We saw our first dragonflies at the Coachella Wildlife Refuge near Palm Springs, CA on March 4. We always stop there on our way to Arizona, and generally see Vivid Dancers and nothing else so early in the year. This time we saw the usual damselflies, but also good numbers of Spot-winged Gliders in feeding groups of 4 to 6 at a time. Here are some photos of the odonates we saw at Coachella:
A male Vivd Dancer at the Coachella Wildlife Preserve. Notice the little "arrowheads" on the side of the blue bands on the abdomen. |
A Spot-winged Glider taking a rare rest. |
Here are a few photos of the dragonflies seen at the Gilbert Water Ranch:
A male Familiar Bluet at the Gilbert Water Ranch. |
A male Mexican Amberwing (right) entices a female to lay eggs in his territory. |
A male Roseate Skimmer looking fresh and bright. |
A male Red Saddlebags coming in for a landing. |
Here's our species list for odonates so far this season:
Damselflies
Familiar Bluet
Rambur's Forktail
Vivid Dancer
Dragonflies
Common Green Darner
Roseate Skimmer
Mexican Amberwing
Variegated Meadowhawk
Red Saddlebags
Spot-winged Glider
Wonderful! I'm so looking forward to the first dragonflies and damselflies of the season. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLove the photos! Very informative articles. I have written a post on my new blog called the dragonfly about an unusual close encounter with one.I have also written a post called Microcosm which you may find interesting. To find my blog just put imaginativelicoriceallsorts as one word into Google search or put it in advanced search under This exact word or phrase imaginative Licorice All Sorts I have a book called The Complete Field Guide To Dragonflies Of Australia by John Hawking and Gunther Theischinger
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