The Rural Path

Missed One - In Flight Fight

2012-02-11T20:29:00.000-06:00

I was going back through my eagle shots and must have skipped over this. These two eagles were fighting over a fish, and neither of them ended up with it. It dropped to the ground where a photographer picked it up and threw it back in the water to wait for another eagle to grab it. It's not the sharpest photo on the block, but has good action!

Eagle Shots of the Day

2012-02-11T17:52:00.000-06:00

The eagles were very active today. I brought home a couple of keepers, but messed up most because I adjusted my EV button the wrong way:( I made them way too dark, but the shots below were salvageable.

This Morning's Offerings

2012-02-11T10:40:00.000-06:00

Below are just some photos that I got this morning. I'm heading to LaClaire again this afternoon to see if I can't get any better eagle shots. Enjoy.

Raccoon Tracks

Red Fox

In all honesty, the fox above is sick, which was why I was able to get this close. When it looked up at me, it's eyes are glazed over, and he struggled to keep his head up. These are the things I hate to see in nature, but it is certainly a part of it.

Frosty Crystals

White Breasted Nuthatch

That Time of Year - Eagles

2012-01-29T18:45:00.000-06:00

I don't see many eagles throughout the year, but I get excited when the bald eagles hit the dams during the winter. I spent the day at the dam in LaClaire, IA, and met some fine folks while I was there. There were only about 8 or 9 eagles, but they sure put on a good show. They kept everyone busy:)

A Better Recipe-Baited Track Plates

2012-01-25T19:31:00.002-06:00

Looking back to my Summer Learning Adventures course that I did this past year (post found here), I wanted to find a better recipe for baited track plates. Well, I finally found one on the web at this location. The recipe was quite different from what I had tried, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Before, I used a mixture of 91% isopropyl alcohol blended with blue carpenter's chalk. A paste was made and spread onto cardboard pieces. In the middle was a piece of contact paper to catch the tracks.

This time I mixed 120mL of 91% isopropyl alcohol, 4mL of mineral oil, and 28mL of powdered graphite. This makes more of a liquid, rather than a thick paste. This is approximately half of the recipe from the website. I only needed enough to setup two track plates.

The pieces of cardboard were clipped onto a clipboard. The mixture was applied thickly over the cardboard with a painter's sponge. If you push too hard, the graphite separates and doesn't cover well. I put on two application per piece.

I used the same housing setup as before: Two pieces of vinyl rain guttering were used to create a waterproof enclosure. Camo duct tape is used to try to keep unwanted visitors (i.e. humans) away. A cardboard piece with contact paper is in the middle, sandwiched by the two coated pieces. Peanut butter was used for bait, which was spread on the sides above the middle of the contact paper.

To test the plate set, I just put it outside of my house by my wood pile. It is also right next to a bird feeder, which you can see all of the birdseed scattered on the ground. I thought this would be a perfect place to pick up some rodent tracks if there were any around. My wife was not too keen on finding out if we had any rodents around outside:))

There were no tracks after the first night, but today I came home at lunch and had some solid dark tracks going across the contact paper. These are from a gray squirrel. I had to smile imagining this squirrel squeezing into the tube that had been blocked by firewood pieces. Apparently he found the peanut butter quite appealing.

This mixture was quite superior to the paste mix before, although it does seem a bit thick to pick up small details of foot pads. I'll try and tweak the mixture to thin it out a bit next time. Anyway, I can't wait to put some of my track plates out in the timber to get some smaller mammal tracks and see how it does.

Gulls Really Are Kind of Cool

2012-01-15T20:54:00.000-06:00

The morning started out pretty good. I drove my usual loop around canal country seeing what I could find. I spotted these beauties below along with two other smaller bucks that are standing outside of the picture. I also spotted the peregrine falcon again, but no picture today. I'm just glad it is still hanging around, as it gives me something to look forward to.

As I drove along, I spotted a bald eagle flying high above. It was windy, so he was riding the airfoils so gracefully. It made me think that maybe the eagles were out at the dam by LaClaire, IA, so off I headed to the new destination.

When I got there, there were 3 other gentlemen there in search of the same thing as me. All three of these guys were outfitted with really nice 500mm lenses on pro-bodied cameras, so I was quite out gunned:) However, they were really nice fellas. In fact, two of them were from New York and had traveled all this way just to photograph the eagles. Unfortunately for them, the eagles are not flocking to the dams yet since the winter has been so mild. Little ice is on the river, and the fields have just been recently covered by snow, so they really don't have much reason to head for the dams yet. We did spot a couple flying high, although my little 300mm lens couldn't quite reach that distance all too well.

Other than a couple of high flying eagles, the only things to photograph were a lonely river coot and the gulls. Normally, I don't pay much attention to the gulls, but they were diving for small fish and flying by quite close, so I though I had better get some photos since I drove all this way.

Although gulls are often seen as the carp of the bird world, they really are quite beautiful. It is interesting how different each individual really looks when you get some closeup shots. I'm really happy they were there, or this little road trip would have been a complete bust.

Tomorrow I'll be off on another eagle search, so hopefully I'll have some nice shots to show.

Early Morning Hike

2012-01-07T19:44:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to get up on the weekends before the sun rises to get that early morning light. As much as I hate getting up that early on my days off, it is certainly worth it. It just adds lots of elements to my photographs that I don't get after 9:00. Below are some photos from my early morning, sleepy, crawl.

Another disappointing miss:))

This Week's Best Failures

2012-01-03T20:03:00.001-06:00

The word failure has such a negative connotation, but in the cases below, I don't view it as negative. I often snap photos of things knowing that the photo won't come out well. Mostly, I do this for identification purposes because I can crop the photos just to see what things are. Two of these are very surprising finds.

I've been sticking to the area where I spotted the otter in hopes that I can get another glimpse of it, although male otters are known to have ranges of up to 50 miles. It might be awhile before I see it again, but I still keep going back with hope. On my way to the area, I spotted a raptor waaaay up in the sky circling and gliding. I snapped the photo and cropped it......a lot! You'll need to click on the photo to see any detail. I was expecting it to be a red tailed hawk, or an immature eagle, but to my surprise it was a peregrine falcon! I've never seen one of these, and after reading, they are endangered, but on the rebound. Wow!

On another day, driving out to the same area, I spotted another raptor fighting the wind in sporadic flight. Again, I snapped a few photos, cropped them....a lot, and surprise #2! This was a Northern harrier, another raptor that I have never seen before! Endangered in Illinois, harriers will pass through during migration. The white patch at the base of the tail feathers is the identification mark.

Today, while hiking yet again the same spot, I kicked up the coyote below. When he first noticed me, he was not more than 20 yards from me. He trotted away along the canal bank, but it was a slow trot. I followed him for another 100 yards or so and he finally crossed the path a ways away from me. Of course that darn stick runs right across his eye, and he was too far away to make a decent photo, but I'm happy to have seen him. The odd thing was that he didn't bolt away as most coyotes do when I come across them . He didn't seem in too much or a hurry to get away from me.

I think I'm going to have to stick to this spot for awhile. I've seen a mink, an otter, two endangered raptors, a coyote and several muskrats all within a one mile stretch! Three of those are species that I have never seen before! It's been a good week!

I took the photos below this week too. I don't consider them failures, and I liked them, so just thought I'd share. The moon was out really early today. I could see it on the horizon around 12:30 in the afternoon.

I also spotted this nice hornet nest hanging across the canal channel. I've always been fascinated by these, and have tried to keep a couple of these, but they always end up raveling and falling apart. I'll just stick with admiring them in their natural setting.

Pity Parties Are A Waste of Time!

2011-12-28T16:58:00.000-06:00

Well, I have to admit that I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself. I have been out countless hours with my camera, and I simply have not gotten much. It seems that in the past I have had more to post with more frequency. These days, I have been lucky to even find a squirrel!

