Eastern-tailed Blue

The Blue butterflies (Polyommatina) are a subfamily of the Lycaenidae, or gossamer-wings, family. The gossamer-wing family consists of approximately 6000 species world wide with about 100 of these in North America. They include the blue, copper, harvester and hairstreak subfamilies. All of the gossamer-wing butterflies are relatively small. The males have reduced forelegs so they walk around on only four legs while the females, as in these pictures, have six normal sized legs which they walk on.

The eastern tailed-blue is the most common blue that we find in my area. It is pretty easy to identify the eastern tailed-blue because it is one of only two types of blues have a small hair-like tail at the base of the hindwing. The only other tailed-blue is the western tailed-blue and they have either one or no orange spot on the underside of the hind wing above the tail, compared to the two orange spots on the eastern tailed-blue. I photographed this blue on the shores of the ST Croix at the Carpenter Nature Center.

Ox-eye Daisy

Leucanthemum vulgare, or ox-eye daisy as it is commonly called, is not a native species here in North America. It was brought here in the 1800s from Europe for use as a garden plant but then it managed to escape into the wild.

In the wild it is an invasive species. It often forms large patches with an extensive root system that crowds out many of the native plants. It usually can over take areas because each flower can produce up to 200 seeds.

Mountain Bluebirds

There are three types of bluebirds that are native to North America. The eastern bluebird is the most common and has the largest range, the western bluebird, which can be found in the Eastern coastal states and down into Mexico, and the mountain bluebird, which has a range similar to the western bluebird except that is extended in the north and the east.

It is usually easy to tell the difference between the male mountain bluebirds and males of the other two types of North American bluebirds. Adult male mountain bluebirds have a blue chest with little to no rufous color. The male eastern and western bluebird have a mostly rufous colored chest.

Female mountain bluebirds come in two different color phases. There is the gray phase, which are mostly gray all over except for the blue on the wings like the one pictured above, or the rufous phase which have a rufous colored chest. The rufous phase female can be difficult because it can look at first glance like a light colored eastern or western female.

The Cloud by Percy Bysshe Shelley Part 1

I bring fresh showers for the thirsty flowers,

From the seas and the streams;

I bear light shade for leaves when laid

In their noonday dreams.

From my wings are shaken the dews that waken

The sweet buds every one,

When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,

As she dances about the sun.

I wield the flail of the lashing hail,

And whiten the green plains under,

And then again I dissolve it in rain,

And laugh as I pass in thunder.

-

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Bees and Blossoms

A Visit to Crex Meadows.

The weather this weekend was superb so on Sunday I decided to head up to Crex Meadows. Crex Meadows is located in western Wisconsin about an hour north of the Twin Cities. Crex is one of my favorite places to go shoot because it is not too far away and you never know what you might see.

On this visit raptors were the order of the day. Since Crex is not too far from the St Croix River it is not surprising to find raptors that stop by while migrating down the Mississippi flyway. I spotted several eagles in the park, both adult and immature. The coots seemed mighty nervous when one of these big predators would fly over head.

What was really exciting though, were all of the rough-legged hawks that I saw in the park. These birds nest up in the Arctic Tundra and winter through out much of the United States.

There are two different color forms of rough-legged hawk. There is the light form, as in the picture below, which is the type that I have seen most often in the past, and the dark form, as in the picture above. This weekend I saw numerous examples of both forms up at Crex, as well as some birds which appear to be a cross between the two.

What is really cool about these birds is the way that they hunt. They will often sit and hover in mid-air and then drop straight down on their prey. They probably have developed this style of hunting do to breeding in a tundra or taiga habitat where there are not many trees from which they can ambush their prey.

I did also find a dragonfly, well sort of. Even though it has got up into the sixties for the past several days we have had a few nights that have gone below freezing. So I will probably have to wait until next year to photograph some more real dragons.

Widow Skimmer

Widow skimmers are great dragonflies to work with to practice your macro skills They frequently perch at the top of a stick or a blade of grass and give you enough time to get off a couple of pics. Even if they get startled and fly off they will often return to the same perch or at least a spot nearby.

Widow skimmers are also very colorful with both male and female having large black wing patches. In the two photos above the top one is a male. The male is identified by the white wing patches near the ends of the wings. Notice the female in the second photo just has the black wing patches and no white. The male in the first photo has most likely emerged rather recently. I can tell this because he still has yellow stripes showing at the end of his abdomen. As widow skimmer males age their abdomen gets covered with a chalky substance called pruinose. This will eventually cover the side spots and make the whole abdomen appear a slate blue color.

Sneezeweed

How about some sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) for this weeks Today's Flowers. I am guessing that the autumnale portion of the scientific name is no coincidence since these things bloom like crazy in the late summer and early Autumn. I photographed this flower at Purgatory Creek.

Green-winged Teal

The green-winged teal is one of the more interesting looking ducks, in my opinion, and one that I do not see very often. They are a dabbling duck that lives in marshy wetland where they forage under the shallow water for vegetation and seeds. I photographed this lone green-winged teal at the Necedah NWR in central Wisconsin.

The Osprey by Steve Hagget

In foreign land of towering pines

And hammocks, mangrove-torn

A dark-filled night reluctantly

Bequeaths a pale dawn

-

Upon one battered cypress perched,

Amidst the morning haze,

Bright eyes stare out from part-cocked head

With piscicultural gaze.

-

Intently focussed on the brook,

That glides beneath the tree

Alive to every shadow’s sound

Yet never truly free.

-

For choicelessly these eyes are drawn,

As waters break below

And like a flash a head snaps back

And rippled muscles flow.

-

Within the slightest moment’s breath,

Two mighty wings released,

Two claws full-stretched, two legs reach out

The sinews, strained, unleashed.

The beaten air the only sound,
As time itself stands still
And, tracer-like, on charted course
The osprey meets its kill.
-
With consummate and practiced ease
The painless end begins
The single deadly blow is dealt
As sharpened claws sink in.
-
Then up away into the dawn
And time resumes its course
Two final beats – then disappeared
Is this magnetic force.
-
The cypress perch and well-filled brook
As silent witness stay
And as they settle – calm again
The sun declares the day.
-

Great Spangled Fritillary

Bees

Great Egret

The great egret, or great white egret as it is sometimes called, is an easily recognizable bird that is found through out the world. They live in most any habitat that has a decent body of water, ponds, pools, potholes, marshes, rivers, lakes, swamps and other wetland habitats. They use their long legs to wade through shallow water in search of prey. They eat a variety of wetland creatures such as fish, invertebrates, frogs, reptiles, and small mammals, by catching them with their long spear shaped beak.

All Hallow's Eve

Halloween has sure changed over the years. When I was young Halloween was basically for the kids. Trick or treating was the big deal. On Halloween night most people had their front lights on and their doors open, waiting for the kids in their often home made ghost, princess, pirate or other costume to parade up to their door.

Today, Halloween is as much an adult holiday as it is for the kids. It is estimated that Americans spent around 5.7 billion on Halloween this year. That includes expensive store purchased costumes for the whole family, loads of sugary treats, that most often go to the person passing out the candy, and the new pad of Halloween home decorating. This house in Lake City, MN was the best example of Halloween decorating that I have seen. It included a giant spider with a web that was almost the length of the house and a grave yard complete with an old fashioned undertaker wagon piloted by a skeleton crew.