Arizona - September 2004

Monday, September 20th

A cold front had passed through on Saturday and torrential downpours had occurred as the result of the tail end of Hurricane Javier.  Last night's news had footage of the Verde River inundating the town of Cottonwood so my original plan of exploring up around Prescott no longer made any sense.  Instead I headed north toward Payson and, with my trusty DeLorme in hand, looked for accesses to Sycamore Creek.  The first access point was miles from anything but at least the sun was shining.  However, there was not one bug!  I had the distinct feeling that this stream bed was normally dry.  Further north the stream looked promising but it was obviously higher than normal.  Between the flooding, the cool temperatures, and the clouds it was obviously not going to be a good ode day.  I did enjoy a few birds and marveled at how many Bushtits can be in one juniper!

The sun was shining to the south so it was back to the Salt River Recreation Areas for a perfectly enjoyable afternoon.  This female Common Green Darner flew up and entertained a number of people at Phon Sutton.  I always enjoy watching folks make the discovery that dragonflies are pretty cool and it gives me a chance to do a little informal teaching.  Just as I was leaving, a female Straw-colored Sylph for the second location it was recorded on this trip.

Blue-ringed Dancer	Powdered Dancer	American Rubyspot	Straw-colored Sylph

Tuesday, September 21st

The last day for some Arizona fun began in the Tonto National Forest north of Phoenix.  First stop was to be Seven Springs RA but the early morning drive was delightful as well.  An early Townsend's Solitaire was a surprise and it was interesting watching this tarantula crossing the road.  The storm had done some damage here as there were sycamore branches all over and water across the road at every stream crossing.  Most of the dragonflies were Variegated Meadowhawks but I also had Pale-faced Clubskimmer, Common Green Darner, Blue-eyed Darner, and Russet-tipped Clubtail around one flooded stream crossing.  The place was devoid of human activity and even the birds were generally lacking save a few Abert's Towhees and Western Tanagers.

From there it was on to the Verde River and the usually dry Horseshoe Reservoir.  The flooding upstream was having an impact as the river was high and the reservoir was filling.  At the water's edge were Mexican Amberwings, Flame Skimmers, Arroyo Bluets, American Rubyspots, and Dusky Dancers.  Both Black and Red Saddlebags cruised overhead. I was puzzled by the numerous Blue Dashers because the thorax just didn't look right.  A little reading taught me that southwestern critters become a lot more pruinose on the thorax thus hiding the thoracic stripes. Wilson's and Yellow Warblers were in the willows lining the edge and a number of Double-crested Cormorants were seen.  I managed to also find the only Vermilion Flycatcher of the trip.

The last stop of the day was back in the city at the Gilbert Water Ranch, one of my favorite places to visit on trips to Phoenix.  Here I could get a Burrowing Owl fix, see some common dragonflies, and sort out some of the forktails.  The three species of forktail were Rambur's, Desert, and Black-fronted.  I saw a couple of Red-tailed Pennants as well as many Blue Dashers, Western Pondhawks, Flame Skimmers, Wandering Gliders, Black Saddlebags, and Blue-eyed and Common Green Darners.  There were several shorebirds and the number of ducks was a good indication that fall was on the way.

Plains Forktail female	Blue Dasher	Western Pondhawk male	Western Pondhawk female

For a complete listing of both bird and odonate species recorded on this trip, see the checklists.