Darners, Pogo Sticks and Red Skimmers
Phenology – “a branch of science concerned with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (as the migration of birds or the flowering and fruiting of plants).”
First Encounters
My first encounters with dragonflies and damselflies happened back in the mid-1950s when I went down with my pals to Warwick Pond for a swim on hot summer days. I was a little scared of the long, thin insects that flew around us while we splashed in the water. Since we were told that these were “darning needles” and “sewing needles,” we had reason to believe that they could deliver a pretty sharp bite. This unwarranted belief may have subconsciously dampened any interest I might have had in what I now know to be harmless, beautiful, and altogether delightful creatures.
As I grew up, I became interested in birds, butterflies, trees, wildflowers, mammals, hiking, camping and just about anything else connected with the natural world. Except dragonflies and damselflies. I made it all the way to my 50th birthday having learned only the most basic things about these insects. I knew that the so-called “sewing needles” were totally benign bluets, a damselfly commonly seen swarming low over any New England pond on warm summer days. I also knew that the “darning needles” were actually darners, a prominent class of dragonflies that includes the ever present green darner. And that was about it.
Then, in 1997, we purchased an old farmhouse in Sugar Hill that came fully equipped with a one-acre pond surrounded by woods and meadows. I swam in the pond, I cut trails around the pond, I watched birds and bats fly over the pond, and I enjoyed reading books sitting in an old Adirondack chair that I had positioned at the edge of the pond. I couldn’t help but notice the many dragonflies and damselflies flying around the pond, and eventually, at the end of our second summer in Sugar Hill, I finally mentioned dragonflies in my diary:
August 7-9, 1998. Several pairs of skimmers were laying eggs on the surface of the pond. They appear to bounce off the surface after touching the surface of the water with her tail, much as if he were using her as a pogo stick.
These dragonflies clearly weren’t green darners, which was the only dragonfly that I was then able to identify, and I had no guidebook to help me out. So, I did what had to be done - I invented names for them based upon their behavior:
July 22, 1999, 86 degrees, somewhat humid. The dragonflies defend their territory aggressively, especially against others of the same species. Red skimmers appeared yesterday for the first time this year, and a lone female was laying eggs in water about 2-feet deep, near the rocks, and five to ten feet off the shore. The other species would chase her off, but she’d slip back in.
August 29, 1999. “Pogo Stick” dragonflies laying eggs near dock. I counted one pair making over 30 bounces.
After these early entries, my journals make no mention of red skimmers or pogo stick dragonflies until the late summer of 2003:
August 8, 2003, 4pm, by pond. Two red skimmers were at the point, and a green darner was laying eggs off low cattails by the dock.
September 14, 2003. Red skimmers were laying eggs in the pond, from 10 feet off shore to the middle by the point and by the log. I saw one pair make 165 bounces! She laid an egg every 6 – 18 inches, bouncing 6-12 inches up after each egg was dropped.
My seventh summer in Sugar Hill and I was still referring to red skimmers and pogo stick dragonflies! Embarrassing! But, soon thereafter, I finally obtained a guidebook - Sydney Dunkle’s “Dragonflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to the Dragonflies of North America” - and I quickly learned that the red skimmers and pogo stick dragonflies are meadowhawks. The next summer, armed with a new digital camera, I began to take photos of these delightful dragonflies.
September 6, 2004. My first photo of meadow-hawks shows one pair laying eggs near the Point, while another male passes by. The tiny white dots are probably eggs that she or other pairs had recently laid on the surface of the pond.
The Allure of Meadowhawks
From mid-July through mid-October, meadowhawks are among the most common dragonflies to be found around the pond. They are highly recognizable because of their size, the males’ red coloring, and their habit of resting frequently. Although only about an inch-and-a-half long, they are colorful, energetic, romantic, and photogenic. On any reasonably warm, dry, and sunny day in late-summer, you are likely to see a dozen or more bright red meadowhawks flying low over the water, resting on a twig, or clinging to the side of a cattail leaf in a heart-shaped wheel formed with their mate.
Five species of meadowhawks can be seen around small ponds in our region:
White-faced meadowhawks
Yellow-legged meadowhawks
Saffron-winged meadowhawks
Cherry-faced meadowhawks
Black meadowhawks
Except for the aptly named black meadowhawk, the males of these species appear to be almost entirely bright red with clear black markings on their abdomen. Females and juveniles are mostly yellow, but generally become darker with some red on their abdomens as they age. If you see a small red dragonfly with a long, rather thin abdomen with black markings, then it very likely is a male meadowhawk. The names of these species describe their most distinctive characteristic.
