Nora Lake, Shingletown - 1 May 2005

I spent part of May Day afternoon checking out Nora Lake near Shingletown in Shasta County. I had two Swift Forktails (adult male and female), quite a few Pacific Forktail, and a young male Western Forktail (see photographs below). The adult male Swift Forktail was near a creek that feeds the lake. It flew and landed some 10 to 15 times before I lost him (no shots, unfortunately). The female Swift Forktail, when I first saw her, was at the edge of the lake being chased by a smaller damsel. She was more cooperative than the male and I got several decent photographs.

Nora Lake is an artificial pond created as part of a 100-year old system of ditches, two ponds (Nora and Grace Lakes), and a lake (Lake McCumber) that supply water to two penstocks (pipes) connected to a powerhouse at the base of Shingletown Ridge. The lake is about four miles from our house and at an elevation of approximately 3,400 feet above sea level. Nora Lake, owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, is planted regularly with trout and is popular with fishermen.

The above damselfly is an adult female Swift Forktail. She's rather nice looking, I think.

An adult female Pacific Forktail.

This is a young/teneral andromorphic female Pacific Forktail. Andromorphic means that as an adult she will have a lot of bright blue like the male (the more typical female above is gynomorphic).

Another view of the above individual.

Here we have a recently emerged male Western Forktail. The appendages do not have the long lower "jaws" of a Swift Forktail, which can appear quite similar to Western, and the thorax is completely wrong for Pacific and Black-fronted Forktail (the only other Forktail species known to occur in Shasta County).