This afternoon I found my first dragonflies of 2010. 3 of them were flying around our parking area, I managed to get a few grab shots. Looking through my dragonfly books I'm narrowing this down to Beaverpond Baskettail, next guess Common Baskettail. Will have to get some others to look at it and confirm. My Field Guide to The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Algonquin Prov. Park and the Surrounding Area says that the Beaverpond baskettail comes out earlier. Seeing as how their colours look pretty much "set", they must have emerged at least a day or two ago.
After chasing dragonflies I wandered around taking shots of coltsfoot and Dutchman's breeches, then noticed a chickadee flying back and forth from a broken off tree stump to some small trees. When it landed in the small tree it spit out a mouthful of sawdust/shavings. Another chickadee joined it, and started doing the same. I realized there was probably a hole on the other side of the stump that I couldn't see, and they were cleaning out a nest cavity. The landscape is such that I couldn't get down around the hillside to see the other side of the tree, so I just snapped a couple of grab shots and beat it out of there quickly so as not to disturb them. I would love to know if they're just doing a little housekeeping before nest building, or if they are excavating a larger cavity. That will remain a mystery, I want them to keep constructing, so I'll have a nest that I can come back to later and observe them bringing food to chicks.
1 comment:
The beaverpond and common baskettails seem to be very difficult to tell apart. The situation is complicated further when spiny baskettail emerges. I think that this group is one of those unfotunate ones that often requires in the hand identification by looking at male and female reproductive parts and subtle head markings. But I am sure more experienced odonators have their tricks.
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