If you go dragonfly watching

When

Plan your trip to a pond or shallow lake with a lot of vegetation for a sunny, summer midday. Dragonflies disappear into the trees in cloudy weather or when the temperature dips below 60 degrees.

Where

To find dragonflies in the Seattle metro area, Dennis Paulson suggests:

• A canoe paddle around Seattle's Foster Island and Washington Park Arboretum.

• Meadowbrook Pond, North Seattle.

• Mercer Slough Nature Park, Bellevue.

• Lake Sammamish State Park, Issaquah.

Paulson recommends getting away from urban areas to see more species diversity. Two of his favorite local spots are Square Lake (see map)and Wicks Lake, both near Port Orchard on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Web resource

Guide: "Dragonflies of Washington" by Dennis Paulson, published by Seattle Audubon Society. It recently went out of print, but at press time copies were available at Flora and Fauna Books, 3121 W. Government Way, Seattle (206-623-4727), and University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E. (800-335-7323).

Web site: See www.ups.edu/x5649.xml, for Slater Museum at University of Puget Sound. Go to "Quick Links" on the home page and click on "Dragonflies."

Tips

Though some enthusiasts don hip waders, it's just as interesting to sit at shore's edge, or better yet, take a quiet paddle among the reeds to get a closer look at a variety of species. Take a dragonfly net, hand lens, binoculars and a field guide.