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The third annual Ode Blitz
— a gathering of California odites who otherwise communicate through
CalOdes — took place during the second weekend of August 2007 in the Owens
Valley, east of the Sierra. The photo (above) was taken along
the banks of the Owens River itself, a spot reachable only via
4-wheel-drive vehicles (more on that below).
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 Kathy & Dave Biggs
(right) and Doug Aguillard (below, on right; owner of
CalOdes) were the founders of this event. Prior efforts have been in
the extreme northeast corner of California (Sep 2005) and the extreme
southeast corner (Oct 2006). This year's gathering was centered around
Bishop, and odeing spots were visited within Inyo & Mono counties
during lovely summer days. A dozen folks interested in California
dragonflies attended, many from distant locales. David & Linda Blue
(below; lefthand pair) came from San Diego. |
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I arrived from Monterey on the afternoon of 11 August, much too late to make the morning's field trips, or the festivities on Friday. I know that the group visited Hot Springs Creek in Mono County, including the incredible boiling springs adjacent to the creek (right) that recall the scalding pots in Yellowstone Park. By that afternoon the group was exploring remote springs high the mountains, hoping to add new species to the county lists. The best I could do was limp along in their dust about 6 hours late. By then the breeze had picked up and odes were few, but the scenery was spectacular. |
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On Sunday morning we started at
Klondike Lake, just north of Big Pine. Bob Miller
(above left), up from the Imperial Valley, pointed out that tiger
beetles were feasting on the abundant Black-fronted Forktails (above
right). A little Common Kingsnake was caught as it headed in that same
direction. My sole contribution was a River Bluet
(below).
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The real excitement was when Paul
Johnson (below right) led us to the crumbling banks of the Owens
River itself. To accomplish this, we packed everyone into the
three high-clearance vehicles on hand and wound through a rutted,
dusty, unbelievably hopeless track through the sagebrush. How and why
Paul ever made it to this spot in the first place remains among the
mysteries of life. But Paul had flushed an odd gomphid from the
overhanging roots at the river's edge, and so we had to go look for it.
And, remarkably, a half-dozen of these beautiful dragons were located
(below left).
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 The dragons would flush from
the river-edge and fly out into the sage where, by careful stalking,
they could be photographed, although sometimes only by contortionists
(right; arrow marks location of the ode). They proved to be Olive
Clubtail (below) but engendered much discussion. Yes, Paul's
ode had initially been hanging vertically, but why did they all perch
horizontally on the sage? Could some of the half-dozen or more gomphids
found out here be Great Basin Snaketails? [I didn't photograph anything
but three different clubtails — but heard that others had seen the
snaketail as well.] And why such as odd habitat? We felt like we knew
almost nothing about this cool, blue-eyed species. |
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Ode Blitzers who departed before the final Sunday included Ray & Steve Bruun, but Ray Bruun's pixel-perfect shots from the weekend are on his website (damsels and dragons), while others are on Doug Aguillard's web pages. |
Olive Clubtail was a 'lifer' for the majority
of those present (including Paul), and was a treat for all. It was not
anticipated to be found on the trip, and its range here in the Owens
Valley is an isolated relict. In our final shot (left) it has just
flown off to the right. Those interested included Paul Johnson
(kneeling in center) and (L to R): Dave Biggs, Ron Oriti, Barbara
Oriti, Linda Blue, Kathy Biggs, and David Blue.| TO ODE YEAR INTRO |
all
photos © 2007 Don Roberson
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