Saffron-winged Meadowhawk

Over the past two years, I sent my Odonata expert Scott King numerous photos, always asking, "Is this a Saffron-winged Meadowhawk?" Scott invariably replied, "No" and explained why my photo was not a Saffron-wing.  If nothing else, I slowly assembled a search image for this dragonfly. Also, when Scott discovered a substantial emergence of this odonate, he e-mailed me the location at the Lake Byllesby Regional Park in nearby Dakota County (30 July 2012).

Despite a tremendous emergence of Band-tailed Meadowhawks (1000s), I photographed this pair of Saffron-winged Meadowhawks precisely to where Scott directed me.  Band and Saffron-winged Meadowhawks are really quite different. Saffrons (male above, female below) lack the wing bands of the Band-taied Meadowhawks. A good identifying mark is the gold leading edges to the wings, although this mark become less evident in older individuals and is somewhat dependent on the angle of the sun.

This species is widespread and usually fairly common across southern Canada south to the northern and central United States. They favor open wetlands where they usually remain fairly low in vegetation or flying low over water (Paulson).

Racoon

Erika took this photo at the the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on 26 July 2012. Raccoons are usually nocturnal. When seen in the day, they are often sick. This young Raccoon, however, appeared to be in good health.

Raccoons can be pests. They are fond of corn, though they also eat "crayfish, frogs, insects, fruits, and bird eggs" (Minnesota DNR). They can be especially destructive to loon and duck nests. Add earthworms to that list--look closely--this individual rather dexterously fished worms from the roadside leaf litter. In Northfield, Raccoons live in the storm sewers and often damage local bird feeders. I have also seen them high in trees during the daytime. They partially hibernate during the winter and often form communal dens (once under our porch). Raccoons can be found across all of Minnesota except in the far northeast. Each year hunters harvest up to 150,000 Raccoons, while trappers take an additional 100,000 (MN DNR).

Marbled Godwit

As a birder from South Dakota, I tend to think of Marbled Godwits as inhabitanst of northern Great Plains prairies. These godwits winter, however, along the coasts of the United States (southern California and the southeast), the Mexico and Central America. Marbled Godwits are monogamous and nest in low densities. They are threatened by conversion of prairie to farmland, but numbers have increased since hunting them became illegal (Gratto-Treor 2000). The godwits in the first photo foraged along the beach north of La Jolla, California, in March 2012; the godwit in the second photo was taken several years ago near Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Whimbrel

At the end of March, Erika and I began a relatively slow drive up the Pacific Coast from California to Washington State. Clearly our granddaughter's hatching was not eminent so we had to cool our heels. Just north of La Jolla, we enjoyed exploring the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.

When I took this photo of Whimbrels along the beach, I was aware the bird in the background was clearly larger than the first one. Did I have a vagrant, Old World species? After considerable study, I decided that these are both North American Whimbrels. Females are usually significantly larger than males (Skeel and Mallory 1996).

Whimbrels breed in the world's arctic areas. In the New World, they winter from the coasts of the United States and all the way along the coasts of South America. Although some Whimbels fly overland (and are seen in the upper midwest), others make phenomenal, non-stop, ocean flights of up to 4000 km (from New England to South America). In the winter and during migration, coastal Whimbrels use their long-decurved bills to extract fiddler crabs from crab burrows in the sand  (Skeel and Mallory 1996).

California Ground Squirrel

California Ground Squirrels are common in most west-coast states of the United States and Baja California. Recently they have expanded into Washington and Nevada. Where no snow falls, these ground squirrels are active all year. In colder regions, they hibernate for several months. During hot summers, they may estivate. They become tame in parks, such as this squirrel in La Jolla, California, and learn to take food from picnickers. They are not universally loved, as they feed on ornamental plants and trees and their burrows cause damage to lawns and gardens. These burrows are often communal, although each squirrel has its own entrance (Wikipedia).