This simply changed today, and I was, once again, reminded that persistence pays off! I was out this morning on a section of the canal, where I spotted a mink on the ice right in front of me. I didn't get the shot, and was brooding for quite some time. This must be grumpy old man syndrome (GOMS). So I thought I'd go home for lunch, and then come back out, set up the tripod on the opposite bank, and wait to see if he came back.

I did just that. I came back out and started down the path, and I kept hearing ice break, followed by swirling water sounds. I couldn't spot it at all, so I went further down the path, snuck up in the trees along the bank, and saw something swirling around in the water. I took some shots, although they were quite distant. Looking at the in the view finder, I zoomed in and about crapped my pants! It looked like a river otter! I've been tromping this canal for 31 years, and have never, ever seen a river otter! I almost didn't believe it myself. I crept down the path as slowly and quietly as I could, but by the time I had gotten there, it was gone.

GOMS set in again while thinking that nobody would believe me without a decent picture, but I shook it off, found a nice spot to set up the tripod, even pruned the saplings around me, and I finally got settled. No more than 5 minutes after getting settled, there was a huge splash in a brush pile right next to me. It startled me quite a bit, but I got ready. Three seconds later, this otter crashed its head right through the thin ice and looked directly at me!

I could hear it breathing heavily. It must have popped up in that brush pile only to see this ugly, hideous creature sitting on the bank:) The otter just tread there staring directly into the lens. I got six or seven shots off before he slowly retreated into the water and disappeared.

Well, as you can tell by my extensive rambling, that I am pretty excited about this find. As I said, I have never seen an otter on the canal, but honestly, I have never seen an otter in the wild period! I'm really hoping that there are breeding pairs on the canal, as it would be fantastic to see these amazing creatures more often! I bet you know where I'm going to be tomorrow:)

First Tripod Mammal!

2011-12-11T16:46:00.001-06:00

I finally got out today with my new Induro CT314 tripod and head that I mentioned in the Moon post. I've always stayed away from tripods simply because I didn't want to deal with them. However, I've been reading a lot lately about using one and an obvious benefit is getting sharper photos. This interested me, but not as much as the tripod's ability to help me get sharper photos out of low-light situations. I often go out on cloudy days, and the winter gloom definitely affects a lot of my photos. I just simply have to dive in and learn.

Not long after leaving my truck, I spotted a muskrat sitting on the ice around an exit hole. I had the tripod strapped to my back, so I just stalked him, got in pretty close, and click........he dove straight down right before I released the shutter:( Needless to say, I was not happy.

With the though that he might come back, I set the tripod up, sat, and waited...and waited....and waited. I forgot my seat cushion, so my butt was freezing and wet, but I soon noticed a stir in the water. Sure enough, he popped up in the horseshoe shaped hole and swam back and forth trying to figure out just what I was, or what I was doing.

He finally settled down, I think more out of curiosity. The muskrat just sat there staring at me enabling me to take several photos at varying zoom levels.

I love how he just sat there with claws on ice. If you enlarge the photo below, you can really see how sharp those claws really are!

I've always found muskrats pretty interesting, yet so many detest them. Muskrats can have up to four litters a year with up to seven young in each litter! It's amazing that I don't see more of the young each year if this is in fact true.

Moon

2011-12-09T19:58:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time! I haven't had much time to get outside these days. The worst part is that it is already getting to be dark when I get home from work, so if I want to get any good photos, I'll have to go out on the weekends.....or go outside at night.

I recently got a new tripod that I am very happy with. It is an Induro CT314, and this thing is a beast! It doesn't move at all. I got the Induro BHD3 ball head with it. Basically, I am over-bulked, but am anticipating a 500mm lens in the near future, so will be well worth it. Tonight was a clear, beautiful night, with a very full moon, so I finally had a chance to use it. I've never taken moon photos before, but was happy with my first set.

I have an interest in astronomy and iPhones, so now I can use my Moon Map app to identify features in my own moon photos. I'm such a geek:))

Good Morning Sunshine!

2011-11-05T12:15:00.000-05:00

I woke up early this morning, so I decided to try my luck with the early sun rising. The frost had nipped the grass last night, and everything was damp. It was a very quiet, serene hike. I saw a fur ball sticking out of a hollow tree, so I started making some squeaking noises:) This raccoon stretched an poked its head out.

After it shifted around, saw me, and retracted back inside, I realized that there were at least two of them bundled up in that cozy little hole.

Cute little bugger!

What I've Been Missing

2011-10-30T21:54:00.000-05:00

What have I been missing? Just bumming around without worrying about camera equipment or finding the right shot. It was terribly windy and rainy today, so it was a perfect time to get the rain gear on and go for a hike. I love hiking in this kind of weather because nobody else does, so I have whatever area I am hiking all to myself. It was so relaxing to just wander around for a few hours and not worry about anything. Just looking and absorbing is what I have been missing.

I didn't see much in the way of animals (a red tailed hawk), but I got to do some animal track identification, look in nooks and crannies of hollow trees, tear up dead fallen trees, and walk around in the mud! I absolutely loved it!

Below is an unusually large polypore shelf fungus that has been chewed up by insects. It was huge! The knife in the pic is just shy of 9 inches overall to give you a reference.

The highlight of the day was the scat below. It is from a red fox, which really isn't all that special, but it is to me. A couple of years ago, I photographed and filmed a pair of red foxes with their litter of four pups. As they got bigger, I kept finding them dead on the roadside:( I haven't seen a fox or any sign in this timber for more than a year, and thought they had moved out all together, but this gives me hope that I will see one soon. The scat was pretty fresh, so it may have been eyeballing me as I crept through the timber. I sure hope so.

Blackbird Migration

2011-10-29T16:03:00.004-05:00

I'm really surprised I didn't get pooped on today! THOUSANDS of blackbirds were flying over where I was hiking, all in a long train of birds. Pretty cool.

Backyard Birding

2011-10-17T17:25:00.001-05:00

When we fill up our bird feeders, it doesn't take long for the sparrows to move in and devour everything in sight. They come in hordes and don't leave until everything is gone. Since we don't get a wide variety of birds, I've learned to appreciate the drab beauty of the sparrows. There are many varieties of them, and I don't have the slightest idea of one species to another. This is probably something I should learn since this is pretty much all we get. Here are a couple of shots I took today on this overcast day.

Another One!

2011-10-16T16:04:00.001-05:00

I found this little darling sunning itself on the canal path today. It didn't really seem bothered by me picking it up either. I never get sick of garter snakes!

Tiniest One Yet!

2011-10-15T19:15:00.001-05:00

My son and I have been making some last minute herp trips before they all disappear as colder weather moves in. We been sticking to a creek bed with lots of flat rocks along the banks. Lately, we have been finding leopard frogs, crayfish, and green frogs, but not any snakes.....until today.

I found the smallest snake I've ever seen today. At first I thought it was a worm! This is a very young DeKay's brown snakes. I've only found one other juvenile in my lifetime, so this was a great find!

Hopefully we will find a couple more snakes before the season is over. I'm still holding onto some hope that I can find an adults fox snake soon.

One other thing is that the iPhone 4 camera is pretty stellar. I have taken these pictures and the photo of the fox snake in the last post with the iPhone and it really is nice to have around when I can't lug around my good camera. The pictures aren't amazing, but the detail is good enough to make is pleasing to look at, unlike other phone cameras I have used in the past.

Snakes!

2011-10-10T17:32:00.001-05:00

As I said in my last post, I have been doing a lot of biking. Since the nights have been getting so cool, the snakes have been coming out onto the canal path to get warm. I really have to watch closely, or I'll run them over. All of them have been garter snakes except for the one below. This is a juvenile fox snake. I love these little guys. I've found several juveniles over the past couple of years, but strangely, I have not found any adults. They were very common at one time, but I have not seen an adult in three years or so. I guess as long as there are juveniles, there are adults.

