Biodiversity Big Year - Dragonfly Targets

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the update!

I'll provide some notes on species phenology and distribution, which I hope will provide helpful clues for this Odonata scavenger hunt.

A few species are done for the year including grappletail, Pacific spiketail, and probably Pacific clubtail, bison snaketail, and exclamation damsel. Fortunately, I photographed a grappletail during the Pinnacles butterfly count, which I just posted.

Some species are known from only a single record in the county, all from Pinnacles: Aztec dancer (in a stream in South Wilderness?), widow skimmer (Bear Gulch Reservoir), and red-veined meadowhawk (Sandy Creek downstream of the campground). There are only a few records of red saddlebags. There is also a record of a single eight-spotted or twelve-spotted skimmer (or a hybrid of the two, which have shown up in neighboring Monterey County) at Bear Gulch Reservoir. It flew off before it could be positively identified.

Exclamation damsel may be done for the year, but if not, we'd better hurry. It's only been recorded from two places in the county. I think RJ Adams saw it at the sewage ponds in Hollister. I photographed it at the Pajaro River at the Hwy 129 bridge. This is a sketchy place in many ways - a dead-end road with some garbage strewn about, huge amounts of yard waste dumped down the stream bank, and poison hemlock and stinging nettle growing larger than I've seen it anywhere else. It wouldn't surprise me if people live in the dense bushes in the area. I stopped here in June on a foggy day and I didn't see any odes, but it may have been too cold for them to be active. The record here was from May 23.

Walker's darner and Western pondhawk are currently flying at Pinnacles. I've seen them but haven't gotten photos. Several other species are certainly flying now, and several will probably continue to fly into October.

If giant darner is still flying, Bear Gulch Reservoir may be the best place in the county to see it.

Some species may not be flying for another month or so: striped meadowhawk (look for them in fall at the back end of Bear Gulch Reservoir) and CA spreadwing (usually widespread in the fall).

Some species have only been recorded in the San Benito River southeast of Pinnacles, most of which is private property, and landowners don't take kindly to strangers on or even near their property. Among these is Emma's dancer.

Others have only been recorded on BLM land in Laguna Creek and/or Clear Creek and its tributaries. Laguna Creek requires a semi-strenous hike to access (from the Laguna Mtn campground) and Clear Creek requires a BLM permit to access due to potential health hazards resulting from naturally occurring asbestos. Lavender Dancer should be flying in about a month. It has been recorded in Laguna Creek and in the Clear Creek area. Bison snaketail and Pacific clubtail have been recorded in Clear Creek and the San Benito River.

I estimate that we could hit the target of 30 species if we work at it, and 35 would be exceptional. I may get out to BLM land this weekend.