My Best Compliment Ever!

Last weekend we attended a birthday party, with lots of young nieces and nephews in attendance. At the party, I was told that my niece's favorite book—at the moment anyway—is my field guide, Common Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Pacific Coast. She really surprised me when she started talking about darners, and the happy-face dragonfly. She knows that the happy-face is a darner, but that there are other darners who aren't the happy-face dragonfly.



My niece loves looking at all the pretty pictures in the book. She and Betsy spent some time counting the spots on the Eight-spotted and Twelve-spotted Skimmers. And she especially likes the picture of all the Autumn Meadowhawks perched on my legs, and the pictures of dragonflies on my fingers. She wants me to show her some dragonflies in real life, so we'll have to do that soon.

Here's a link to the field guide on Amazon:

Field Guide

You'll find some nice compliments there as well, but none that to compare with the one from my niece.

Common Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Pacific Coast

Here's the cover of my new dragonfly field guide.



The guide has a nice feel to it, due in part to the high quality paper that we used, but also to the size and shape of the book that allows it to fit nicely in the hand or pocket.

Here's a peek inside the guide, at the spread for the Comm Green Darner, the subject of the previous post.



Each species has its own spread, and each has a number of helpful features:

• Life Size Photo
• Range Map
• Flight-Season Chart
• Annotated Photos
• Colored Margins

Here's a brief description of each feature:

Life Size Photo (A unique feature in this guide) Dragonfly field guides generally give a numerical value for the size of a dragonfly species. This is fine, as far as it goes, but what's even better is to show the dragonfly at life size right there in the guide. The photo on the left side of the Common Green Darner spread shows the dragonfly at life size—as if it had actually landed on the page. Now you know exactly how big it is.

Range Map The range maps in this field guide are derived from dots maps produced by the Dragonfly Society of the Americas (DSA). The observations in the maps are vetted by dragonfly experts, and provide the current state-of-the-art in our knowledge of dragonfly ranges.

Flight-Season Chart (A unique feature in this guide) The DSA dot maps have dates associated with each observation. I have "data-mined" this information to produce charts that show the percentage of observations for each month of the year. The charts give not only the beginning and ending months of the flight season, as in many guides, but also the distribution of sightings within the season.

Annotated Photos (A unique feature in this guide) It can be hard when you start to do some dragonflying to know just where to find the relevant field marks of a particular species. In this guide, each species has annotated photos that point out exactly where the key field marks are and how to interpret them.

Colored Margins The margins of each spread have a color that is most characteristic of that particular species. Thus, the margins on the Common Green Darner spread are green. By looking for the appropriate color on the margins of the pages you can quickly locate the section where the dragonfly you want to identify is located.

The guide also includes detailed information on dragonfly behavior, and I'll describe some of those features in future posts.

Here's a link to the Amazon page for the book:

Link To Amazon

It's been a lot of fun writing this book, including as it does so many of my favorite photos and new observations of dragonfly behavior. I sincerely hope it will be helpful in introducing others to the pleasures of dragonflying!

Species Spotlight: Chalk-fronted Corporal

Our next species, the Chalk-fronted Corporal, is not all that common in western Washington. It's a bit muted in the color department, too, consisting mostly of shades of black and gray. Still, it's a distinctive and easily identified species, and one that is always fun to see.

Here's the first documented sighting of a Chalk-fronted Corporal in Skagit County.



We saw this individual at Barnaby Slough near the town of Rockport, WA, and were completely surprised when it appeared. Before that we had only seen Chalk-fronted Corporals in eastern Oregon. It gave us an opportunity to take a couple pictures for documentation, and then took off—never to be seen again.

Notice the mostly black body, with grayish pruinosity at the base of the abdomen and on the front of the thorax. The light, or chalk-colored, bars on the front of the thorax give the species its name, since they are reminiscent of the "corporal" insignia in the military.

Here's the second documented sighting of this species in Skagit County, this time at Thunder Lake on the North Cascades Highway.



Another view of the same individual:



We look forward to summer, when we may get to see another Chalk-fronted Corporal in our area!

For more details on this and other species of dragonflies and damselflies on the Pacific Coast, check out my new field guide:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934199265/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i1?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=1934199265&pd_rd_r=4Q8FNWQMZKPZ7GYWQB31&pd_rd_w=c79uB&pd_rd_wg=lb3xg&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=038QHD1N13Z2D7NWAP1Q&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1cf9d009-399c-49e1-901a-7b8786e59436&pf_rd_i=desktop

Species Spotlight: Cardinal Meadowhawk

In these deep winter months, when the dragonflying days of summer seem so far away, it's nice to look at one of the highlights of the dragonfly season—the Cardinal Meadowhawk.

