Bighorn Sheep

Just as last year, this September we found Bighorn Sheep in South Dakota’s Badlands National Park. These regal mammals are introduced to the park. Native Bighorns were extinct in the state by the early 1900s. All now are the result of repeated introductions.

These two sheep were part of a band of about a half-dozen individuals. The bands often combine to form herds. Band size depends on environmental conditions. Sexes may form separate groups and females may form nursery bands.  The sexes usually intermingle during winter. During breeding season, only one female breeds in a given band (Higgins et al. 2000).

Canada Darner

I catch a few dragonflies in my bird nets. On 9 September 2016, I was at a loss to identify this darner. The ode seemed very dark. I know that dragonflies often lose their bright colors when they are cold or dead. But the weather was balmy and the darner was alive.

I called Scott King for help. To my surprise, he called it a Canada Darner, a species I have been seeking.  I thought they sported brilliant blue spots. That turns out to be in males. Females’ spots and stripes are either dingy blue or, as in this case, dull greenish. Both sexes of Canada Darners are especially liable to become dull-colored in low temperatures and brighten when the dragonflies are active as the day warms (Paulson).

My text books left me confused. I asked Scott what the clincher is for Canada Darner identification. He replied, “the darner ID is based on the length of segment 9, the segment with the ovipositor. For Aeshna canadensis [Canada Darner] it's short....just slightly longer than segment 10; for A. constricta [Lance-tipped Darner] it's long, at least twice the length of segment 10.” I am not sure how a fellow figures that out in the field. A net, I guess.

Mountain Bluebird

14 September 2016 found us driving west to Olympia, Washington. As we often do on such trips, we took the scenic drive through South Dakota’s Badlands National Park. We saw relatively few birds, but were delighted to find this Mountain Bluebird near the park headquarters.

These birds increase when people clear forests and put out nesting boxes. On the other hand, populations decline when people convert habitat for single uses, like monocultures or urban development. Most of what we know about their breeding biology is from studying birds using boxes. Much less is known about birds using natural cavities (Power and Lombardo 1996).

Swamp Sparrow

Erika and I found a Swamp Sparrow at the Whitetail Woods Regional Park, Dakota County, on 19 June 2016. Swamp Sparrows are common in eastern North America and boreal Canada. They breed in swamps and wetlands, where they tend to be elusive. We found this bird singing from an exposed perch (“song posts”), a critical element of their breeding habitat. Males also make short, territorial flights above emergent vegetation. Otherwise both sexes forage in dense marsh vegetation.

Sedge Wren

I have written about Sedge Wrens on numerous occasions. Here is a post from a couple of years ago. The wren in these photos flew up in front of us on 13 June 2016 at Lake Byllesby Regional Park in Dakota Co. It behaved slightly differently than others I have seen. The others were aggressive, keeping their heads down and tails cocked up. The one seemed more curious about us than angry. It stretched its neck up while it checked us out.

Actually little is known about Sedge Wren biology (Herkert et al. 2001). Where and when the wrens breed tend to be unpredictable and they are hard to see in their grassy habitat. See another previous post for a discussion of Sedge Wren distribution.

Rainbow Bluet

On 24 June 2016, I walked around Carleton College’s Lyman Lakes. By accident, I discovered a pair of Rainbow Bluets, one of the more striking damselflies. I noticed them on the side of a Yellow Water-Lily. I took the photo think it would be a pretty photo of ordinary, unidentifiable bluets. I checked the photo focus out on my camera screen, I immediately knew these were a male and female Rainbow Bluet in tandem. The male clasps the back of the female’s neck to guard her from competing males.

In the first photo I noticed another species of bluet behind the lily stem. This damselfly turns out to be a Stream Bluet. Too bad its head is hidden. Male Stream Bluets have one of the terminal abdomen segments entirely blue, They have only thin, blue bands across the abdomen, which is mostly black.  Unlike similar bluets, the thorax is blue with black stripes (DuBois). Stream Bluets are one of the most common damselflies across their range.

Coral Hairstreak

This spring, I found a Coral Hairstreak in the Koester Prairie (Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area). This grassland is fairly pristine. Males perch and wait for females. Their eggs overwinter. Adults feed on a variety of flowers. Caterpillars consume Wild Cherry, plum, chokecherry and Butterfly Weed. The species is found across much of North America.

Black Saddlebags

Black Saddlebags are most often seen flying high overhead. This summer I have found two perched. The first was at Carleton College’s Lyman Lakes. The second was along the Cannon Valley Trail. The latter forayed out and repeatedly returned to a solitary, high twig. I was ready on one of its returns. Note that it has its legs down, but has not quite landed. Paulson writes that Black Saddlebags are highly migratory. They appear in the north in summer, and their young return south in the fall.

Ring-necked Pheasant

I took this Ring-necked Pheasant photo on 29 April 2016. I was in Rice County, near a game-bird farm. This species often escapes captivity. To survive, pheasants need dense winter cover and diverse farming practices. Agriculture with large monocultures and clean farming practices do not tend to support pheasants. Early mowing takes out many pheasant nests (Giudice and Ratti 2001).

Cobra Clubtail

Cobra Clubtails are identified by their broad, black-topped tail tips. The second to last yellow spots at the end of their abdomens is smaller than the last one. Finally, the dorsal side of their addoments have small, yellow spots, making the tails look relatively dark. 

Each of the five years that I have been paying attention to dragonflies has been different. Until this year, I rarely found Cobra Clubtails. This year they seemed to be everywhere, even in Erika’s garden. This abundance seems a bit odd to me. My reference guides all report that Cobra Clubtails are usually seen near rapid streams. Such habitat is in short supply here in Rice County.