Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Emiquon's Northern Prairie

The prairie on the north side of Thompson Lake has not been restored like the prairie on the west side of the highway. It is a bit ragged, but interesting, with huge areas of Goldenrod juxtaposed against large areas of Foxtail grass. The plant communities change as the land becomes higher and drier or lower and wetter. At one time there would have been a bottom land forest covering the area. TNC has planted a lot of trees on the higher ground, but hasn't done much but some mowing on the land closer to the lake.

TNC property begins with the prairie. The farmland next to it is privately owned.
BetweenCornAndPrairieEmiquonNorthLevee09142010JGWard_MG_3473

As I look across the prairie from the levee, I can see the farmhouse on Clark Road and the trees along the bluff on the west side of the road. In between is a huge expanse of prairie undergoing plant succession, the continuous and fairly predictable change of plant species and communities over time. It is interesting to compare this area with the manipulated prairie west of the highway.
ClarkFarmEmiquonNorthLevee09142010JGWard_MG_3487

From the levee, I can see the prairie as it grows up the bluff and one of the TNC outbuildings on the west side of the highway, four or five miles a way. What a wonderful unobstructed view! On this day in September, the humidity was very low, providing an excellent view.
EmiquonPrairieNorthLevee09142010JGWard_MG_3516

Butterflies and grasshoppers were still abundant in September.
GrasshopperEmiquonNorthLevee09142010JGWard_MG_3845

Common Buckeye Butterfly:
CommonBuckeyeButterflyEmiquonNorthLevee09142010JGWard_MG_3913

Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly:
EasternTailed-blueButterflyEmiquonNorthLevee09142010JGWard_MG_4041

Black Swallowtail Butterfly:
BlackSwallowtailButterflyEmiquonNorthLevee09142010JGWard_MG_4026

These are just a few of the many things one can see at Emiquon's northern prairie.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Monarch Migration

Monarchs were migrating through the Emiquon Valley in mid-September.
MonarchMigrationEmiquonClarkRoadPathway09122010JGW_MG_3111

MonarchMigrationEmiquonClarkRoadPathway09122010JGW_MG_3108

MonarchMigrationEmiquonClarkRoadPathway09122010JGW_MG_3093

MonarchMigrationEmiquonClarkRoadPathway09122010JGW_MG_3088

MonarchMigrationEmiquonClarkRoadPathway09122010JGW_MG_3084

Dragonfly Migration

In mid-September, the dragonflies, mostly Green Darners, came through the Illinois River Valley in force. Everywhere I looked there were dragonflies all along the bluff. They moved like a river down the bluffs to the valley. I have never seen so many dragonflies in my life. It was impossible to capture the phenomenon, but I tried!
DragonflyMigrationLA09122010JGWard_MG_3416

DragonflyMigrationLA09122010JGWard_MG_3415

DragonflyMigrationLittleAmerica09132010JGW_MG_3370

DragonflyMigrationLA09122010JGWard_MG_3388

DragonflyMigrationLA09122010JGWard_MG_3391