Brown Longtail Skipper

 Many people head out to the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas in search of rare birds that can not be seen most anywhere else in the United States. There are other things to see in south Texas that fall into the same category. The northern portion of the range of the brown longtail skipper extends up into south Texas. The range continues south Mexico, Central America and Argentina. Occasionally a rare siting of these butterflies occurs in south New Mexico, Arizona, or California.

Queen Butterfly

 

The queen butterfly is a brushfoot butterfly that is found in the southern United States and Mexico. It is part of the subfamily Danainae. The larva of the Danainae butterflies eat milkweed and it also includes the monarch. Because the milkweed is toxic both larva and butterfly become toxic which helps to keep them from getting eaten by predators. 

Baby Black Bear

Minnesota has a healthy population of black bears. The MN DNR estimates about 20,000 black bears in the state mainly in the northeastern third of the state. The mating season for black bear is from May to July however the female black bear will not immediately become pregnant after copulation. She will hold the fertilized egg until around November. If she is healthy she will become pregnant and the cubs will be born in the den while she hibernates, usually January. If she is not healthy the egg is reabsorbed and the pregnancy terminated. I guess you can say that bears are pro choice. This youngster emerged from the den with his mom. If danger is nearby the first instinct of the cubs is to climb a tree. He will stay with his mom through out the rest of the year and hibernate with her the next winter. The following May before mom comes into estrus she will chase the cub away and make it known that it is time for it to be on its own.

Least Sandpiper

 Identifying small shorebirds can be difficult.That is why a few years back I traveled to South Dakota for a few days to take a workshop on shorebird identification. The workshop was informative and we got great looks at a number of different species of shorebirds. This one is a least sandpiper. One way that you can identify a least sandpiper is by its yellow legs. Most of the similar looking sandpipers, at least in my corner of the world, have black legs. You do have to be careful though because sometimes the legs get covered up with much. I guess that is a hazard of walking around in the mud. I am still not an exert in shorebirds, in fact I may need to go back for a refresher course soon, but I did learn a lot in the workshop.

Eared Grebe

The eared grebe is the most abundant grebe in the world. They are found on all continents except for Australia and Antarctica. In Europe, Asia, and Africa they are known as the black-necked grebe. During the breeding season these birds have magnificent plumage, as in the photo above. During the winter they migrate south.and lose most of their colorful plumage, becoming mostly gray and white except for their bright red eyes.

The Sand-hill Crane by Mary Austin

 WHENEVER the days are cool and clear,

The sand-hill crane goes walking

Across the field by the flashing weir,

Slowly, solemnly stalking.

The little frogs in the tules hear,

And jump for their lives if he comes near;

The fishes scuttle away in fear

When the sand-hill crane goes walking.

The field folk know if he comes that way,

Slowly, solemnly stalking,

There is danger and death in the least delay,

When the sand-hill crane goes walking.

The chipmunks stop in the midst of play;

The gophers hide in their holes away;

And 'Hush, oh, hush!' the field-mice say,

When the sand-hill crane goes walking.

Prairie Dog

 The prairie dog is a large ground squirrel that is found on the plains of North America. Most prairie dogs are found west of the Mississippi River from Canada through the US and into Mexico. Through out this range there are five different species. Prairie dogs are social creatures. They live in large colonies that are usually referred to as prairie dog towns. These towns are usually composed of 15 to 30 families. Each family usually has a breeding male, 2 or 3 breeding females and numerous young. They live in burrows which provide them with protection from the elements and predators. You can often see several prairie dogs sitting up at borrow entrances around the town. These prairie dogs are on guard duty. If a predator is in the area the guards will let out a specific call to warn all of the others of the danger. The burrows have multiple exits allowing the prairie dogs to dodge into the burrow and then exit at a different point to escape danger.

Pine Siskin

 

Nova the Northern Saw-whet Owl

 Our newest education bird at The Raptor Center is this cute little northern saw-whet owl. As their name implies the northern saw-whet are birds that are found in the north. Their range includes southern Canada, northern U.S. and parts of the Rocky Mountains. Northern saw-whets often migrate south during the winter when food becomes scarce in their northern range. They typically eat mice, particularly deer mice, which they catch while hunting at night.  

 Nova is a female northern saw-whet owl. She was named recently in a public naming contest. The name Nova is short for Nova Scotia which is a province in which the northern saw-whet was first discovered. At that time that part of Canada was a French colony called Acadia which is why the scientific name for the Northern saw-whet is Aegolius acadicus. Nova is unable to be released back to the wild because she is blind in one eye which is pretty noticeable in the photo above.

Welcome to Tuesday Tweets! To join in the fun just post a photo of a bird and then link it by here by using the handy dandy link below. Then make sure you visit other sites to do a little bird watching.

San Miguelito Ranch

One of the new places that we visited when we went to Texas earlier this year was the San Miguelito Ranch near Raymondville, TX. The San Miguelito Ranch consists of 591 acres of land in the Rio Grande Valley. It borders the famous King Ranch, which we visited in 2010, on one side. It is in a natural migratory path for numerous species of birds but what is really special about the San Miguelito Ranch is that it is the number one site in the United States to see the ferruginous pygmy-owl. Ferruginous pygmy-owls can be found from Arizona and south Texas down through Mexico, Central America, and into South America. They are separated into several subspecies. They are cavity nesters usually nesting in cavities in trees or cactus but also nesting in man made boxes. This was one of a pair that nested near the dwelling on the range.

Bordered Patch Butterfly

 

The bordered patch is a butterfly that is usually found in the arid fields, woodlands, thorn forests of the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America and northern South America. When the adults are not feeding off nectar from a variety of flowers the males patrol hillsides looking for females.

Eggs are laid on plants that are members of the sunflower family. The caterpillars will eat the larval host plants and grow until it is time to pupate. There are usually multiple broods per year from March through October in the cooler portions of the range and year round in the warmer areas. The picture above is the chrysalis just after the new butterfly emerged.

As the sun began to set over Monta Vista National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado the clouds caught the longer red and orange light waves. The wetlands below reflected the burning sky creating a world that looked like it was a blaze.

Kathy McLane Waterlily

Kathy McLane Waterlily 

Burrowing Owl

 

While many species of owls are nocturnal (active at night) or crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn) there are a few species that are diurnal (active during the day) The burrowing owl is a diurnal owl. They are often active during the day, although they will also hunt at night. They are found in open areas with very few trees through out the western United States, Mexico, and parts of Central and South America. There is also a subspecies of burrowing owls that can be found in South Florida. 

Burrowing owls nest in burrows underground. In most cases they use holes dug by mammals such as prairie dogs. You will often find burrowing owls mixed in with prairie dog colonies. In Idaho, where these pictures were taken the burrowing owls use holes that were dug up by badgers that were looking for ground squirrels to eat. The danger with this is that badgers will also eat burrowing owls if they catch them. If a predator does enter the tunnel that leads to the burrow the chicks will make a hissing sound that sounds like a rattle snake in an attempt to deceive the predator. They will also use man made burrows, as was the case with the chicks in the second photo. These burrows were set up to allow burrowing owls to be studied. The Florida subspecies are the only burrowing owls that regularly dig their own burrows. 

Broad-winged Bush Katydid

The broad-winged bush katydid is a member of the order Orthoptera. Members of this order are winged insects with strong hind legs which help them jump. Orthoptera consists of over 21,000 known species including grasshoppers, locusts, katydids and crickets. The broad-winged katydid gets its name from its wide leaf like wings. They are usually found in the tops of trees or bushes where they feed on leaves. I found this one on the hood of my car when I returned from Hiking at Crex Meadows.