June 30, 2009
June 21, 2009
Barn Swallows Nesting on Cliffs!
For Father's Day I decided to tell about a Father's Day adventure that took place one year ago up north near Sioux Falls, SD. The weather was great and my dad and I were having a wonderful time. We visited Palisades State Park and checked out the neat Sioux Quartzite formations that rose above Split Rock Creek. 
The formations were neat and what we found nesting on them was even neater-Barn Swallows!! I saw a small nest clinging onto the cliff face and it had Barn Swallows going to and from it. It is hard enough to find Cliff Swallows nesting on cliffs not to mention Barn Swallows who were named very well. You just never seem to see them nesting away from human structures, at least not until then.
The formations were neat and what we found nesting on them was even neater-Barn Swallows!! I saw a small nest clinging onto the cliff face and it had Barn Swallows going to and from it. It is hard enough to find Cliff Swallows nesting on cliffs not to mention Barn Swallows who were named very well. You just never seem to see them nesting away from human structures, at least not until then. Later on my dad and I went to a place called Devil's Gulch (this was once a hide out for Jesse James) in Garretson, SD which had similar formations but on a smaller scale. They too had nesting swallows with Barn and Cliff Swallows nesting together! The lighting was just right when I took this photo from about 10 ft away.
and this photo.
The Cliff Swallows were nesting right nearby.
I wonder how common the Barn Swallows were back when there were no barns or homes and where they nested. I am pretty sure they used to nest here but where else and what else did they use? Has anyone seen them nesting away from barns and homes as well? This discovery still intrigues me to this day.
Comma and Skipper
I got two butterfly lifers today-Tawny edged Skipper and Eastern Comma! I ordered a butterfly net, cage, and book (Kaufman) to get started with learning about and seeing more butterflies up close. Everything has arrived except for the net so I am stuck with trapping butterflies with the fine-mesh cage by putting it over them and scaring them up into it. As you may be able to guess this didn't work too well. Keep watching for more posts to do with butterflies especially once my net comes.
June 20, 2009
Bison and Rattlesnakes
Bison and Prairie Rattlesnakes often invoke images of the western plains far out west in Nebraska and South Dakota. At Broken Kettle Grasslands Iowans can get a taste of the west and see both Bison and rattlesnake. The Loess Hills here which I talked about in a previous post have many western species of plants and animals, some of which you may have to travel a hundred miles or more west in order find them again once you leave these prairies. Broken Kettle Grasslands is well known for a number of species with Bison, Black-billed Magpies, and Prairie Rattlesnakes capture most people's attention. It is also known as the largest grassland area in the state. The Nature Conservancy had it's annual meeting at this property that it owns and I made the 45 minute drive up to the grasslands to join in the fun all day today. They had field trips that gave me the opportunity to see the Bison and Prairie Rattlesnake.
The day started out at Rattlesnake Knob (above) where Iowa's only known Prairie Rattlesnakes thrive. There are about 300 individuals there and I was lucky enough to see a few of them before the day was over. Dan Fogell, a university professor in Nebraska took a large group out to look for these reptiles. It was a bit scary to be tromping around a hill that these venomous snakes are supposedly common on. Every stick that somewhat resembled a rattlesnake and any noise that somewhat resembled a rattle seemed to turn into a rattlesnake in my mind, giving me an adrenaline rush from time to time. Thankfully Dan got us through without getting bitten, which means he has a perfect record of not having anyone being bitten by a dangerous snake under his guidance. He was worried about ruining his record today since he had such a large group.
We got to see one out on the knob thanks to the sharp eyes of one lady there. The first rattlesnake of any sort that I have ever seen in the wild is pictured below.
The rattlesnake was brought out of the net for pictures and better looks and then it was time to do research on it. Some of the snakes are implanted with a micro chip and this one is one of those snakes. All rattlesnakes that we saw were females and the one in these two photos is pregnant.
Besides the rattlesnakes I noticed this Yucca on the knob.
I also noticed my lifer Variegated Fritillary up there......
as well as my lifer Little Wood Satyr.
After that we went and listened to talks for a couple hours and had lunch which was obviously not as exciting as chasing rattlesnakes. When the talks were over some of the herpetologists (reptile and amphibian researchers) came out of the hills with another rattlesnake which I got great pictures of when they let her out of the bag.
