South Texas, April 23 - 29, 2008
Wednesday, Apr 23
I admit I was not terribly excited as I began my first dragonfly trip
of the year. I had limited expectations since the week was built entirely
around the slim possibility of finding a single rare species. And I worried
about the drought plaguing south Texas. On top of that when I got to the
airport, my 7:20 AM flight to Houston had been cancelled. The excuse was
an unnamed mechanical problem. I wasn't too surprised with all the bad
press the airline industry has been getting lately. They put me on another
flight on another airline and after connecting in Dallas, arrived in McAllen
at 2 PM central time.
I picked up the rental car, set the GPS, and headed to the Santa Ana National
Wildlife Refuge. It was hot and breezy. I knew it would be dry since the
spring rains had not come. The lower Rio Grande Valley had not gotten
any significant rainfall since October and the grass was brown, the trails
hard and gray yet it was not lifeless. Grackles and blackbirds squabbled.
A Buff-bellied Hummingbird fed at a feeder. On the canal I found my first
damselflies, Blue-ringed Dancers Argia sedula. In the sheltering
lee of the trees flew Wandering and Spot-winged Gliders Pantala flavescens
and hymenea, and Striped Saddlebags Tramea calverti. It
took me a while to catch a saddlebags. I had not swung a net since October
and I was rusty. There were dozens of Great Pondhawks Erythemis vesiculosa
but little else but the scurry of lizards as I made my way to the Rio
Grande River. Along this river I was hoping to find the main target of
the trip, a species that has been recorded only in April, the Tamaulipan
Clubtail, Gomphus gonzalezi, and a species that no one seems to
be able to find.
Thursday, Apr 24
The last person to see a Tamaulipan Clubtail is Dave Hanson, a wintertime
resident of Mission, TX. He caught and photographed a female in April
of 2006. When the pictures made the rounds, others came looking without
success. I joined Dave for breakfast along with David and Jan Dauphin,
also residents of the Valley and great nature enthusiasts. They had generously
offered to show me the dragonfly hotspots particularly those off the usual
birding and butterflying map. We headed first to a spot along the river
where, a week and a half ago while looking for Tamaulipan Clubtail, Martin
Reid photographed a darner dragonfly that had never been seen before in
the US.
It was a nice place to start. We heard thunder but there was no rain.
Although it was windy, we found quite a few species as the morning warmed
up. We did see a darner, a Coryphaeschna like the apeoria
Martin saw but ours was adnexa, Blue-faced Darner. Black Setwings
Dythemis nigrescens, Band-winged Dragonlets Erythrodiplax umbrata,
and Roseate Skimmers Orthemis ferruginea were fairly common down
in the brush. Flying among the trees, the saddlebags and gliders were
joined by a few Hyacinth Gliders Miathyria marcella. I was pleased
to see a couple of Straw-colored Sylphs Macrothemis inacuta and
managed to net two males out of the air with one swing. But clubtails
were our main focus. We saw an Eastern Ringtail Erpetogomphus designatus,
and several male Five-striped Leaftails Phyllogomphoides albrighti.
The Leaftails were immature but their big clubs were still impressive.
We were also finding teneral females clubtails and they stumped me for
a while. Their markings and long proportions looked so much like Russet-tipped
Clubtail Stylurus plagiatus. But being from the Northeast I don't
expect to see this species until late in the summer so it took a careful
examination of the specimens back at the motel to convince me of their
identity.
We then stopped at Estero Llano Grande State Park where we added Eastern
Amberwing Perithemis tenera and Red-tailed Pennant Brachymesia
furcata to the list. We might have done better but the wind was blowing
fiercely.
We stopped at a pond at Santa Ana next where I saw the only other darner
of the trip, a Common Green Anax junius. Flying amid the vegetation
on the pond were both Great and Pin-tailed Pondhawks Erythemis plebeja
along with Blue and Thornbush Dashers, Pachydiplax longipennis
and Micrathyria hageni. In a garden next to the pond I caught a
female Five-striped Leaftail.
Our final stop was a canal near Anzalduas County Park where we found some
Rambur's Forktails Ishnura ramburii and a lone male Caribbean Yellowface
Neoerythromma cultellatum. It had gotten cloudy. In the brush we
found a couple of teneral clubtails which turned out to be Sulphur-tipped
Gomphus militaris. The Dauphins had to leave around 3:30 but I
stuck around the canal for a short while longer and found a newly emerged
female Spinylegs presumably Flag-tailed, Dromogomphus spoliatus.
So young and pale, it had no markings but the long spines on its hindlegs
gave away its identity.
Friday, Apr 25
I was at Anzalduas County Park the next morning. It was warm and humid
and still breezy as I worked my way slowly along the Rio Grande. Smoky
Rubyspots Hetaerina titia perched on vegetation overhanging the
water along with a few Neotropical Bluets Enallagma novaehispaniae,
a species new to me. Dancers Argia were common represented by the
Powdered, Blue-fronted, Blue-ringed and Dusky, moesta, apicalis, sedula,
and translata respectively. Another new species (and a new family)
were the red Amelia's Threadtails Neoneura amelia that hovered
low over the water. I made only a half-hearted attempt to catch one since
the steep banks made the effort less than inviting.
There were more immature Russet-tipped Clubtails in the trees along the
water's edge including some males. The grassy areas near the river produced
a few more species, Eastern Ringtail, Sulphur-tipped Clubtail, and Flag-tailed
Spinylegs. Some clubtails flushed and flew away (undoubtably those were
the Tamaulipans).