White-Faced Meadowhawks
If a meadowhawk has a white face, then it is a white-faced meadowhawk, the meadowhawk most commonly found around our pond. In the photos shown below, the male has its mature red coloration, while the female is still mostly yellow. Both have the white faces and the bold black triangular abdominal markings characteristic of a white-faced meadowhawk.
August 4, 2017. A pair of white-faced meadowhawks forms a wheel, which enables the female to fertilize her eggs.
August 23, 2020. A white-faced meadowhawk points its abdomen straight at the sun to minimize the area exposed to direct sunlight.
White-faced meadowhawks usually arrive at the pond in mid-July, and they might be the only meadowhawks in the neighborhood for the next several weeks. These meadowhawks frequently linger on a twig or a flower stalk for a minute or more, providing plenty of time to zoom in and take pictures from several different angles highlight the variations in color from the dragonfly’s face to the tip of its abdomen.
Yellow-Legged Meadowhawks
Other meadowhawks begin to show up in August, a couple of weeks after the first white-faced. Yellow-legged meadowhawks can readily be identified because their yellow legs are markedly different from the black legs of the white-faced meadowhawk. Since they are also willing to perch on low vegetation all around the pond, they are easy to photograph or view through binoculars. If you see a meadowhawk with legs that are completely yellow, then you are likely looking at a yellow-legged meadowhawk.
August 26, 2019. A male yellow-legged meadowhawk perches on a twig at the edge of the pond.
The photo below shows a female yellow-legged meadowhawk perched upon some goldenrod with the sun shining through at an angle that illuminates her strikingly yellow legs.
August 18, 2016, 76 degrees, beautiful, 330pm. I saw a yellow-legged meadowhawk for the first time this year.
Saffron-Winged Meadowhawks
The saffron-winged meadowhawk can be identified by the saffron color of the lower half of its wings. Unfortunately for the observer, it is not always an easy matter to see this color or to capture it in a photograph.
August 20, 2017, 74 degrees, PC, breezy, wonderful! I saw my first mature saffron-winged meadowhawk of the season. After some struggles, I finally got a good picture.
From a distance of ten feet or more, you seldom can see details such as the color of a dragonfly’s legs or a subtle tinge to its wings. However, you may be able to capture these details in photographs such as those shown below, both of which clearly reveal the saffron-coloration covering the inner half of their wings. But then look at the legs. The juvenile has legs that are mostly black, but are clearly yellow near where they attach to the thorax. The male, however, has legs that appear to be a uniform gray. The guidebooks tells us that the saffron-winged meadowhawks have at least some black, and here are two examples that fit that description only if we accept “all gray” as “at least some black”.
August 24, 2021. The tint on the veins of its wings indicates that this is a saffron-winged meadowhawk that is perched atop a lupine seed pod.
August 20, 2017. This is my best photo of the extensive tinting that gives the saffron-winged meadowhawk its name.
Cherry-Faced Meadowhawks
The cherry-faced is another meadowhawk that first shows up in late August or early September. As its name suggests, its face is entirely cherry-colored. Cherry-faced meadowhawks are more difficult to identify than the other red meadowhawks. From a distance, the cherry-faced males look pretty much the same as the others, so a close view of their legs and face are necessary to make an identification.
If you get the correct angle, you can clearly see why the cherry-faced meadowhawk earns its name. (Photo taken September 12, 2017)
Although only the cherry-faced has a face that is entirely deep red, both the yellow-legged and saffron-winged have some red on the upper part of their faces. Thus, correct identification requires a photo showing the complete face, not just the top. I can testify that it is very tricky to get such a photo of a dragonfly that likes to perch on a low leaf or on the ground.
A slightly more useful distinction relates to the legs, which are all black for cherry-faced and all yellow for yellow-legged, and somewhere in between for saffron-winged. However, the colors of a meadowhawk’s legs fade or darken over time, and it may require a leap of faith to decide that a photo shows the faded black legs of a cherry-faced or the darkened aged legs of a yellow-legged or a saffron-winged. As with the other species, identification is further hindered because the diagnostic variations in the colors may only be visible from certain angles in direct sunlight.
Black Meadowhawks
Black meadowhawks are shaped like and behave like other meadowhawks, but they are much smaller and have no red coloring at all. Adult males cannot be confused with any other meadowhawk, as they are certainly completely dark, even if not purely black. Juvenile and females can be difficult to identify, because their brilliant yellow colors always make me believe that they are some exotic dragonfly that has wandered off course.
August 25, 2019. A black meadowhawk isn’t jet black, but it certainly is dark.
