the week – although any sort of exertion (such as hiking up the slopes of the volcanoes in the rainforest) was uncomfortably sticky. Still, we were thankful for the air-conditioning of the van that drove us to our resort, the Occidental Papagayo located on the Gulf of Papagayo in Guanacaste, about a 25-minute drive from the airport.
OdoNotations 