California Darner

I found a male California Darner in my bird net on 13 May 2019. Dragonflies are hard to remove from my nets, but I released this darner unharmed. I recently commented that this species is a small and early-flying darner. The name commemorates its place of discovery rather than its range, which extends over much of the western tier and some of the interior of the United States and southwestern Canada. This species often flies around forest clearings like that of our backyard.