This is primarily a western species, as can be seen in their range map:



Cardinal Meadowhawks are so intensely red that they almost seem unreal—as if they might be made of bright red plastic. Their abdomens are pure red, with no consistent black markings as in so many meadowhawks. In addition, the abdomen is noticeably flattened; that is, wider than it is high. Their eyes and face are red, and they have two white spots on the sides of the thorax. In fact, these white spots are what remain of white stripes in younger individuals. With age the stripes fade away, leaving just a spot at the base of each stripe. The white spots are often hard to see because the Cardinal Meadowhawk has a tendency to fold its wings forward when perched, hiding the sides of the thorax.

Better field marks, and ones that aren't mentioned in many field guides, are the dark red patches at the base of the wings—especially the hindwings. These patches are diagnostic for this species, and are readily seen even when the dragonfly is perched, facing away from you, and folding its wings forward.





Here's another look at the dark red (tending toward black with age) patches in the wings:



Find out more about this species, and the other common dragonfly and damselfly species of the Pacific Coast, in my new field guide:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934199265/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i1?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=1934199265&pd_rd_r=4Q8FNWQMZKPZ7GYWQB31&pd_rd_w=c79uB&pd_rd_wg=lb3xg&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=038QHD1N13Z2D7NWAP1Q&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1cf9d009-399c-49e1-901a-7b8786e59436&pf_rd_i=desktop

Mount Baker Meadowhawk

A few weeks ago, Betsy and I enjoyed a wonderful visit to the Mount Baker area. Here's Picture Lake, home to many odonates along its vegetated shores.

This is the view looking away from Mount Shuksan.

A common dragonfly at this location is the Saffron-winged Meadowhawk. Here's one perched in the bright sun on the far shore in the picture above:

Notice the yellowish, "saffron-colored," leading edge of the wings. Also notice a key field mark for this species—the stigma have dark borders on the front and rear edges. These field marks are readily seen in binoculars.

A Peek Inside The Field Guide

My field guide is receiving lots of positive feedback. Many local bookstores are carrying it, and of course, Amazon has it as well at the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/Common-Dragonflies-Damselflies-Pacific-Coast/dp/1934199265/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506207105&sr=8-1&keywords=dragonflies+of+the+pacific+coast

Here are the back (left) and front (right) covers:



One of the many things I'm pleased about with the guide—besides the fact that it features the Happy-face Dragonfly on the front cover—is its extensive Introduction. In the Introduction you will find lots of information about dragonflies, their anatomy, and behavior. Here are some of the topics that are covered in the Introduction:

Dragonfly Fun Facts
Cultural Aspects of Dragonflies
Eggs and Larvae
Mating
Life Span and Flight Season
Habitats
Predators
Anatomy of Dragonflies and Damselflies
Dragonfly and Damselfly Vision
Pseudopupils/Dorsal Fovea
Egg Laying
Splash-Dunk/Spin-Dry
Dragonfly Whispering
Tips for Observing and Photographing Odonates
Tips for Identification

You can take a peek inside the book both at Amazon, and at the website for the publisher, Cave Art Press. Here's a link to the publisher's site, where you can flip through a few pages of the guide:

http://www.caveartpress.com/common-dragonflies-and-damselflies-of-the-pacific-coast.html

I hope you'll find the guide helpful if you're just starting out with dragonflying. For those who are more experienced, I hope you'll find the discussions about dragonfly behavior interesting, as well as the tips about dragonfly whispering, and I hope the new field marks will be useful too.

Forest Fires And "White Spots" On The Hudsonian Whiteface

I'm often asked about the "white spots" that are seen on the eyes of dragonflies. Here are a couple examples of these "white spots" on the eyes of male Hudsonian Whitefaces:





The "white spots" are reflections of the sun, and these pictures were taken on clear, sunny days. In addition, the second picture clearly shows the whitish wing tips characteristic of whitefaces.

The next photo shows a pair of Hudsonian Whitefaces in the wheel position at Beaver Pond in Winthrop, WA. Notice that the "white spots" on both the male and female are subdued in intensity, and distinctly orange in color.