This one looks ready to strike! They sure do make a neat noise with those rattles.
The Bison were next and so we drove to the pasture where they are kept. They locked them into a small pasture for easy viewing. When we got out of the bus the herpetologists found a Plains Leopard Frog which was a lifer for me. The frog was playing hard to catch so everyone was running around in the grass trying to find it. I was waiting to hear a loud crunching or squishing noise from the grass but luckily I didn't hear it which means no one stepped on him. The hump on his back I heard is not an injury even though it looks like something is wrong with it. It is just how they look when you hold them that way.
We saw the Bison from a distance but none of the pictures I got were that great. When we were riding in there I saw White Sage plants growing, which was another lifer for me. I also was glad to hear a Blue Grosbeak. An hour or two later four people including me drove up watch the Bison go back into the large pasture with the grassland conservationist Scott (he lives at and manages the prairie there), who is husband to a naturalist I know real well. We got to see the Bison even closer this time and I got some better photos. The male below was huge!
The heard was awesome and it was neat to watch the bison calves in with the adults. When we were at the pasture I saw my life Regal Fritillary! It was a beautiful butterfly indeed. Earlier when we looked for them we just went on a small path on a wagon hooked to a tractor but Scott took us cross country in his truck which gave us an advantage. The herd of Bison is pictured below.
The day came to an end at 6 pm and I was glad to have had such a great time and to see so many things. I got 1 reptile, 1 amphibian, 3 butterfly, and 1 plant lifers for a total of 6 new species to add to my lists. No magpies were around but I still had a great time. Broken Kettle Grasslands is an amazing place made possible by the Nature Conservancy. It is a place worth visiting and exploring at least once and the Nature Conservancy is a great place to donate!
The day started out at Rattlesnake Knob (above) where Iowa's only known Prairie Rattlesnakes thrive. There are about 300 individuals there and I was lucky enough to see a few of them before the day was over. Dan Fogell, a university professor in Nebraska took a large group out to look for these reptiles. It was a bit scary to be tromping around a hill that these venomous snakes are supposedly common on. Every stick that somewhat resembled a rattlesnake and any noise that somewhat resembled a rattle seemed to turn into a rattlesnake in my mind, giving me an adrenaline rush from time to time. Thankfully Dan got us through without getting bitten, which means he has a perfect record of not having anyone being bitten by a dangerous snake under his guidance. He was worried about ruining his record today since he had such a large group.We got to see one out on the knob thanks to the sharp eyes of one lady there. The first rattlesnake of any sort that I have ever seen in the wild is pictured below.
The rattlesnake was brought out of the net for pictures and better looks and then it was time to do research on it. Some of the snakes are implanted with a micro chip and this one is one of those snakes. All rattlesnakes that we saw were females and the one in these two photos is pregnant.
Besides the rattlesnakes I noticed this Yucca on the knob.
I also noticed my lifer Variegated Fritillary up there......
as well as my lifer Little Wood Satyr.
After that we went and listened to talks for a couple hours and had lunch which was obviously not as exciting as chasing rattlesnakes. When the talks were over some of the herpetologists (reptile and amphibian researchers) came out of the hills with another rattlesnake which I got great pictures of when they let her out of the bag.
This one looks ready to strike! They sure do make a neat noise with those rattles.
The Bison were next and so we drove to the pasture where they are kept. They locked them into a small pasture for easy viewing. When we got out of the bus the herpetologists found a Plains Leopard Frog which was a lifer for me. The frog was playing hard to catch so everyone was running around in the grass trying to find it. I was waiting to hear a loud crunching or squishing noise from the grass but luckily I didn't hear it which means no one stepped on him. The hump on his back I heard is not an injury even though it looks like something is wrong with it. It is just how they look when you hold them that way.
We saw the Bison from a distance but none of the pictures I got were that great. When we were riding in there I saw White Sage plants growing, which was another lifer for me. I also was glad to hear a Blue Grosbeak. An hour or two later four people including me drove up watch the Bison go back into the large pasture with the grassland conservationist Scott (he lives at and manages the prairie there), who is husband to a naturalist I know real well. We got to see the Bison even closer this time and I got some better photos. The male below was huge!