Rattlesnakes prey on California Ground Squirrels. Many adult squirrels have some degree of immunity to rattlesnake venom. Squirrels will often provoke rattlesnakes to rattle their tails, allowing the mammals to assess the size and temperament of the snakes. Others will rise their own body temperatures and wag their tails. This behavior may give the snake the impression that they are dealing with a larger mammal than a squirrel (Wikipedia).

Brown Pelican

Erika and I took this photograph in La Jolla, California in March 2012. Among the pelicans, only the Brown makes these dramatic, head-first dives. Upon hitting the sea, their expandable throat pouches fill with water and small fish. Brown Pelicans are the world's only mostly dark pelican (the others being mostly white) (unless you count the Peruvian Pelican and Galapagos pelicans as distinct species). They are also the most marine Pelican, although they wander inland, north to southern British Columbia, New England, and even the northern Great Plains (Shields 2002). I previously posted on this species 28 April 2011.

Bronze Copper

I found this Bronze copper on 21 July 2012 as I trudged along the edge of the big pond in the St. Olaf College Natural Area. This habitat is perfect--the butterfly prefers wet areas near water. The species is found in much of central and northeastern North America. Kaufman reports that it is local but sometimes common in this habitat. The photograph is of a male. Females have more striking dots on their upper wings. The keys to identification of the Bronze Copper include the bottom side of its wings--orange on the upper wing, silver on the lower.

Powdered Dancer

On Friday, 20 July 2012, Erika and I discovered the Spring Lake Park Reserve in northern Dakota County. This park, called the "hidden jewel" of the Upper Mississippi (Watson), looks over bluffs along the river. On a large rock in a forested area, we photographed a Powdered Dancer. Although records exist from surrounding counties, our record is a first for Dakota County (Odonata Central)!

The "heavily pruinose male [looks] like nothing else" (Paulson). (Pruinosity is the tendency for many odonates to develop a whitish or blue-grayish, waxy, powder-like color on their bodies--mostly on males, but sometimes also on females.) This species, the largest Pond Damsel of the region, is usually found closer to water than the one we found. Mating pairs sometimes lay eggs while under water for over an hour (Dubois).

Fox Squirrel

My impression, completely unsupported by any scientific data, is that Fox Squirrels are less common than Gray Squirrels in Rice County. When I do see Fox Squirrels, they tend to be in the countryside and they tend to be wary (perhaps due to 160,000 taken annually by Minnesota hunters (MN-DNR)). On the other hand, when I lived in South Dakota, I only saw Fox Squirrels. I even offered an A to any Vertebrate Zoology student who could show me a Gray Squirrel in South Dakota. Nobody collected my bounty (and the offer is no longer valid).

Although they do not inhabit the far northeast, Fox Squirrels are found in most of Minnesota; they are most common in the western half of the state.  Fox Squirrels are found in woodlands, parks, and residential areas. I have seen Fox Squirrels in Loring Park in Minneapolis. These rodents eat tree nuts, corn, maple seeds, pine seeds, acorns, and even garbage (MN-DNR). Erika and I found this quite tame Fox Squirrel in the Spring Lake Park Preserve in northern Dakota County in July 2012.

Heermann's Gull

Heermann's Gulls are atypical gulls--all dark, like in the immature above, or only white-headed, as in the adult below. Both photos where taken in California, the immature bird at La Jolla in March 2012, the adult at Morro Bay in June several years ago. Heermann's Gulls breed off both coasts of Baja California. Non-breeders are regularly found north to San Francisco, with many records north to Vancouver Island. Over 90% of the total population breed on one island, Isla Raza, in the Gulf of California. After breeding from March through July, they move north, joining non-breeders in southern California at the end of May. This "reverse" migration culminates in British Columbia during July and August. Non-breeders may not leave the United States, but breeding birds head south during the fall and winter. With protection from the Mexican government, Heermann's Gull populations are on the rise--perhaps 10-fold since 1975--and now the species tries to breed in California and is occasionally seen further from its normal range (Islam 2002).