Here's a closer look at the sun's reflection on the male's eye:



The reason for the orange "white spots" is that on the day we visited Beaver Pond there was a great deal of smoke in the air from forest fires in British Columbia. This resulted in the sun being reduced in intensity, and distinctly orangish in color. This is the first time I've had pictures showing "white spots" that are actually orange.

You can find a discussion of "white spots" in my new field guide, Common Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Pacific Coast, shown below.



Here's a link to the Amazon page:

Amazon Link

You will also find a discussion of the whitish wings tips of whitefaces in my field guide. As far as I know, other field guides don't mention this feature, but it is a useful field mark and interesting to observe with binoculars.

New Field Guide: Sample Spread

Here's the cover of my new dragonfly field guide.



The guide has a nice feel to it, due in part to the high quality paper that we used, but also to the size and shape of the book that allows it to fit nicely in the hand or pocket.

Here's a peek inside the guide, at the spread for the Blue Dasher.



Blue Dashers are one of the most common dragonflies in our area, and also one of the most photogenic. They perch all the time, repeatedly returning to the same perch and assuming wonderfully graceful poses. Look for these delightful insects at your local pond or lake, and you'll have a lot of fun getting some very nice photos!

Each species has its own spread like this one for the Blue Dasher, and each has a number of helpful features:

• Life Size Photo
• Range Map
• Flight-Season Chart
• Annotated Photos
• Colored Margins

Here's a brief description of each feature:

Life Size Photo (A unique feature in this guide) Dragonfly field guides generally give a numerical value for the size of a dragonfly species. This is fine, as far as it goes, but what's even better is to show the dragonfly at life size right there in the guide. The photo on the left side of the Blue Dasher spread shows the dragonfly at life size—as if it had actually landed on the page. Now you know exactly how big it is.

Range Map The range maps in this field guide are derived from dots maps produced by the Dragonfly Society of the Americas (DSA). The observations in the maps are vetted by dragonfly experts, and provide the current state-of-the-art in our knowledge of dragonfly ranges.

Flight-Season Chart (A unique feature in this guide) The DSA dot maps have dates associated with each observation. I have "data-mined" this information to produce charts that show the percentage of observations for each month of the year. The charts give not only the beginning and ending months of the flight season, as in many guides, but also the distribution of sightings within the season. For example, we can see that about 60% of all observations of Blue Dashers occur in the months of June and July.

Annotated Photos (A unique feature in this guide) It can be hard when you start to do some dragonflying to know just where to find the relevant field marks of a particular species. In this guide, each species has annotated photos that point out exactly where the key field marks are and how to interpret them.

Colored Margins The margins of each spread have a color that is most characteristic of that particular species. Thus, the margins on the Blue Dasher spread are blue. By looking for the appropriate color on the margins of the pages you can quickly locate the section where the dragonfly you want to identify is located.

The guide also includes detailed information on dragonfly behavior, and I'll describe some of those features in future posts.

Here's a link to the Amazon page for the book:

Link To Amazon

It's been a lot of fun writing this book, including as it does so many of my favorite photos and new observations of dragonfly behavior. I sincerely hope it will be helpful in introducing others to the pleasures of dragonflying!

Field Guide Available

Well, my field guide is out now and available on Amazon, plus other locations. Here's what you get if you search for "dragonflies of the pacific coast" on Amazon:



Click on that link and you go to the main page for the book:



I'll post some samples from the book soon, but just wanted to get the word out that the book is now in stock.

Dragonfly Field Guide

Well, my dragonfly field guide is almost here! It should arrive by Friday.

Even so, it's already available for pre-order on Amazon. The title is Common Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Pacific Coast: A Life Size Field Guide, but you can find it by simply searching for "dragonflies pacific coast."

Here's what the Amazon page looks like at the moment:



The cover art should appear on the page by Friday, or soon thereafter. Here's what the cover looks like:



I'm very pleased with the book. We used a US printer with experience in printing field guides, and even though the printing cost was more than with other printers, the quality of the paper and the photo reproduction is well worth it.

The guide has many unique and helpful features, starting with life-size photos of each and every species—try that with a bird field guide! It also has annotated photos that point out the most important field marks. Each species also has a range map and a flight season chart, showing where and when you can expect to see it. In addition, the guide discusses important aspects of dragonfly and damselfly biology—including the famous splash-dunk/spin-dry behavior that features the fastest rotational motion of any known animal.

This guide is pocket sized, so you can easily carry it with you in the field. I hope you'll find that it enhances your enjoyment, appreciation, and identification of dragonflies and damselflies of the Pacific Coast of North America.