The heard was awesome and it was neat to watch the bison calves in with the adults. When we were at the pasture I saw my life Regal Fritillary! It was a beautiful butterfly indeed. Earlier when we looked for them we just went on a small path on a wagon hooked to a tractor but Scott took us cross country in his truck which gave us an advantage. The herd of Bison is pictured below.
June 19, 2009
Favorite Bird (post #100)
For post number 100 I decided to tell about my favorite bird, the Blue Grosbeak. One reason that I like them is that they are beautiful birds with a neat blue body and chestnut wing bars. I especially like their thick beaks, which, when seen in the right light, seem glossy. To see a better photo of a Blue Grobeak click on the link below:http://portal.delaware.gov/photos/photos/2480.jpg
I enjoy hearing them sing their unique song every spring and summer as I ride my bike down the gravel roads.
Another thing that I like so much about them is the fact that the only areas in Iowa where you regularly see them is in the west, where I live. We kind of have them all to ourselves. I love to tell all of the central and eastern Iowa birders at the ornithologist union meetings of the Blue Grosbeaks I have had in my yard.
So what's not to like about this bird?
June 18, 2009
Severe Weather Season
In the Midwest, the arrival of spring and summer means the arrival of severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes. Hail, wind, and lighting all are major threats and flash flooding is not unexpected. Although I have lived in the Midwest all my life, I have never seen a tornado. However, I have seen some funnel clouds that certainly seemed threatening. One time when I was on the computer at my house an unexpected tornado dropped just under a mile away. I didn't know it was there so I missed it when it was on the ground and I only got to see it going back into the clouds as a funnel. The severe weather has been in the area the past couple nights, and last night I took the following pictures from our deck.
This was taken at 10:40 last night. The lighting lit up the ominous clouds.
Taken at 10:49pm, this picture shows how much the lighting lights up the sky and everything else.
same with this one which was taken just minutes earlier.
and the next morning across the street, the wind damage was easy to see just across the street from my house.
June 17, 2009
Another Hike Through the Forest
Today I went hiking at the same state park I mentioned in a previous post. The only thing that changed is that it was a friend from boy scouts not my sister that was hiking with me. We are preparing for a high adventure trip through the mountains in New Mexico at a place called Philmont Scout Ranch this year. This scout ranch is the largest in the world and has a couple mountains reaching over 14,000 ft and of course some neat birds.
While hiking around the park in the humid weather we saw a number of birds including one that is fairly rare to our part of the state.
When we got to a place called Turtle Lake I heard the song of a Prothonotary Warbler! This is a pretty rare bird for our area. This past week a birdwatcher found a pair nesting about 45 minutes north from there on the IA-SD border. It is amazing that the area has has a couple sightings of this species in late June. I never did see the bird but maybe I will some other day when I'm out there. I also heard a Northern Parula which was the first one I saw at the park this year.
The valley that the lake is in has a small stream that had a few birds along it like a singing Louisiana Waterthrush and a Summer Tanager. We were able to see the tanager out in the open, which doesn't happen often.
After that we started to hike back. On the way I checked for the Cerulean Warbler that I heard a couple weeks beforehand but we could only find a Louisiana Waterthrush.
Other common forest birds that we saw or heard on the way back included Ovenbird and Scarlet Tanager but not much more.
While hiking around the park in the humid weather we saw a number of birds including one that is fairly rare to our part of the state.
When we got to a place called Turtle Lake I heard the song of a Prothonotary Warbler! This is a pretty rare bird for our area. This past week a birdwatcher found a pair nesting about 45 minutes north from there on the IA-SD border. It is amazing that the area has has a couple sightings of this species in late June. I never did see the bird but maybe I will some other day when I'm out there. I also heard a Northern Parula which was the first one I saw at the park this year.
The valley that the lake is in has a small stream that had a few birds along it like a singing Louisiana Waterthrush and a Summer Tanager. We were able to see the tanager out in the open, which doesn't happen often.
After that we started to hike back. On the way I checked for the Cerulean Warbler that I heard a couple weeks beforehand but we could only find a Louisiana Waterthrush.
Other common forest birds that we saw or heard on the way back included Ovenbird and Scarlet Tanager but not much more.
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