At midday I headed to Bentsen State Park where Josh Rose was leading a
dragonfly walk. Completely unplanned, the other participants of the walk
were Dave Hanson and the Dauphins. We checked out the pond near the visitor
center adding Desert Firetail Telebasis salva to my trip/Texas/year
list then hopped on the tram to look for Carmine Skimmer Orthemis discolor.
This species closely resembles the purple pink Roseate Skimmer and Josh
had a spot for it. It was a tiny eagle scout-made pool fed by a green
water hose but when we got there at least 3 male Carmine Skimmers were
dogfighting for ownership. A female arrived and was quickly grabbed by
one of the males. She laid her eggs rapidly while being harrassed by the
others. With all eyes on me I took my time to catch one of the males.
They seemed pretty determined to stay at the pond but I wasn't sure they
would not disappear if I swung and missed.
We tried a larger body of water and a nearby garden for Spot-tailed Dasher
Micrathyria aequalis. We saw a couple of males but not the female
I needed. I spotted a male Flag-tailed Spinylegs that everyone got to
photograph and I was pleased that it was a lifer for Josh.
We dispersed shortly afterwards but I went back to the little pool to
look for a female Carmine Skimmer. One was ovipositing when I arrived
but my net was not assembled. By 4:30 PM the males had gone from the pool
so I had to give up too.
Saturday, Apr 26
I woke up to an unusual sight for South Texas. It was raining. It didn't
rain very hard or for very long but it remained cloudy and I wasn't sure
where I should go for the day. I thought about going west to Salineno
to look for the Tamaulipan. It would take an hour to get there and maybe
the weather would improve. I gassed up to go but as I was pulling out
of the filling station who should be driving by but Dave Hanson. I was
in no hurry so we stopped and had breakfast, I got to visit his home,
meet his dogs, and see more of his dragonfly photos. As we were talking
I could see a shadow form in his yard as the sun was beginning to peek
out. We decided to visit NABA International Butterfly Park, the site where
he photographed the female Tamaulipan two years ago. By the river we ran
into Gil Quintanilla and spent a couple of hours looking for dragonflies.
We didn't find anything new but I enjoyed the company and views of Groove-billed
Anis.
After lingering in the NABA gardens watching more birds and butterflies,
I had to get back to work and headed to Bentsen to try for a female Carmine
Skimmer but by time I got there the clouds had moved in.
Sunday, Apr 27
Since the forecast was for more clouds and rain, I was surprised to find
it sunny when I woke up. I quickly gathered my gear and headed back to
the spot where Martin Reid found the new darner. There was less wind than
my first visit but it was warm and humid. The aerial species like the
gliders and saddlebags were conspicuously absent. But the first clubtail
I found in the grass was different, a female Narrow-striped Forceptail
Aphylla protracta. There were a handful of Russet-tipped Clubtails
and Five-striped Leaftails but then I spotted a small clubtail perched
in a mesquite which I managed to net without getting caught on the thorns.
It was a young male Ringed Forceptail Phyllocycla breviphylla a
species I wanted to see but did not expect so early in the year. As it
got hot what little activity ceased.
I went down the road to Santa Ana and rechecked the pond by the entrance.
There were dashers along the edge and I netted one thinking that it was
a Thornbush Dasher. As I photographed it in the hand I noticed its eyes
were green without any hint of blue and the stripes on the thorax were
straight. It was a Three-striped Dasher Micrathyria didyma. I looked
for the species last October in Florida without success. Scanning the
pond I saw another male.
For the next three hours I walked the trails at Santa Ana around Pin-tail
Lake and along the Rio Grande. I found a female Rainpool Spreadwing
Lestes forficula at a little pool (of course) but there was little
in way of dragonflies. I did have my third and best view of a male Painted
Bunting for the trip.
Monday, Apr 28
It rained hard during the night. It was much needed but while driving
to the "Darner spot" I got worried when my wheels spun in the
mud on the dirt road. Maybe I could get some help from the Border Patrol
if I got stuck. It was much cooler and I had to wait until the clouds
allowed the sun to shine through. There were even fewer dragonflies than
the day before. I saw a Straw-colored Sylph which I thought was a female
as it flew away. I caught a female Thornbush Dasher and another female
Narrow-striped Forceptail. Still this location was one of the richest
spots for dragonflies I visited during the week. Unfortunately if the
proposed border wall goes up there would be no access to what is now public
land.
I headed back to Santa Ana to look for female dashers and founding none,
headed to Bentsen for one last shot at female Carmine Skimmer. I had a
couple of swings at a pair as the female dipped furiously to lay eggs
while the male guarded her closely. I heard wings rattling in the net
but I had caught the male and missed the female.
Tuesday, Apr 29
For my last morning of the trip, I returned to Anzalduas County Park.
Those unidentified clubtails flying off during my last visit gave me hope
that a Tamaulipan just might be lurking in the grass. But as the clock
ran out on this trip I didn't see any clubtails of any kind all morning.
It was a strange
trip. It is always a bit of a shock going from the cool of the Northeastern
spring to the heat of the South. Suddenly swatting away mosquitoes again,
picking out ticks, and keeping an eye out for poisonous snakes. Then the
rain followed me. But despite not finding my primary target, I did pretty
well and will be returning to Texas later in the season.
I am grateful for the guidance and company of Dave Hanson, David &
Jan Dauphin, Gil Quintanilla, and Josh Rose. Thanks to Mitch Sternberg
for permission to survey and collect at Santa Ana/LRGV NWR and David Riskind
for permission to collect and survey at Texas State Parks.
Dave Hanson's website
David and Jan Dauphin's website
Martin Reid's website
