Dragonfly Sightings

Many years we will see amazing movement of dragonflies through town.  Below the line you will see some emails from years gone by.  The links are old.  If you see dragonflies on the move and wish to report them, you can do so here.

Here is a copy of email I received explaining the procedures for making dragonfly sightings during the fall movements and telling a little bit about these creatures.  Much is still unknown and you can help remedy that, so please make the reports if you see such a movement. - Brian

[Timeframe is early September.]

Coastal Birdwatchers: FYI.

   While out birding in the next few weeks within 2 mi of the coastline,
you may also see many dragonflies (e.g., more than 5/minute) flying
in one direction, usually south, SE, or east.  These flights
are usually only within a mile of the coast, but last year, there
was one report a bit further inland.
   Mike Patterson has already seen a flight along the South Jetty of
the Columbia River on August 28--these flights do not necessarily
occur along the whole coastline at one time, and do not appear to
be a true migration.
   If you see a flight of more than a dozen dragonflies flying in
one direction please let me or Terry Morse know.
   Terry has written some details for observing below.
   Have a great day!

Range Bayer, rbayer@orednet.org, PO Box 1467, Newport, Oregon 97365 USA

    ================= Begin forwarded message =================

    From: tmorse@mail.teleport.com ("Terry Morse")
    To: lcia@taft.K14.OJGSE.EDU
    Subject: Dragonfly flight season
    Date: Fri, 04 Sep

    I want to remind everyone that we are heading into dragonfly
    migration/flight season, so keep an eye out for dragonflies all
    flying in the same direction.

    Many of you may remember the major flights last year, with tens to
    hundreds of dragonflies passing per minute.  Not all flights are that
    obvious: Some only involve a few dragonflies per minute flying in the
    same direction.  One observer reported a flight along the Columbia
    River on 28 August.  The same day, I observed a barely perceptible
    flight in Newport (fewer than 1 dragonfly per minute, flying
    approximately south).

    The primary species involved in the directed flights is the
    Variegated Meadowhawk ,_Sympetrum corruptum.  These are moderately
    small dragonflies, ca. 40 mm (1.5") long with a  wingspan in the
    neighborhood of 55 mm (2.2").  The base color of the dragonflies is
    yellow (females and recently emerged males) to orange or red (mature
    males), with a row of pale white or bluish-white spots on each side
    of the abdomen and two pale diagonal stripes on each side of the
    thorax ("chest").  The stripes fade with age.  The eyes are extremely
    attractive, red with gray highlights.  The wings flash ruby red in
    the sunlight.

    Because of the spots on the abdomen, individuals of this species
    appear much paler than other _Sympetrum_ species recorded for the
    coast.  One behavioral way to recognize the species is that they
    seem more skittish than the other _Sympetrum_ dragonflies we have
    here, tending to fly away sooner when approached and to fly further
    before settling down to a new perch than the other species. *THIS
    SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A PRIMARY RECOGNITION
    CHARACTERISTIC, ESPECIALLY IF YOU AREN'T VERY
    FAMILIAR WITH DRAGONFLY BEHAVIOR.*  Look for the spots
    on the abdomen in conjunction with the flashing of the wings in
    sunlight, as well as the other characteristics listed above.

    If you notice a flight in progress, or even see a few to many
    Variegated Meadowhawks on the ground or perched on plants, please
    notify:

    Terry Morse (tmorse@teleport.com)
    Range Bayer (rbayer@orednet.org)
    and/or Steve Valley (svalley@skipnet.com).

    Record as much information as you can about the location of the
    sighting, wind speed and direction, temperature, and the behavior of
    the dragonfly or -flies.  If at all possible, use a compass to
    determine wind direction and the direction of the dragonflies in
    flight..  A description of the dragonfly would also be useful, so we
    can be sure you are seeing the correct species.

    If you don't have a compass handy, write down the direction in terms
    of local landmarks (e.g. "they were flying diagonally across the Fred
    Meyer parking lot from the northwest corner toward the grocery
    department entrance" or somesuch), so that you can go back later with
    a compass to determine the actual direction of flight.  Roads like
    Highway 101 are not good indicators of direction because they meander
    so much.

    If you are only guessing at the direction, please include the basis
    of your guess in your notes (e.g. "I estimated that they were flying
    roughly southeast because of their angle to the sun, which I
    presumed to be approximately east"), so that we are aware of the
    uncertainty.  (Uncertainty in your observations is no shame.    It
    happens all the time.  Just be honest about it.)

    To estimate the rate at which dragonflies are passing, face
    perpendicular to the flight direction and count the number of
    dragonflies passing one way or the other across your line of
    sight in a set period of time (say 2 or 5 minutes; longer is better).
    Be sure to report the number passing left to right separately from
    the number passing right to left.  If possible, determine the
    distance along the line of sight for which you think you could
    reliably see dragonflies passing.  You might do this by pacing off
    the distance, then multiplying the number of paces by the length of
    your individual pace, if you know it.

    To read the latest on the flights, plus reports from last years
    flight, see the Oregon Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey's webpage.

    Happy dragonfly watching!
    Terry Morse
    tmorse@teleport.com
    935 SW 10th Street #6
    Newport, Oregon 97365
    Phone: 541-265-8434

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