Orthetrum cancellatum
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The black-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) is a dragonfly belonging to the family Libellulidae. This species is widespread in Europe and Asia. It is found throughout the European continent including the Mediterranean islands but is absent in the far north of Britain and the northern half of Fennoscandia. This is one of the most common European species and it is still increasing its range northwards. To the east, the range extends over central Asia to Kashmir, Mongolia to the northern parts of China and Arunachal Pradesh in India.
It is present in Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (Corsica, and mainland), Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey (including Turkey-in-Europe), Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 4 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 5 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 7 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 12 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Tailed Skimmer sighting in Plitvice Lakes National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 51 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Tailed Skimmer in Plitvice Lakes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–May, July and September–October, the lowest months. December has too few records to rate.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-Tailed Skimmer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Black-Tailed Skimmer sightings, Plitvice Lakes National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Camargue (France, about 30%) and Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-Tailed Skimmer is recorded against all the insects logged in Plitvice Lakes National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
