According to the Wisconsin Odonata Survey, about two dozen bluet species occur in the upper midwest. All look similar and can only be identified with a hand lens. The Hagen's Bluet is common across the northern United States and southern Canada. Its preferred habitat includes ponds and marshes. Last June I found this stunning damselfly in the grasses along the shore of the small pond on the southern edge of Carleton College's lower arboretum. According to Scott King, this damselfly "can't be identified for sure, but if you labeled it a Hagen's Bluet, I can't imagine any objections."
On 8-9 October 2011, we enjoyed a busy banding weekend in Northfield. In all we ringed 69 individuals, comprising 20 species. Our totals were: American Goldfinch 2, American Robin 13, Black-capped Chickadee 7, Blue-headed Vireo 2, Brown Creeper 1, Dark-eyed Junco 2, Downy Woodpecker 3, Fox Sparrow 1, Golden-crowned Kinglet 1, Hermit Thrush 1, Nashville Warbler 1, Orange-crowned Warbler 2, Red-bellied Woodpecker 1, Red-eyed Vireo 1, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3, Swainson's Thrush 2, Tennessee Warbler 3, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, White-throated Sparrow 3, Yellow-rumped Warbler 18. Prior to the weekend, we encountered relatively few migrants. The photograph of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet is left over from this spring's banding.
Erika called, "Check out the two-foot wide, brain-like fungus under this maple!" With a bit of research, I identified it as a Hen of the Woods. Folks who are foolish enough to eat wild mushrooms prize this species, which takes long, slow cooking according to the Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field-to-kitchen Guide. But never, ever take my word as gospel as far as fungus identification goes! Eating wild mushrooms can be fatal! The Hen of the Woods is primarily an eastern fungus, but is found across the country. Look for this species on the ground near tree bases. Despite our finding it near a maple, the fungus prefers oaks. The name refers to its reputedly tasting like chicken. I ate Hen of the Woods at a Minneapolis restaurant but found it tasted slightly moldy. Other sources say Hen of the Woods gets the name by looking like a crouching grouse.
On 5 October 2011, while birding near Northfield, I discovered a Bald Eagle perched on a muskrat den. After a few minutes, a flock of American Crows flushed the eagle, which appeared to be carrying either a prey item or perhaps a stick from the den. As I took these photographs, I did not notice the snow-like covering of duck down across the muskrat den.
With a bit of Photoshop work (see below), I discovered the eagle carried an eviscerated Mallard carcass. Bald Eagles are opportunistic foragers, generally preferring fish. When possible, this eagle scavenges or steals prey from other species. It captures its own prey only as a last resort (Buehler 2000).
The Dot-tailed Whiteface is one of the first dragonflies to emerge in the spring. I photographed this female in Dakota County this June. Young are more colorful than adults, which become quite dark. Dot-tailed Whitefaces like lake country, though they are often found basking in the sun away from their breeding areas. Males defend small, non-static territories. Mated pairs often fly in tandem in search of breeding areas (Montana Field Guides). The day I observed them, the air was full of flying whitefaces.
A former subpermittee banded a Mourning Dove in Ipswich, South Dakota, on 13 May 2006. Slightly over 5 years later, on 23 September 2011, this bird was shot 15 miles south of Tilden, Texas. This location is about half-way between San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
The oldest Mourning Dove banding recovery on record is 31 years, 4 months (Bird Banding Laboratory). An interesting recovery reported in Birds of South Dakota was a bird banded on 1 July 1968 and recovered in El Salvador on 20 October 1968. Another was banded on 18 August 1975 and recovered in Nicaragua on 27 October 1975. Birds banded in South Dakota have also been recovered in Maryland and California.
This Mourning Dove photo was taken several years ago at South Dakota's Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
The Common Baskettail is found in eastern North America. They are often seen patrolling ponds and lakes, as is in the photograph above taken in June 2011 in the Carleton College Arboretum (the lower photo is from Erika's garden in 2010). Baskettail identification tends to be tricky, so I am indebted to Scott King for his help with these photographs. According to (Mead 2003), the dark patches on the bases of the hind wings of the individual below cinches its identification.
In March 2010, I blogged about aging and sexing Dark-eyed Juncos. Eye color is one key to age. Birds with reddish-brown eyes are adults. Those with grayish-brown eyes are in their first year. This junco, the first of this fall (30 September 2011), is an hatching-year bird. In the photo below, note the grayish-brown eye. Telling junco sex is much more difficult. Check out McGill Bird Observatory's photographic key. I have always relied on wing measurements, with birds with wing chords over 77 mm being male, and those under 73 mm, female. This individual measured 78 mm--thus a male.
On 18 July 2011, I found this female Cherry-faced Meadowhawk perched on the edge of a low pile of dead brush near Northfield. Note the orange wing veins. Males are red and difficult to identify in the field. This dragonfly is cold tolerant and found from Alaska and far northern Canada into the United States to California, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. The Cherry-faced Meadowhawk feeds on almost any soft-bodied flying insect (Idaho Digital Atlas, Montana Field Guide).
Deer and White-footed mice are often difficult to identify. This mouse's being young does not help. Note the tail, which is shorter than the body length and white below. The gray back (instead of reddish-brown) also suggests Deer Mouse. Erika and I stumbled upon this individual in a woodland at the edge of the Big Woods State Park. This mouse may have been ill. It did not try to flee, but swayed back and forth in the undergrowth. Such behavior should result in this youngster's becoming dinner for an owl or other predator. If such predation did not exist, the planet would quickly become overrun by mice.
