Maple West Pond – Audubon – Jamestown, NY

Date:  July 30, 2007
Time:  2:15-2:45
Observers:  Jennifer Schlick, John Wilson, Kimberly Green, Robert Lincoln, Kathleen Carolus, Caleb Johnson
Weather:  hot (mid 80s), very light breeze, sunny

Species Seen:

• Widow Skimmer
• Twelve-spotted Skimmer
• Meadowhawk
• Eastern Forktail
• Fragile Forktail
• Slender Spreadwing
• Common Whitetail
• Eastern Pondhawk
• Unknown Bluet

Comments:
It was just a day for dragonfly eggs.  After seeing the Pondhawk at Turtle Pond (see previous post), now we saw a Meadowhawk species with eggs.  In this species, the eggs came out in two rows, single, not at all sticky.  The speed and manner that they came out reminded me of Lucy and Ethyl in the candy factory.

Turtle Pond West – Audubon – Jamestown, NY

Date:  July 30, 2007
Time:  1:40 – 2:10
Observers:  Jennifer Schlick, John Wilson, Kimberly Greene, Robert Lincoln, Caleb Johnson, Kathleen Carolus
Weather:  hot (mid-high 80s), clear, still

Species Seen:

• Twelve-spotted Skimmer
• Widow Skimmer
• Eastern Pondhawk
• Blue Dasher
• Eastern Forktail
• Yellow-legged Meadowhawk
• Slender Spreadwing

Comments:
Someone caught a female Eastern Pondhawk who was just pumping out eggs.  It was an incredible sight.  Her eggs came out in a big sticky mass.  Click on this photo to see a larger version.

Bentley Sanctuary, Jamestown, NY

Date:  July 21, 2007
Time:  12:45 – 1:15
Observers:  Jennifer Schlick
Weather:  Partly Sunny, low 70s

Species Seen:

• Ebony Jewelwing
• Twelve-spotted Skimmer  (He just zoomed by me quickly when I was getting in my car to go home.)

Comments:
I wasn’t intending on seeing any dragonflies today.  As I rounded a curve in the trail and came to the creek, I noticed it was swarming with Ebony Jewelwings.  I found a spot where I could sit on the gravel very near a log where the damselflies kept lighting.  They were so “friendly!”  They landed on me and seemed not at all disturbed by my presence.  I got a couple of wonderful closeup shots.  I wish someone had been with me, though.  I would love to have a photo of me sitting in the gravel with 5 or 6 damselflies on me!

Spatterdock Dike – Audubon – Jamestown NY

Date:  July 20, 2007
Time:  11:45-12:15
Observers:  Jennifer Schlick, Jeff Tome, John Wilson, 14 TechNature Campers
Weather Conditions:  Partly Sunny, low 70s, breezy

Species Seen:

• Eastern Forktail
• Fragile Forktail
• Elegant Spreadwing
• Yellow-legged Meadowhawk
• Unknown Damselfly

Comments:
Well, the kids really stumped me.  I’m hoping Jeremy Martin will read this blog posting and tell us what this damsel is…  (These 2 photographs are of the same individual.)

Turtle Pond West – Audubon – Jamestown NY

Date:  July 20, 2007
Time:  11:20-11:40
Observers:  Jennifer Schlick, Jeff Tome, John Wilson, 14 TechNature Campers
Weather Conditions:  Cloudy, breezy, low 70s

Species Seen:

• Sedge Sprite
• Slender Spreadwing
• Eastern Forktail
• Fragile Forktail

Comments:
Every once in a while, the sun would come out from behind the clouds and we were hopeful some bigger dragons would fly…  but no such luck. The kids got really good at distinguishing the difference between Eastern and Fragile Forktails today. There were lots of both!  (The Fragile has no blue at the tip of its abdomen and it has exclamation marks on its thorax.)

Audubon – Turtle Pond East – Jamestown, NY

Date:  July 20, 2007
Time:  10:45 – 11:20
Observers:  Jennifer Schlick, Jeff Tome, John Wilson, 14 TechNature Campers
Weather:  Cloudy, breezy, low 70s

Species:

• Eastern Forktail
• Fragile Forktail
• Yellow-legged Meadowhawk
• Slender Spreadwing
• Slender Bluet

Comments:
The TechNature kids were great at capturing damsels and dragons for us to identify.  They also practiced their GPS skills to give me coordinates for the survey.  They got quite good at identifying some of the more common species, too.

Turtle Pond West – Audubon, Jamestown NY

Date:  July 16, 2007
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Observers:  Jennifer Schlick, Kim Greene, Tyler Falcao, Nick Kinney, Ashlee Johnson, Sarah Spangenburg
Weather:  High 70s, partly sunny, light breeze

Species Seen:

• Common Spreadwing
• Common Whitetail
• Widow Skimmer
• Twelve-spotted Skimmer
• Blue Dasher
• Familiar Bluet
• Slender Spreadwing
• Eastern Pondhawk
• Sedge Sprite

Comments:
Ashlee took a little break from the dragonfly survey to catch a water snake.  It only bit her a few times.

Allenburg Bog, Napoli NY

Date:  July 11, 2007
Time:  10:30-11:00
Weather:  warm, thunderstorms threatening
Observers:  Jennifer Schlick, Bob Schlick, and the Teen Treks kids

Species Seen:

• Common Whitetail
• Eastern Forktail
• Dot-tailed Whiteface
• A big darner that wouldn’t let us catch him!
• Red-waisted Whiteface ( I think these are female and male of the same species):

Comments:
We didn’t stay long in the bog.  the flies were biting mercilessly, and the thunder started grumbling as the skies turned blacker.  I managed to snag only a couple of dragons and to snap only a couple of the gorgeous plants.

The Pitcher Plant flowers were nearing the end of their bloom.  Rose Pogonia was blooming beautifully, as were the cranberries.  Blueberries were set, but not ripe.