Still Alive!

2011-09-27T20:14:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the long absence, but it was a necessary break that I needed, and hopefully will be back in the game soon.

Florida turned out to be a curse for me. I had the best time there, and saw so much of the gorgeous wildlife. The problem was that I came back to flatland Illinois excited to use my new learned skills, and I ........had nothing to photograph! Nothing has been moving. No deer, birds of prey, mink. Not even a muskrat or an opossum! It was simply too easy to come by wildlife in Florida:) It certainly isn't a bad thing, but I think it cramped my creativity a bit, not that I had any to begin with. Deer season will soon be open, and the corn will be down, so hopefully that will reveal all of the hidden creatures that I can't seem to find.

I've also been spending a lot of time biking in the past month. I didn't shed last winter's weight, and I only gained this summer, so it's time to get my health back in order to prepare the winter blues that will be here soon. Losing some weight and getting back in shape will help me keep my spirits up once it hits.

Work has been extremely busy since school started too. This was the first week that I actually felt caught up. It feels good, and there's nothing like deleting something off of my to-do list.

So I leave you with my most beautiful shot since I've been back from Florida:) Pretty pathetic huh? I hope to be catching up on everyone's blogs, and I feel terrible that I haven't been visiting. I look forward to seeing what everyone has been up to. Have a great week!

Finally! A Gator!

2011-08-05T11:48:00.001-05:00

Every morning I head over to Lover's Key for a hike. It rained last night and the mosquitoes sucked a pint of blood from me before I ran back to the area 7 Eleven to get some bug spray. Once I was back on the trail, it didn't take long for me to spot a funny looking log in the water......yes, an American Alligator! He was about seven feet long.

I didn't notice the blue color until I loaded my photos. I started to think something was wrong with the color settings on my camera, but all my other photos that weren't alligator came out fine. After a bit of research, I discovered that the blue color is the sky reflecting off of the wet scales of the gator. It adds an interesting dynamic to the photo.

So I am a happy guy! I was pretty bummed I didn't see one last night, so this definitely makes up for it.

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

2011-08-04T22:07:00.001-05:00

We got to Ding Darling early this morning, and the bird life was out in full force. My sights were set on alligators. Unfortunately, my wife got sick while we were on the trail and we had to retreat and get her back to the fort. We did go back in the afternoon hours, but there wasn't anything moving at all.

I am still blessed to see all the wildlife that I have this week, so I can't throw a hissy fit because I didn't see any alligators. I still saw a lot of species, mostly birds. I did see my first armadillo, but could't get close enough for a good shot:)

Red Shouldered Hawk

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

Green Heron

Mottled Duck

Juvenile White Ibis

Little Blue Heron

A wonderful day with all new species sightings. It was topped off with a brilliant sunset.

Another Early Morning

2011-08-03T22:10:00.001-05:00

As I sit here tonight, belly full on the fish that Jacob and I caught today, I am ready to fall asleep at any moment. Our fishing trip was a success. We caught 32 red snapper, gray snapper, ocean perch, and grouper. I don't have any pictures because my hands were so messy from fish slime and squid juice from the bait, I didn't want to touch my camera or my phone! We had a great time though and caught dinner for the night.

I did get out this morning at the crack of dawn again and got some photos of one new species and two previously photographed.

Roseate Spoonbill

Another dolphin we spotted in the harbor before going out fishing.

Two more previously photographed species, but I got unusually close to them both. I think the are getting used to me coming around. One of them hopped up on a log and posed just feet from me.

Snowy Egret

Great Egret

Tomorrow we are heading to Ding Darling Nature Preserve. They have some of the best bird watching in the area, as well as American Alligators. Supposedly, there is a salt water crocodile that has wandered into that area. It would be great to spot both species.

Butt Crack of Dawn

2011-08-02T17:31:00.001-05:00

Normally, I don't get up early on my days off, but since I've been here in Florida, I have gotten up every morning before the sun can grace it's rays on the beach. I just don't want to miss anything:) I was just going to do some shell hunting, but I brought my camera along anyway, and I'm glad I did.

The first thing I saw as the sun came over the horizon was a dolphin! He was out there quite a ways, but it was fun watching it milling lazily around as if he was trying to warm up for the day.

I love silhouette photos, but can never get the desired effect. I think this egret came out pretty cool.

A flock of Black Skimmers flew by as I sat on the beach. I have been trying to get a decent closeup of one of these, but they never seem to land.

When I had given up for the morning, there was a flock of gulls on the beach, so I decided to get some photos of them, although I find them typically boring compared to the other birds around. Surprisingly, I was in luck because there were two Black Skimmers sitting right amongst them. I love there underbite!

Finally, I can always depend on the pelicans to give me an interesting shot. I think the first one is the same one I photographed on the first day, joined by a couple of friends. That particular post seems to be his.

Tomorrow, Jacob and I are going ocean fishing for the day. We are really excited and hopefully will have plenty of catch photos to show.

Florida - Things Other Than Birds.....Except One

2011-08-01T22:43:00.001-05:00

My son and I went back to Lover's Key State Park and came across some really interesting wildlife. Jacob is a lot like me and has a keen eye for finding things that most would overlook. It is always great to have two sets of eyes like that on a hike.

Below is the only bird photo from today. I had others, but was not happy with the others. Plus, I wanted to get some other things up other than birds. This bird is a Tricolored Heron. We watched it stalk through the shallows and pick off several fish. They are master hunters!

The next photo just sent chills down my spine. I'm not normally afraid of spiders, but this spider was HUGE! It is a Golden Silk Spider. We found several of them, but this was by far the biggest. I love the pattern!

Jacob discovered the next find and it was by far the best find of the trip! I've always wanted to see one of these and today it happened. A Loggerhead Turtle Hatchling!! It was swimming beneath us while we were crossing a bridge.

An unidentified land snail

Another anole lizard showing me it's territorial behavior.

The next two photos show swarm of bees at the base of a tree. A potentially dangerous situation, it was good I had the zoom lens on. I wonder if they were Africanized? Glad we didn't find out.

Finally, a giant horseshoe crab that we caught by hand right on the bank. Creepy little guys, and that spiked tail made me nervous!

Another great day on a excellent vacation. Hopefully more to come. We still haven't gotten to gator territory yet, but will soon.

Evening Shots

2011-07-31T22:11:00.001-05:00

Below are some shots I got near dusk. Enjoy!

Reddish Egret

White Ibis- 3 photos that I found interesting with these guys! I've always found them fascinating due to their beak shapes.

Florida, Day 2 - Lover's Key State Park

2011-07-31T16:17:00.001-05:00

This morning I went to Lover's Key State Park just south of Fort Myers. The first couple of miles was a beach hike, and then continued into mangrove waterways. The trails were very well maintained, and made for a very pleasant hike. Birds continue to be the main sightings, which one would expect being in Florida along the coast. I did see a snake, black in color, but it didn't stick around long enough for me to get a good shot. Another missed shot was a 4 foot stingray that had wandered into the shallows. It was an awesome site though.

Anole

These little anoles were everywhere, but quite skittish.

Snowy Egret

Osprey

Great White Heron

Kayaker- Something I hope I get to find time to do while down here. I miss my kayak:(

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but sooner or later, we will be heading down into the Everglades, and i'm really hoping to get some nice photos of some alligators! That would make my trip.

First Day In Florida

2011-07-30T23:40:00.001-05:00

We arrived in Florida around 2:30, so I had a chance to take my camera and scope out the beach. I did manage to get a couple of good shots.

