Back in August I heard from someone at work about a group of albino deer that were living up at Father Hennepin State Park near Lake Mille Lacs. So on August 31st Michelle and I decided to drive up and take a look and see if we could find any of the deer. Unfortunately it was still in the tourist season so we did not find any of the deer.
But we did find a checkered white butterfly. The checkered white is a pretty common butterfly that can be found in open habitat through out the United States. They usually stay close to the ground, when in flight.
We also found a meadowhawk down on the sand. I believe that this was a female variegated meadowhawk. It is difficult to tell from the pic but the underside of the abdomen appears to be a white or light grey color, which you would find on a variegated. The yellow colored veins on the wings are also a characteristic of the variegated, as well as several other types of meadowhawks.
This little chipmunk was keeping an eye on me as I walked along the trail around the lake. He did not have a lot to worry about since we did not have much luck finding any albino deer, I am sure that all the traffic kept them away, we did not stay long. I plan to return at some point to try again to find one and get a pic but with the deer hunting season starting this weekend these deer will probably be running for their lives, since albino deer are not protected in Minnesota.
But we did find a checkered white butterfly. The checkered white is a pretty common butterfly that can be found in open habitat through out the United States. They usually stay close to the ground, when in flight.
We also found a meadowhawk down on the sand. I believe that this was a female variegated meadowhawk. It is difficult to tell from the pic but the underside of the abdomen appears to be a white or light grey color, which you would find on a variegated. The yellow colored veins on the wings are also a characteristic of the variegated, as well as several other types of meadowhawks.
This little chipmunk was keeping an eye on me as I walked along the trail around the lake. He did not have a lot to worry about since we did not have much luck finding any albino deer, I am sure that all the traffic kept them away, we did not stay long. I plan to return at some point to try again to find one and get a pic but with the deer hunting season starting this weekend these deer will probably be running for their lives, since albino deer are not protected in Minnesota.
