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.
I found many Banded Hairstreak Butterflies in the leaves of the bushes along the mowed path.
With every step I stirred up dozens of tiny damselflies. These two were copulating in the wheel position.
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.
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.
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.
The nest was near a series of ponds making up a wetland habitat where a fence row once stood.
I looked up and saw a beaver swimming toward me. He saw me and disappeared with a slap of the tail.
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.
On the way back to the car, a Halloween Pennant Dragonfly stopped to display his luminescent wings.