Brown Pelican

Snowy Plover

Willet

Below is a crab that I haven't identified yet. They were all around the mangroves by the hundreds!

Well, I'm sure I'll have plenty more photos to post this week. Tomorrow morning, I will be getting up before dawn to get out to collect shells and photograph the shore birds. Then it is off to an aquatic wildlife sanctuary for more photography. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Crazy Hot!

2011-07-22T21:01:00.003-05:00

This hot weather is wearing me down this week! The heat index has been 100+ all week, and I've been working outside in it every day. It sucks the life out of me. I always say that I'm going to rest tonight, but after a 15-30 minute nap, I'm ready to head out with the camera:) Here are a couple from today.

Below is a female Orange Sulpher. There are a couple of similar species, so I'm only 95% sure on this one. These are so common and unremarkable to the naked eye, I rarely stop to look at them, but this little gal was sitting in nice light, so I thought it was worth the time. I love the green eye!

Female Orange Supher

This Robber Fly was sitting in a nice position for a picture.

The photo below is actually two Azure butterflies mating, but only one would turn toward the camera at a time. These are tiny butterflies, but they always intrigue me.

Azure ButterflyI'm looking forward to some cooler weather, not just because it is so hot, but so more animals will be moving during the day. I guess, regardless, I should always be thankful that something is always there to get a photo of.

Shout Out!

2011-07-21T20:37:00.001-05:00

I don't do this often enough, in fact, quite rarely, but I would like to give a shout out to the Upper Mississippi Outdoor Blog. This is a student of mine who has recently started a great blog. He is an excellent kid and a fantastic fisherman as you will see. Stop by and check out some of his photos. Thanks in advance.

Bill

Last of the Dragonflies and Damselflies

2011-07-17T18:46:00.002-05:00

Today was brutally hot, but I went out anyway. I slept in, so missed the cooler morning. Once again, the only things other than myself to stupidly go out in this heat is the bugs...and Casey:) Here are a couple more, bug photos, but these will be the last of the dragonflies and damselflies, unless I get something spectacular. The first photo is of a blue ringed dancer eating a smaller insect. The second is of an unknown caterpillar that is about 2 or 3cm long. The last is of a Halloween pennant dragonfly.

Hopefully I can find something interesting other than dragonflies! Have a great week.

iPad Testing

2011-07-15T21:51:00.001-05:00

My recent quest is to use my iPad for photography more often. I will not be taking a laptop on my trip to Florida, but I still want to do blog posts from there, so I am bringing my iPad to store photos and post them on the blog. I have an SD card adapter that will transfer photos from my camera to the iPad, and I can transfer them full size jpeg or even in RAW, although that would take up my iPad space pretty quickly.

Right now I'm testing a blog posting app called Blogger+, but I'm not too sure of it yet. One problem that I see is that once photos are posted, they can not be clicked on to view a larger image. I want people to see the detail in the photos, so this could present an issue.

The other thing I like about using the photography apps on the iPad is that I can add a signature, frames, effects, etc, and it is much quicker than Photoshop. Overall, I'll probably just use the iPad when I go on trips. It isn't a sufficient replacement for the laptop.....yet.

Here are a couple of photos that I snapped today with frames and signature added with the iPad.

Kayaking-Kodak Playsport

2011-07-12T16:30:00.004-05:00

My son and I got out kayaking (finally) at Snakeden Hollow Wildlife Area by Victoria, Il. I love to paddle this man-made, deep, clear lake. Unfortunately, the water wasn't as clear as it normally is, but the weather was great!

Other than going kayaking, we were also testing out a new waterproof camera that I picked up for our vacation to Florida that is coming up. It is a Kodak Playsport Zx3. Rather than go through all of the specs, they can be viewed here. It does take both video and still photos. The camera is 5mp, and is waterproof to 10ft. It is about the size of an iPhone (a little thicker). I thought this would be a nice little camera to use for kayaking, as well as snorkeling in Florida.

Overall, I like the camera for basic closeup photos under normal conditions. The photos are clear and crisp if you have good sunlight. I did have some in the shade that came out a bit pixelated. One thing I didn't like about the camera is that the objects seem much farther away than reality on the LCD screen. This is remedied by the 4x digital zoom a bit.

Even for targets farther away, the photos come out clear and crisp under sunny conditions.

Now for the underwater part. I could only submerge the camera a foot or so from the kayak, but it proved to be completely waterproof:) Good thing! Since the water was a bit murky, I just got a few crappy photos of some aquatic plants, although if you look closely, there is a fish in one of the photos below. Overall, it takes good pictures, and remains waterproof, so I guess it is worth the money I paid ($100). I wish the zoom was a little bigger, but that is wishful thinking on such a compact little camera.

I plan to go back this weekend and try some more underwater photos. The wind made the water murky this past weekend, so hopefully things will clear up, because this lake is usually clear enough to see down 10-12ft. I'll definitely post up some photos after we get back from Florida in the near future. I'm really looking forward to that trip. We will have the beach environment, as well as the Everglades! Can't wait!

Yesterday's Hike

2011-07-10T13:52:00.004-05:00

I went on a little hike to the Hennepin Canal visitor area. I haven't been there in quite awhile and I'm always on the lookout for deer, especially since the bucks are in velvet now. Unfortunately, I did not see a single deer, but I did have a few other highlights.

I don't know what these little flowers are, but they are very small (2cm diameter). They are beautiful little things.

A turkey was lurking in the area and caught sight of me. I got this pic just as he was starting to trot away.
A kingbird landing on a branch. These are very aggressive, territorial birds! I love watching them.
A macro of a meadowhawk. I've found I can get very close to perched dragonflies by letting them land near me and move extremely slow without moving my feet forward. Once a foot moves, they fly off. My lens was probably a couple of inches away from him.
A carrion beetle landed on my shirt and I swatted at it without even looking at it. It landed on the weed right next to me. I don't think I've ever seen one off of a dead animal. There must have been something dead nearby.

I can't get enough of these little chipmunks! They are such cute, curious little guys. This one posed willingly for quite some time. Prior to running up the tree, I startled him and he let out a little shriek that caught my attention. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known he was even there.
Today my son and I got out kayaking to test a new waterproof camera that we have acquired. I'll post up some photos and a little review later today or tomorrow. Everyone enjoy the little bit of weekend that we have left! They go way too fast:(

Some Macro Photography

2011-07-08T21:24:00.006-05:00

I haven't done any macro photography since I got my new camera, so today I put away the telephoto lens and I got out with my Nikon 18-55 with a Raynox DCR-150 macro lens. I haven't used the Raynox with my Nikon yet, and I was pleased for the first outing with it.

Stinkbug Nymph

Katydid Nymph
Not Sure :)

Amberwing

Milkweed Bug

Bluet (My Favorite)

I'll probably continue with some macro photography as the summer continues. I'm rusty and shaky, so practice is needed. There's lots of insects out and provide plenty of opportunities for good pics.

Back in Action! Muskrats!

2011-07-08T21:15:00.006-05:00

Well, I definitely needed a couple of days to recuperate from the Cornerstone Festival! Six days of music and camping is a long time, and it simply wore my body out. On Friday, it hit 104˚ with a heat index of 114˚, so we headed to Macomb after the evening shows and got a hotel room for the night to get away from the heat. The rest of the nights, we camped out under the stars and tried to thwart off the nightly raccoon raids. We had a great time, but I probably won't go to see another live show for another year:)

Anyway, I finally got some time to get out with my camera, and I really missed it! I came across a mother muskrat and her litter of four young ones gathering nesting material for the den. The little ones were really cute, and all of them were gathering and swimming into the den to pack it full of grass.

There were also a lot of cedar waxwings around. They let me get pretty close before panicking, so I got a couple of nice shots.

It felt really good to get back on the trails despite the heat.

