Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Prairie Road in Bloom

In June, the prairie starts showing the colors of the summer flowers and is filled with butterflies and dragonflies.

A Monarch Butterfly feeding on a Common Milkweed bloom.
MonarchButterflyMilkweedEmiquonPrairieRd06092010JGW_MG_2575

Showy Tick Trefoil in bloom.
ShowyTickTrefoilEmiquonPrairieRoad06092010JGWard_MG_2605

A Great Spangled Fritillary preferred the milkweed blossoms.
GreatSpangledFritillaryEmiquon06092010JGW_MG_2637

Cup Plants, Coneflowers, Spiderwort, Butterfly Milkweed, Deptford Pinks and Black-eyed Susans were starting to bloom.
CupPlantEmiquonPrairieRd06092010JGW_MG_2660

CupPlantEmiquonPrairieRd06092010JGW_MG_2677

CupPlantEmiquonPrairieRd06092010JGW_MG_2709

ConeflowerLeafhopperEmiquonPrairieRd06092010JGW_MG_2663

SpiderwortEmiquonPrairieRd06092010JGW_MG_2674

Asclepias_tuberosaButterflyMilkweedEmiquonPrairieRoad06092010JGW_MG_2707

DeptfordPinkEmiquonPrairieRd06092010JGWIMG_2807

Black-eyedSusanWeevilEmiquonPrairieRd06092010JGWardIMG_2811

A Painted Lady Butterfly seemed to prefer the Cup Plant flowers.
PaintedLadyEmiquonPrairieRd06092010JGW_MG_2759

Monday, June 07, 2010

June is a Lovely Month at Emiquon

I've had several nice outings to check out the many places and things to see at Emiquon this month. Here are some photos taken early in June along Clark Road.

Dragonflies and Butterflies are plentiful around the lake and in the prairie. One of my favorite places for these elegant creatures is along Clark Road. Blue Dasher Dragonflies are plentiful, flying all around, but also pausing briefly from time to time, usually from the same stick or grass seed spike.
BlueDasherFeDragonflyEmiquonClarkRd05312010JGWard_MG_1298

BlueDasherMaDragonflyEmiquonClarkRoad05312010JGWard_MG_1299

BlueDasherMDragonfly05312010EmiquonClarkRoadJGWard_MG_1306

I found many Banded Hairstreak Butterflies in the leaves of the bushes along the mowed path.
BandedHairstreakButterflyEmiquonClardRoad05312010JGWard_MG_1315

BandedHairstreakButterflyEmiquonClardRoad05312010JGWard_MG_1316

BandedHairstreakButterflyEmiquonClardRoad05312010JGWard_MG_1318

BandedHairstreakButterflyEmiquonClardRoad05312010JGWard_MG_1319

With every step I stirred up dozens of tiny damselflies. These two were copulating in the wheel position.
DamselflyWheelEmiquonClarkRoad05312010JGWard_MG_1358

Here is an explanation of the mating position from Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.:

Wild Parsnips make a great place for all kinds of insects to hang out.
WildParsnipPastinaca_sativaEmiquonClarkRoad05312010JGWard_MG_1363

A Black-necked Stilt surprised us when it called out and then circled around us. Shortly after that, Scott found a nest with 4 eggs. The stilt must have been protecting the nest when we startled it. We left quickly without disturbing anything.
Black-neckedStiltCropClarkRoad06032010JGWard_MG_1916

Black-NeckedStiltEmiquonClarkRoad06032010JGWard_MG_1917

BlackneckedStiltEggs06032010JGWard_MG_1962

Black-neckedStiltEggsEmiquonClarkRoad06032010JGWard_MG_1963

When I checked back the next week, the nest was intact but the eggs were gone, without a trace. Birds of North America Online says shells are removed by parents immediately after hatching, and often sunk in nearby water. I hope that is what happened, that the stilts hatched and the parents removed any traces of the shell. The nest looked undisturbed.
Black-neckedStiltNestEmptyEmiquonClarkRd06082010JGWard_MG_2522

The nest was near a series of ponds making up a wetland habitat where a fence row once stood.
EmiquonClarkRoadWetland06032010JGWard_MG_1981

EmiquonClarkRoadWetland06032010JGWard_MG_1980

I looked up and saw a beaver swimming toward me. He saw me and disappeared with a slap of the tail.
BeaverEmiquonClarkRoad06042010JGWard_MG_2171

A Yellow Warbler entertained me with his song while hiding in the trees. He finally came out for a brief look at me before disappearing behind the leaves of the Cottonwood tree.
YellowWarblerEmiquonClarkRoad06032010JGWard_MG_1991

On the way back to the car, a Halloween Pennant Dragonfly stopped to display his luminescent wings.
HalloweenPenantFeEmiquonClarkRd0608201006082010JGW_MG_2551