Biodiversity Big Year 2017 - San Benito County

Hi everyone,

One focus of this year's San Benito County Biodiversity Big Year is to document species heretofore unrecorded in iNaturalist for San Benito County. Additionally, I have assigned myself the goal of finding more Odonates (Dragonflies and Damselflies) than last year's total of 29. That may seem like a lot of species for a county in this part of the state, but I've spent more than a decade chasing Odes in this county, and I was embarrassed to have missed so many species in 2016 that I've seen here in previous years.

The good news is that with the recent observation of a Wandering Glider, species #30, we've now topped last year's number. And not only that, but we added three species not previously recorded in iNat for the county: Arroyo Bluet, Gray Sanddragon, and White-belted Ringtail.

But let's not stop now! There may be some low-hanging fruit still out there to be observed this year. Spot-winged Glider could be seen just about anywhere in the county, and can be identified even from a so-so in-flight shot taken from below -- which is often how this species is seen. Also still a possibility for this year is Western Pondhawk. This species has historically been fairly easy to find in the county, yet there are zero iNat records for it here. Search for it at ponds and slow stream pools. It resembles the more common Blue Dasher, but the Pondhawk's blue eyes and green face distinguish it from the the Dasher's green eyes and white face. A third species that may continue flying into the fall is Familiar Bluet. You'll need a clear side-shot of the tail tip to ID this one, which generally means employing a net and lots of patience.

There are several other species that have been recorded regularly in the county but we missed this year (and every year): Emma's Dancer, Exclamation Damsel, Bison Snaketail, and Pacific Clubtail. And there are others that appear to occasionally stray into the county, that could possibly still be recorded this year: Widow Skimmer, 8/12-spotted Skimmer, and especially Red Saddlebags.

I encourage folks to get out there and look for these species. Ponds or slow streams in developed areas could produce Western Pondhawk, Familiar Bluet, and others. I have surveyed much of the habitat at Pinnacles National Park and some choice spots in south county. I recently checked out St. Francis Retreat in San Juan Bautista for my first time. Apparently this is the first year in nearly twenty that it's held water, so the hundreds of odes of seven species that I observed were all this year's immigrants to the site, although none of them were new to iNat for this year. If you have access to an infrequently surveyed site, especially in north county, please make a visit and post your observations! menos ↑