Recently I found myself in Ocean City, New Jersey on a beautiful, warm October day. Since it was a holiday weekend the town was booming with activity and due to the warm weather the beach was busy. Instead of sweaters and sweatshirts most were in shorts and bathing suits, kids in the ocean playing. On the ground the boardwalk was bustling and stores were offering their season closeouts. But when I looked up I noticed something that I don’t always see when I’m at the shore…dragonflies. The sky was as busy as the boardwalk with these magnificent insects darting about. And it wasn’t just along the beach – they danced about as we took the side streets inland.
Seeing them got me to wondering what brings so many dragonflies to the beach at this time of year? I’ve always seen the occasional dragonfly in my yard, or warming themselves on a rock in late summer, but never so many in one place. Well, it seems that dragonflies migrate. Who would have thought it? I knew they were born in ponds up here and just assumed they died here, seems they want to get all they can out of life, so when the cold front moves in from the north they start the long trip south!
I discovered that scientists have discovered that dragonflies take a similar path to migrating songbirds. They actually attached radio transmitters to Green Darners and followed their migration route. In case you were wondering, the radio transmitters weighed only 300 milligrams. It seems that the Green Darners have two types: migratory and non-migratory. The migratory Darners are from the south, come north to breed and fly south again.
I’ve been to the shore to bird watch but never thought of dragonfly watching. I have always had a fondness for them, even though as kids we were told that if we got too close they would sew our mouth shut. I once found a dragonfly with a broken wing. He was a vibrant blue/green and the prettiest one I’d ever seen. Unfortunately, without the power of flight he didn’t survive. But I’ll never forget that close encounter and now wonder where it was he might have come from.
The library offers many books about dragonflies to help your kids by crushing the myth that dragonflies will sew your fingers together if you try to catch them and inspire them to take a closer look at nature’s incredible creatures. Adults can pick up a field guide to help with identification of dragonflies or butterflies, and find an excuse to get outside and see what’s right here in your backyard. Take a hike in one of the local parks such as Tarrywile or Bear Mountain Reserve, or head north to Bulls Bridge along the Housatonic in Kent.
~ Darlene Garrison