An exciting non-avian find was discovered during the Roger Tory Peterson Birding Festival in June. Staff from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute were checking out local sites in Jamestown and found what turned out to be the first Chautauqua County record of the Delta-spotted Spiketail (Cordulegaster diastatops). It was located opportunistically while surveying for snakes in between bird walks. Several males of the species were patrolling a small, cool and clean stream that runs right near a roadway.
Spiketails like cool forest freshwater often in the form of small clear streams and creeks with abundant vegetation in and around them. For the most part they are found in a more wooded area. Three other spiketails – Tiger, Arrowhead, and Twin-spotted – should be found in Chautauqua County area as well but as of now have not been recorded. We hope to locate them next season in appropriate habitats. Since this find we have had a few more “firsts” that we will talk about in upcoming blog posts.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Photo © Scott Kruitbosch