June 16, 2020, this juvenile black meadowhawk is probably as good-looking as it will ever be. If it is a female, her yellows will fade; if it is a male, it will darken completely.
I have seen black meadowhawks as early as mid-June, but more frequently in late summer. They are less common than the other four meadowhawks that frequent our pond.
When to Look for Meadowhawks
Meadowhawks might be seen as early as mid-July, but they usually start to show up around the pond in late July or early August.
July 29, 2007 Partly sunny, 85 degrees. I saw the season’s first yellow-legged meadowhawk, along with several dozen bluets.
August 17, 2015, 85 degrees. I saw the first meadowhawk of the season while we sat on the deck-dock enjoying gin & tonics
This second entry reveals that observing dragonflies may not be among the most strenuous of outdoor activities!
Once you see one meadowhawk by a pond, you can expect to see them every sunny day for the rest of the summer. By mid-August, they are everywhere, so long as it is warm and sunny:
August 15, 2017, 230-330, 80 degrees, breezy. White-faced meadowhawks are still very common.
August 19, 2016, 230pm, PC, beautiful. A dozen individual meadowhawks and several pairs.
Late August to mid-September is the best time to see (and presumably to be) a meadowhawk. If the sun is out, I will usually see one or a pair every ten feet or so as I walk along the dam. If I sit by an opening in the reeds, I am likely to see several pairs in wheels laying eggs. In late August, white-faced may still be the most common meadowhawks, but by early September, yellow-legged and saffron-winged become at least as plentiful as white-faced, and a few black meadowhawks may be around
August 21, 2016, 3pm, beautiful, very windy. Meadowhawks are patrolling territories along the trails to the dock and the screen house, one every 5 to 8 yards.
August 23, 2016, 70 degrees, beautiful, 1030 am. Meadowhawks not only landed on the table and the arm of my chair, they even landed on the book I was reading while sitting at the point.
Dragonflies much prefer warm sunny days, which are less likely as summer turns into fall. If there is any rain, if there is no sun, or if the temperature drops below 60 degrees, you will be unlikely to see any meadowhawks even if you sit still at a prime location between noon and 4pm, the period when meadowhawks are usually most active:
September 6, 2017, rain, then cloudy, 70 degrees, 2pm. I waited at various spots and saw a few black-tipped darners active, but no damsels or meadowhawks. Plenty of mosquitos.
September 13, 2010 66 degrees, cloudy. Not many dragonflies or damsel flies at the point; I only saw one in 15 minutes while sitting at the point at noontime, whereas last week they were very active over the pond and in the meadow.
By late September, even on beautiful days, while there might still be some meadowhawks around, there won’t be as many as in prior weeks. No more white-faced, fewer yellow-legged and saffron-winged, and maybe only a couple of black meadowhawks will be found around the pond. Nevertheless, if it is warm enough, those remaining meadowhawks will continue pairing off and laying eggs around the edge of the pond, even into the first part of October:
October 4, 2017, 74 degrees, sunny, 3pm. Only three types of dragonflies and damselflies are active, but they are very active. Cherry faced meadowhawks all along the dam, laying eggs by the shore. Up – down –up –down rapidly for 8-12 egg drops, pause a few seconds about a foot above the water, then repeat. Again and again.
As October progresses, the few remaining meadowhawks are clearly slowing down. Now, my diary entries are more likely to express concern at finding a lonely meadowhawk than they are to comment on any significant activity:
October 12, 2015, 65 degrees. A glorious fall day, sunny with high cirrus clouds, and a nice breeze from time to time. At first, I simply savored the view of the reds, oranges, red-oranges, and yellows all mixed together on the other side of the pond. Then I noticed a meadowhawk, sitting on a leaf, seemingly pondering the meaning of life and impending doom. After a half minute, it flew out over the pond and disappeared – and then came back over my shoulder with a mate! He obviously was pondering something much more immediate than the coming winter.
I’ve even had a few sightings of meadowhawks in late October and early November, but eventually the snow comes, the pond freezes, and the last of the aged meadowhawks has given up the ghost. Their offspring, however, are now nymphs safely ensconced under the ice, waiting for spring, and perhaps dreaming about what it would be like to be flying around the pond.
Photos and text by Carl D. Martland, founding member of ACT, long-time resident of Sugar Hill, and author of Sugar Hill Days: What’s Happening in the Fields, Wetlands, and Forests of a Small New Hampshire Town on the Western Edge of the White Mountain. Quotations from his book and his journals indicate the dates of and the situations depicted in the photos.