Home For a Week

2011-06-28T15:49:00.001-05:00

This is home for the next week. My son and I are at the Cornerstone Music Festival until the 5th for some much needed relaxation and some serious headbanging!

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Not Much Today

2011-06-16T14:08:00.001-05:00

Today we saw 3 Northern Water Snakes, but all I got was a bite:). I grabbed him too far beneath his head and he reached around and got me. I still hate that initial feeling. It was a good example for the kids of why I don't let them catch the snakes!

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More Summer Adventure

2011-06-15T20:17:00.006-05:00

Today we were hit with some morning storms, so the outside stuff was delayed:( We were going to do some outdoor tracking and do some plaster casts of tracks we found, but we have had so much rain at awkward times, the tracks are all washed out by the time we get to them. So in place of that, I have some rubber track molds of various animals. It was a perfect rainy day activity, and the kids got to learn how to do track casting in doors. It's definitely not the same thing, but they go to learn the proper consistency of the mixture. They did an excellent job!

Getting is just right

Finished products drying

The storms moved through by the time we were finished with casting, so we did get a chance to get outside. It's amazing how much more stealthy the kids have gotten at catching things over the past 3 days. Several kids caught little bluegills with the nets.

They have also gotten really good at turning over rocks. The main quest has been snakes these past days. They love to see them, and I don't have any that are scared once we catch one. Again, the rule is for them to call me over to check out the snake at catch it for safety sake.

We did catch one more DeKay's Brown Snake today.

We saw several Northern Water Snakes, but they are just so jittery, that I haven't caught one yet. All of them were seen in the water along the rocks.

I did have two notable photos of critters. The first on is a small American Toad. Kids go crazy over toads and frogs because most of them have had experiences with both, and most have caught them before. I only heard one girl tell me that we touch it, we will get warts:) I politely corrected her on that, and she did touch it. I hope she doesn't come down with a wart!

The last two photos are my favorites! Click on these to see the larger images. They are of a very large spider (wolf perhaps, can't quite tell due to the babies) that has just hatched out its babies, and they have all climbed on her back.

The egg sack is still attached to her abdomen, so the hatching must have happened not long before. I coaxed her out of the den with a piece of grass so we could get the full view. The kids were more reluctant to approach this closely as compared to snakes.

The drift fence has still not produced any rodents or reptiles, but the spiders keep on coming. Most of them are wolf spiders, but I've noticed the clear plastic sheeting is a great magnet for different insects. The kids enjoy looking at them while we visit the fence.

Two days left, so hopefully I'll have something new to show. Storms are still in the forecast, so who knows how it will go. Either way, I have activities planned for the indoors if necessary, but nothing can replace the excitement and wonder of the outdoors!

First Couple of Days

2011-06-14T17:34:00.005-05:00

The first two days of our Summer Learning Adventure has passed. We have had many successes, and a couple of failures to learn from. The kids have been awesome, and are real troopers in searching out and finding wildlife. Their natural eye for finding things is amazing!

The drift fence that I showed in the last post has been excellent for catching.....spiders! We have had several wolf spiders and one large one with babies on its back! The kids loved that one, but I don't have a picture of it due to the lack of focusing from my phone. I didn't tote my good camera around just out of convenience, although I am very happy with the photos my iphone has taken. Hopefully the drift fence will be more fruitful with some reptiles and rodents soon.

Speaking of rodents, I built five baited track plates out of vinyl guttering. I put camouflage duct tape on them since we are hiking a public area. I don't want them to disappear:)

Below, the girls are spreading a paste made of 50% carpenters chalk, and 50% isopropyl alcohol (91%). Two pieces of cardboard are coated with the paste, and the center one has clear contact paper (sticky side up). Peanut butter is spread along the sides above the contact paper, and the rodents walk over the chalk, and step on the contact paper, therefore leaving their tiny footprints behind.

Below is a track plate that had some obvious rodent traffic. Dropping were left behind, the peanut butter is gone, and the contact paper has prints on it. The only problem is that the contact paper that I bought is not quite sticky enough to keep the tracks on there. I'll have to look for a different brand and try again. One of our traps was torn up by a raccoon (assuming). We did find out that Daddy Long-Legs like to eat peanut butter:)

Now for the good stuff! Below is one of my awesome frog hunters! he caught this huge American Bullfrog!

His brother caught a nice Leopard Frog as well.

Below is an excellent find by this young man! It is the most gorgeous Dekay's Brown Snake I have ever seen (closeup below).

The pattern on this snake is fantastic! I love the light colored stripe running down the top. The kids are instructed not to catch any snakes. If they find one, they call me over and I catch it and make sure we know its identity. For the picture above, I had him wear gloves for safety sake, even though this little snake is quite harmless. The last thing I need is for a kid to go home and say they were bit my a snake!

Below is a darker patterned Dekay's Brown Snake. Both of these were found 10 minutes apart!

A clutch of, what I believe are painted turtle eggs. You can see the others going below the ground. I was surprised that these were so exposed. I would imagine the racoons will get them tonight:(

The kids keen eyes have even picked up on freshwater shrimp! They love catching these with the hand nets!

Finally, a beautiful Gray Tree Frog was tucked slightly under a piece of bark on this tree. I love these little frogs!

All in all, the success of the first two days was excellent. We have seen several birds, a couple of Northern Water Snakes, and several other frogs. So far, our best sampling methods have been by using our eyes and hands. I think the kids are having a blast, and I know I am. Hopefully the storms will hold off for awhile longer so we can get out there and find some more critters. Sorry for the long post, but I know the kids are excited to come on and see their findings. Thanks for reading!

Drift Fence - Summer Learning Adventures

2011-06-12T16:32:00.003-05:00

My son and I just got done installing our first drift fence to survey reptiles and other critters in the area. The idea was spawned by reading my friend Trailblazer's blog. Check it out when you get a chance. It is a great blog and loaded with info! Anyway, I got the idea from his blog, and I am going to try it out with my Summer Learning Adventure class that will run this entire week. We are focusing on animal sampling through various methods, and the drift fence is just one of those. I'll post other info as we go through the week since I won't have any time to get out with my camera.

I have 46 kids coming out from 3rd through 5th grade. I have two major things going against me: Mosquitoes and thunder storms. When I went out to the area we are having the class in, I was instantly SWARMED by mosquitoes! They are the worst I have seen them in years. I'm going to have to change my plan and keep our class in the prairie area, or along the canal. The only thing is we have to cross through the timber to get to the prairie:( A think they'll get their exercise sprinting through there. Storms are foretasted Monday through Wednesday, so we may end up doing some indoor activites.

Anyway, back to the drift fence. My son and I set it up in an area that joins the timber with the prairie. Shade and coolness on one side, and lots of rodents on the other. I was going to set up another fence along a wetland area, but the mosquitoes were just too horrible for the kids to endure.

Trailblazer was generous enough to provide me with info on how to construct the drift fence, but my sad fence is half the length he suggested. Our fence is just shy of 50 ft. I used clear plastic sheeting for the fence, zip tied to metal stakes. My son was digging the trench to tuck the sheeting into the ground. This keeps critters from crossing underneath the fence, as they are forced to follow the length of it.

While he was doing this, I was following along and pounding in the stakes. I knew I had kids for a reason: To take the brunt of work off my shoulders:)

Near the end of the fence, I have two 5 gallon buckets buried flush to the top. These will act as the pitfalls as critters follow the fence and drop into them. My students and I will place one or two more buckets along the fence this week.

Being my first attempt at a drift fence, I felt pretty good about our hard work. I have material to set up another fence later this week. Hopefully we'll catch and document some great things, but if not, we'll still have a good time being outside this week. Until next time, have a great week!

Urban Exploration

2011-06-04T21:39:00.001-05:00

It has been a long time since my last post, but life just got in the way. All is well, but extremely busy. I'll be visiting all of your blogs here soon.

