One never, ever knows what one will see, hear or touch at a Second Saturday Friends of the River Bank Event (FORB).
At the event on 7-11-15, our dear and beloved friend, wise naturalist, lover of all nature and The River, Robert Sewell, led our walk down to the American River to show us it’s beauty.
As we meandered down to the river’s edge, Robert urged us to listen to the sounds of nature:
At the event on 7-11-15, our dear and beloved friend, wise naturalist, lover of all nature and The River, Robert Sewell, led our walk down to the American River to show us it’s beauty.
As we meandered down to the river’s edge, Robert urged us to listen to the sounds of nature:
Then we arrived at the beach. The adults just stood quietly looking out, spotting a Great Blue Heron, and a little girl enjoyed playing in the wet sand.
There were duck footprints, blackberries, a flower that no one could identify and a fish (Sturgeon or Salmon?) that swam by very close to the water’s edge.
Robert pointed out something in the sand as we were walking up river. A just formed Dragonfly that had crawled out of the river.
We actually found two dragonfly’s that crawled out of the river. Because there was going to be a lot of foot and paw traffic, yours truly decided to pick both of the dragonfly’s up and put them on a bush further up the bank so they could dry out and eventually fly.
We ended our walk by admiring a Swanson’s Hawk calling from a snag tree across the river.
"Paw Note 7-13-15"
I went back to SLP yesterday around 11am. The beach was not packed but was busy. I found one dead dragonfly that had fully formed but no doubt was not ready to fly. There was a dog nearby. I showed the dog’s owner the dragonfly and explained what they are doing this time of year. They had no idea and said they would keep an eye out for the dragonfly’s….More importantly, they agreed to keep a leash on their dog….
I went back to SLP yesterday around 11am. The beach was not packed but was busy. I found one dead dragonfly that had fully formed but no doubt was not ready to fly. There was a dog nearby. I showed the dog’s owner the dragonfly and explained what they are doing this time of year. They had no idea and said they would keep an eye out for the dragonfly’s….More importantly, they agreed to keep a leash on their dog….
Note from Greg who will lead our "Damsels and Dragons" event next month:
The dragonfly pictured is a Gomphid and is probably Stylurus olivaceous as we have seen this same species on our "Damsels and Dragons" Dragonfly walk along the river in prior years. A dragonfly in this stage is called a "Teneral" and can usually not fly far and the body is still very soft - in other words "very vulnerable". The reason that Gomphids are having a difficult time in the American river is exemplified by what you have just noticed. Unlike many of the other species of dragonflies, the larva do not climb up a stem or other elevated substrate, but instead emerge low and close to the ground, any change in water level, like a boat wake, will swamp them and doom them, Any disturbance in this "soft teneral state" is usually fatal to them. It is sad to see such a magnificent species subjected to such unnatural challenges :-)
The dragonfly pictured is a Gomphid and is probably Stylurus olivaceous as we have seen this same species on our "Damsels and Dragons" Dragonfly walk along the river in prior years. A dragonfly in this stage is called a "Teneral" and can usually not fly far and the body is still very soft - in other words "very vulnerable". The reason that Gomphids are having a difficult time in the American river is exemplified by what you have just noticed. Unlike many of the other species of dragonflies, the larva do not climb up a stem or other elevated substrate, but instead emerge low and close to the ground, any change in water level, like a boat wake, will swamp them and doom them, Any disturbance in this "soft teneral state" is usually fatal to them. It is sad to see such a magnificent species subjected to such unnatural challenges :-)
RSS Feed
