The first Howard County Dragonfly Count, co-sponsored by the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, was a great success!

Twenty-eight intrepid people came out to try their hand at counting odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) on July 29, 2006. Thirteen were members of the Howard County Bird Club. Participants came from Howard, Carroll, Montgomery, Prince Georges, Baltimore, and Frederick Counties. A few were experienced with odonates; most were beginners.

The weather was perfect for odonates - sunny, 90 degrees, and humid. Despite those conditions being non-ideal for humans, participants repeatedly commented about how enjoyable and interesting the count was.

Six groups of observers covered the entire county, which was divided into five territories or areas: 1-west county, 2-north, 3-central, 4-south, 5-east.

A potluck dinner and tally rally at June Tveekrem's house provided a festive end to the day. Thirty-six species of odonates were seen, comprising 2110 individuals. The list of species and numbers is shown in the accompanying table. The complete results and a map of the areas can be found on the internet at www.toad.net/~junetvee.

Thank you to our group leaders: Richard Orr (area 1), Jerry Persall (area 1), June Tveekrem (area 2), Sue Muller & Ken Clayton (co-leaders, area 3), Bob Solem (area 4), Jo Solem (area 5).

In addition to the group leaders, participants were: Donna Bateman, Sheldon Bateman, Pat Caro, Pam Franks, Denise Gibbs, Rob Gibbs, Beth Johnson, Paul Koehler, ZoAnn Lapinsky, Jim Lubitz, Rosa Lubitz, Nancy Magnusson, Grazina McClure, Mike McClure, Sue Neri, Steve Noyes, Mary Persall, Bob Ringler, Justine Schaeffer, Barbara Wassell, and Esther Woodworth.

We plan to make this an annual event. Because different species of odonates emerge at different times, the count date will vary from early June to late August. This allows for tracking the population of as wide a variety of odonates over the years as possible. We invite you to join us next summer!