I haven't been able to get out much in the past few weeks, but I did manage to get some photos in the city. While my wife was running a 5k race, I got to wander around with my camera. I even got nature captured in the middle of the city.

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Little Things

2011-05-08T16:09:00.004-05:00

Without a specific target in mind, I've been wandering aimlessly around the canal looking for things to photograph. So far, I've found some willing subjects. These photos were taken yesterday.

I wonder what is going to happen below? I know bullfrogs often partake in cannibalism, so I imagine that is what might occur. I stayed around for a bit, but neither was budging.

Not far from the frogs, a small northern water snake was lurking in the moss. I saw four of them today, but none was even close to the size of the one a couple of posts ago.

The photo is an anonymous fisherman working the bank for panfish. There's something about this photo that draws me to it, but I'm not quite sure what it is. It could be me in a few years:)

Once I got home, a cute little cottontail was hopping around the backyard. Our hood is starting to get overtaken by these little devils. My dogs get closer to them each time they go outside.

Well, nothing spectacular to report, but it has been pretty relaxing just wandering around. Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there!

Empty Nest

2011-05-02T17:52:00.003-05:00

Empty Nest

I certainly didn't know that today would be my last visit to the owlet nest. When I got there, there was no movement of any kind, no new bedding on the nest, and no fresh scat on the side of the tree. The owlets have apparently moved on , which is bitter sweet. Sad that this event in nature is over for me, but very happy that two healthy owlets appear to have made it. I'm glad I got to share it with anyone who has read this, and I hope you all have enjoyed it. Now, off to a new target in nature! Not sure what it will be, but regardless, it will be good:)

Big Northern Water Snake

2011-05-01T20:06:00.003-05:00

I didn't make it out to see the owlets this weekend. Hopefully I can get out there on Tuesday or Wednesday. I did, however, make a quick trip down to the canal where I found an old piece of plywood lying in the high grass. When I see something like this, I only think of snakes! Sure enough, my suspicions were correct, and I was rewarded with a ticked off, 3 1/2 foot northern water snake!

Northern Water Snake

The big guy was quite feisty, and struck at me several times. I hate getting bit by these things, as the wound bleeds quite a bit. It really doesn't feel that great either:) Northern water snakes have an anti-coagulant in their saliva that really makes the blood flow!

You can see in the photo below why northern water snakes are often mistaken for cottonmouths. The triangular shape of the head is what makes people panic and unfortunately, they are often killed on sight. We don't have cottonmouths in our area, but even old-timers will argue that fact.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend. Check back mid week and hopefully I'll have another owlet update! Enjoy the week.

Venturing Out

2011-04-24T18:59:00.002-05:00

Well, one of the owlets is beginning to venture out of the nest. I took my wife to see them today, and we could see the larger of the two was already flapping its wings and climbing above the nest. It actually went about 15 feet above the nest. Very cool to see. Those eyes are so wicked.

The other owlet is still in the nest. It appears that this one is a week or two younger than the other, or it has just developed a little slower. I suspect I may see him climbing up the branches next week.

Happy Easter to everyone, and have a great week!

Mississippi River - Albany/Fulton

2011-04-20T20:03:00.005-05:00

The latest news has been talking about how high the Mississippi River is getting, so I went toward Fulton to check it out. Passing through Albany put me on a detour around because the roads were covered by water. Photographers and news crews lined the roads, so there really wasn't anywhere to stop and get some shots of the many houses getting the worst of it.

After getting past the detour and onto the main route, I headed up toward the Fulton Dam, which is where I got the pelican shots a couple of months ago. The road was still open, but the water was close on both sides. Even though the water was high, and the weather was crappy, there were still plenty of birds to be seen.

I had a surprise right off the bat! Two Sand Hill Cranes were resting on top of a high grassy area! I have never seen Sand Hill Cranes before, so I get pretty excited when I spot a new species:) If only they were closer.

Sand Hill Cranes

I headed on down to the dam and there were a couple of pelicans and double crested cormorants riding out the rough waters below it. The lighting was terrible, but the photo shows exactly what the afternoon was like.

An American Pelican and the Loch Ness Monster!

On the way out of the dam parking area, a couple of Canadian Geese posed for some closeup shots. They were remarkably calm.

Canadian Geese

On the way back to the main road, I saw a couple of Pied-Billed Grebes. This one looked as if it were immature, or maybe its feathers were ruffled from the wind. Cute little guy!

Pied-Billed Grebe

Finally, just before I hit the main road, I spotted a less than healthy looking scaup. I had to back up and it never even moved. After a couple of shots, I realized that something just wasn't right! Decoys really do work:))

I love to come to this area, as there is always something to photograph. Unfortunately, there are many people in the area suffering from the flood. Hopefully the water will subside, and cleanup can begin, but I have a feeling things are going to get worse before they get better:(

Healthy and Strong

2011-04-17T15:09:00.003-05:00

I think the highlight of my week is to go and check on the owlets! I can hardly hold off throughout the week, but I know it's for the better so that I don't stress them too much.

When I got there, Mom or Dad was near in a different tree, but flew off, perhaps to draw me away from the nest. One of the owlets had already spotted me and was peering with one eye from the edge of the tree. The sun was showing bright, so the colors show off nicely.

Darn Sticks!

The other was feeding on something. I could see its jerking motions as it tore at its meal, but I couldn't tell what it was eating. It looked up just long enough for me to get 3 or 4 decent shots. This one was in the shade.

At one point, it finally saw me, and slowly tucked itself down in the nest so I could only see the tops of the eyes and ears.
Oddly enough, I think I can tell the difference between the two by the behaviors I have observed. I really think the one above is the main subject of the last two posts. It seems much more active and bold. The other is always off to the side and peering from a hiding position. Regardless, they both appear to be quite healthy and growing quickly. From what I have read, the owlets start to venture away from the nest around 6 to 8 weeks. We're getting close to that, so I may be seeing a bit of action soon. I don't look forward to the day that the nest is empty though. I have thoroughly enjoyed my trips to the nest!

Finally, Spring!

2011-04-11T13:59:00.005-05:00

I hope I don't jinx the weather, but it seems Spring is here to stay. I have yet to see any flowers on my hikes yet, but the critters are definitely moving around. It was nice to see reptiles and amphibians for once!

Common Garter Snake

American Toad

American Bullfrog

Northern Shoveler

Blue Winged Teal

Getting Bigger!

2011-04-07T07:23:00.005-05:00

I had originally intended on visiting the owlets on Saturdays, but I couldn't resist it since I didn't get a shot last weekend. When I got there, one owlet was sleeping in perfect view. I could tell immediately that growth was occurring rapidly!

I took several shots of the sleeping beauty, and then it woke up. Those piercing eyes just stared at me as I clicked away.

There are two in the nest still. If you look closely to the left, you can see the downy tuft of another. It took a moment to peek over the edge of the nest, then went back to sleep. At this stage, they resemble little bears to me:) I think it's their fluffy ears. They definitely get cuter with age. Until next time....

Owlet Update and Blue Heron

2011-04-02T22:05:00.004-05:00

Today I hiked back to check on the owlets that I found in the last post. This morning, mom or dad was sitting in the tree when I got there, but hastily got out of there before I could get any photos. I waited a couple of minutes, and saw some movement in the nest, but I got out of there because I didn't want to stress the adults.

On the way back to the truck, I caught the shadow of a blue heron over my shoulder. It was RIGHT THERE when I turned around and I had just enough time to snap this shot.

Blue Heron

I really wanted to get some update photos of the owlets, so I went back this evening. Mom and Dad were out hunting, so I just watched the nest for about 20 minutes. I could see one stirring, but it wouldn't peak over the rim of the nest for a photo opp. I didn't want to stay too long, so I headed back and called it a day. Hopefully next Saturday, I'll get another glimpse of these little boogers, and hopefully they are both ok.

Owlets!

2011-03-26T16:20:00.004-05:00

A couple of posts back (here), I snapped a shot of an owl sitting in its nest and was questioning whether or not it was a great horned owl. A gentleman by the name of Mark Wilson, who does educational programs with great horned owls, confirmed that this owl was indeed a great horned owl, and not a long eared owl. He also shared that great horned owls hatch their owlets in March. So today I ventured back to the site where I spotted it.

I approached slowly, but could not see the owl, but as I got a bit closer, I could see the downy, white fluff. Mom (or/and Dad) must have been out hunting. I did not see any sign of either, but I'm sure they were watching from a distance.

After a couple of seconds, the fluff began to stir, and I saw a tiny eye emerge over the rim of the nest!

Pretty soon, I could see the beaks of TWO owlets!

One just went back to sleep, but the other seemed much more inquisitive. He would bopp his head up and down trying to fixate on me. I didn't want to disturb them, so I snapped a few photos and got out of there.

This is a great find for me. I have never seen owlets in the wild, so I will be returning (not too frequently) to document these little guys as they grow! I can't wait to see how quickly they mature. Mark, thanks for the tip on the hatching. I don't know how long it would have been before I returned.

The Pelicans are Here!

2011-03-19T15:59:00.004-05:00

Other than raptors, my favorite birds are American pelicans. Every year, the pelicans come in huge droves to feed on the backwaters of the Mississippi River. I got up early this morning to go to Michelson's Landing, just south of Thompson and North of Fulton. When I got there, there were a few pelicans in the distance, but nothing to photograph.

Finally, they started coming in, flying right past the landing where I was sitting. Their size is amazing! Typically, a pelican can weigh up to 20 pounds, with a wing span around 6 feet! They way they glide is memorizing. Right now, the males have huge horns on their beaks that they have developed for mating season.

American Pelicans

The bays were full of ducks: Northern Shovelers, Mallards, Scaups, Mergansers, Buffleheads, etc. Most were quite skittish, but a couple did wander over to see what I was up to.

Lesser Scaup

Blue Winged Teal (Male and Female)

Another visitor was the Double-Crested Cormorant. I've always been fascinated by these birds due to the eeriness. Perhaps it is the black bodies, or maybe even the odd beak construction.

Double-Crested Cormorant

Finally, a Red-Tailed Hawk came visiting and flew directly above me for a few passes. I'm always surprised that the hawks and eagles don't just scoop the ducks right out of the water. There are thousands and would be like shooting fish in a barrel for them.

Red-Tailed Hawk

It was an awesome morning, and I'll probably keep visiting this place every weekend to see if I can get some of the other ducks. They prove to be a bit more challenging, so I may have to get the camo out and get a little wet:)

Diverse Week

2011-03-16T18:54:00.003-05:00

I'm blessed to have this week off, so I have had hours of time to hike around and just find my Zen. I'm amazed at the animal diversity of the areas I have been hiking. I have seen so many different species of animals, although I didn't get photos of them all. I sure tried though:)

I went to the Hennepin Museum hiking area today. The day was beautiful, and I knew things would be moving about. I ran into deer, hawks, geese, ducks, and even turkeys....literally!

As I was doing my scouting drive around the area, two turkeys came out of nowhere and ran along side my vehicle and then in front of it. I always keep my camera ready when driving through here, for good reason. This shot came out pretty decent for a one handed moving shot:)

After that, I got out and hiked for awhile. I was sitting near some pine trees waiting for something to move in front of my lens, and I kept hearing leaves being scurried upon. I couldn't see anything, so I moved closer to the area it was coming from. After a minute or two, the culprits revealed themselves. I saw movement in the pines......but it wasn't birds! It was Eastern Chipmunks!

Eastern Chipmunk

They were everywhere...on the ground, in the trees. I couldn't count them all. Actually, I have never even seen them in this area before. The particular individual above was a very curious little booger! After a bit of curious looking, he ran right at me and past my knee to a brush pile directly behind me! I thought he was going to run right up my leg!

Once he was in the brush pile, he just kept peeking out at me to see what I was. He didn't seem too concerned though, as he continued his search for food in the area directly behind me.

Cute little guys though! To me, they almost have an opossum-like look to them the way their noses are. Much more cute though:)

Great Horned or Long Eared?

2011-03-14T21:02:00.004-05:00

Have you ever been on a hike, and your inner voice tells you to keep going further, just when you were about to turn around and head back? Well, I had one of those moments today that proved fruitful. I had come across a long section of scrubby thicket that I never walk because there are hardly any trees. I was about to turn around, and then the voice caught me. It told me to go a bit further to the one tree standing alone in the middle of the thicket. I did just that and this is what I found:

A gorgeous owl was peering directly at me, and the only reason I spotted him was because the feather tufts of his ears were blowing in the wind. I have to admit that I'm a bit perplexed as to whether this is a great horned owl, or a long eared owl. In searching images on the net, they are very similar in color and pattern. If it wasn't "frowning", I would be able to tell right away, but the images that I searched that were similar made if difficult to tell.

The only reason I question it is because this owl was not very big. Long eared owls are smaller than great horned owls. I looked up nesting habits, and both owls hijack other birds' nests as their own. The lack of white on the face has made me think that this is a great horned owl. They are plentiful in my area, and I have never seen a long eared owl before, so it must be a great horned:) If anyone knows for sure, I would love to hear it and what distinct characteristics separate the two in this "frowning" pose.

The other highlight of today's hike was a another beaver. This is a different beaver than that of the one I wrote about a couple of posts back. I had found a new beaver den along the banks. As I was inspecting the edges of the den, I heard a bubbling from inside, so I knew he was coming out. I dropped on my belly and got the camera ready.

He swam back and forth in front of me for quite some time. On every second or third pass, he would dive with the awesome smack of the tail! I love that sound!

He obviously wanted me away from his den, so after a few pictures, I quietly left so that he could go on with his life inside his den:) Another rewarding day in the Midwest. It was a perfect day for a hike, and the animals were a definite bonus.

Cooperative Canadian

2011-03-12T19:02:00.003-06:00

I found this guy cruising around the canal with his sweety. He was herding her to the other side away from me, but kept coming back towards me. Very photogenic and cooperative:)

Canadian Goose

Gawking Geese

2011-03-06T14:01:00.003-06:00

I came across some geese today on the canal. They were all Canadians, but as I got a bit closer, I noticed there was one that seemed a bit out of place. As I got closer, I recognized it as a Greater White-Fronted Goose. I have only seen one other ever, so it was a pleasure to watch it. It was much less skittish than the others, and let out a considerably deeper "honk" as I got closer.

Greater White-Fronted Goose It seems I always see odd geese mixed in with Canadians. Every now and then I see a Snow Goose mixed in as well, but I haven't seen any of those this year.

After awhile, they got tired of me watching them, and took to the sky with an explosion of wings and water.
Oddly enough, they came at me, rather than away from me. This allowed for some quick fly-by shots.
I never get tired of seeing geese. It won't be long, and they will be nesting and hatching their young on the canal. Hopefully I can get some shots of some goslings.

Finally Got Him!

2011-03-05T16:28:00.005-06:00

Back in October, I had found an area where a busy beaver had been tearing up the area. I went there for many, many days, mornings, and evenings just so I could get a picture of him. He certainly wasn't cooperative, and I finally gave up.

Today I had planned to go to an area to try and photograph a fox, but I remembered the beaver and thought it might be worth a shot to see if he was going to be out after this long winter. Not long into my hike towards his den, I saw the distinct V pattern in the water as something was swimming across the canal. I figured it was probably a muskrat, but as I got closer, I could tell by the big head that it was a beaver.

He knew I was there and was playing a bit of cat-and-mouse with me. I just sat on the ground and waited. Finally, I saw him climbing up the bank, so I started my stalk. Luckily, he was facing away from me.

The Business End of the Beaver

He wouldn't turn around, so I made a couple of noises so he would. He did just that, went on down the bank, and swam away. Just enough time for some pics!

I certainly didn't lose any sleep over not getting photos of him back in Oct/Nov, but it sure is nice to succeed in a quest of a targeted animal, even if it is a few months later. Now, for tomorrow, maybe the fox;)

Two Headed Deer :)

2011-02-26T16:01:00.002-06:00

Doom and Gloom

2011-02-21T13:09:00.003-06:00

What a gloomy day! I think this is the gloomiest day since winter started. This kind of weather makes for horrible photos, but I managed to get a couple decent shots of some Canadian Geese. Nothing special, but at least I got out for a bit.

Canadian Geese

Somewhat of a Breakthrough Day

2011-02-13T18:47:00.006-06:00

I spent the morning playing with my new camera at the LaClair, IA dam photographing eagles. This is the perfect place for me to go and try different settings and get to know my new toy a bit better. Four hours later, and 1000 shots (literally), I feel I came up with some decent action shots. Since I'm only using a 300mm lens, I had to crop these a bit, but I'm happy with my progress. I find balancing aperture and shutter speed difficult. Most of my photos were overexposed in the beginning, but I decided to switch to shutter priority for awhile. I had a blast out there trying to capture these majestic creatures! What fun!

Although the photo below isn't a great exposure, I love it! Three eagles fighting over one fish! Boy they get testy with each other!

What a stud!

I still have a lot to learn, but that is what makes switching over to a DSLR so fun. It is challenging, but the fruits of the labor will hopefully keep getting better. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Pheasant Feeding Frenzy

2011-02-09T18:04:00.007-06:00

I'm sure the frigid cold temperatures, along with the 18 inches of snow, have the local animals scurrying for food. Tonight I was driving along the back roads and came across 10 pheasants rooting around in the snow frantically for food. This was an area where the snow wasn't too deep, and they certainly weren't concerned that I was sitting there in my truck! I've never gotten this close to pheasants and not had them run or fly off quickly.

I also came across a field with 32 deer spread throughout! There were a couple of bucks with their antlers still on, and another that had shed. Unfortunately, I couldn't get as close to them as I did with the pheasants.

New Camera

2011-02-06T20:01:00.006-06:00

Well, I finally broke down and entered the world of DSLR cameras with a new Nikon. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment, but I have gotten some decent photos so far. The eagles in the post below were taken with this camera.

The ones I'm having the most trouble with are action shots. I did get a couple of today of two different red-tailed hawks that I am ok with. It was an overcast, dreary day, so the sharpness isn't the best, but I'll take em.

Aw, heck, while I'm at it, I might as well show off my three babies too:) These are my three boxers.

Koko (9yrs.)

Buster (4yrs.)

The spoiled baby, Frostii (1yr.)

Bald Eagles and Robins

2011-02-03T18:48:00.007-06:00

I can't believe it has been almost a month since my last post! Life just seems to get in the way sometimes, but with the giant snow storm that rolled through, I got a couple of days off of work. With this time, I went to LeClair, Iowa to the dam. The bald eagles have been grouping up and feeding there.

Below are some shots of a couple of immature bald eagles.

A majestic mature adult bald eagle.

The robins are starting to come in now as well. I saw several groups of them today, some with as many as 15 individuals. I can't tell if that is rabbit poop or some kind of berry, but it was actually eating them, so I'm hoping berries:)

It's Good To Always Have Your Camera!

2011-01-09T13:17:00.003-06:00

Today, I went out solely for the purpose of testing a new iPhone app that allows me to geotag my notes in the field. I wanted to test its accuracy on a map, so I stuck to all of the bridges of the Green River and the Hennepin canal. I brought my camera anyway, even though I hadn't planned on using it.

The first bridge I went to was on the Green River. I was noticing several different tracks, so I started taking notes on the new app. As I was walking and typing along the banks of the river, something jumped out of the tree and onto the ice. Scared the crap out of me! I instantly froze and started looking around, and notice these two wicked eyes staring at me through the branches of a tree.

Great Horned Owl

What? A Great Horned Owl, and its not flying away? I inched up a couple feet closer, and the giant raptor instantly puffed up and started clacking its beak! What an awesome display of defense. It walked out onto the ice a bit and away from the trees which allowed me to take some decent photos.

Every time I moved, he would get a little closer to the water, so I backed off. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it though. From the closeups, you can see ice on its feathers, so I wonder if it didn't fall into the river. The river is flowing with big chunks of ice, so maybe it tried to land on one of those and missed.

As I backed off toward my truck, it did hop back up into a tree with a couple of quick flaps of the wings. Perhaps it is trying to dry off in the sun. Hopefully it will be fine. I'll check back later in the day to see if it is still there. The flaps of the wings gave me confidence that it is just trying to dry off. Lets hope so.

Red Headed Woodpecker

2011-01-04T14:16:00.002-06:00

Today I went on a long hike down the Hennepin Canal. I've been spotting some bald eagles in the area, so I hoped to sneak up on one for a photo opp. I did see one flying around, but never did come across it. I became preoccupied with some red headed woodpeckers. I've only seen these a couple of times, and through a bit of research, I found that their populations are declining, and my Peterson Field Guide lists them as uncommon.

This particular area on the canal is the only area that I ever see them and today I spotted 7 different individuals in various areas.

Red Headed Woodpecker

Through a little reading, I also found that these birds are one of four species of woodpecker that stores its food. They are also territorial to the point that they will drop eggs of other birds out of the nests. I saw their territorial behavior today toward each other, as well as other species of birds. Very aggressive.

I also saw downy woodpeckers, red bellied woodpeckers, and norther flickers. These were not as easy to get good photos of. I heard a pileated woodpecker as well, so I might just have to return to sit and wait. I have tried to get good photos of these giant woodpeckers, but they are extremely skittish.

Starved Rock-Part 2

2010-12-30T22:47:00.006-06:00

I was going to head to the Mississippi Palisades today, but then it dawned on me that they had deer hunting open today through Sunday. I decided to head back over to Starved Rock State Park and hike the upper canyons. I tried to visit St. Louis Canyon the other day, but there were just too many cars parked there, so I abandoned the idea.

Today I did get to visit St. Louis Canyon. This canyon has a pretty consistent water flow from the top, so the ice column went from top to bottom (80 feet). When it is thick enough, the park allows ice climbers to scale the column. Another interesting note about this canyon is that it is the site of a triple murder of 3 Chicago women back in 1960. It's terrible that such a beautiful place can have a hideous history:(

St. Louis Canyon

French Canyon

Wildcat Canyon (from the top)

Wildcat Canyon

The photo below is treasured, yet poor quality. This elusive piliated woodpecker (remember Woody Woodpecker?) was focused on another group of people down the trail, but did not see me coming. I have tried to photograph these giant woodpeckers for years, but they are very skittish and rarely stick around. This is America's second biggest woodpecker, with the first being the ivory-billed woodpecker. The ivory-billed was thought to be extinct. Sightings and video of a male surfaced in 2004, but credible evidence has not been presented to prove its existence today.

Piliated Woodpecker

While hiking up to one of the many rock shelters in the park, I found this large, very nice shed antler complete with a lobed drop tine. An excellent find, but sadly, I had to leave it behind due to Illinois law. The law states that shed antlers (among many other things) cannot be removed from state parks. Funny that they allow a deer season in the park, but I can get arrested and fined for bringing home a shed. It was nice to be able to hold it. I hung it up on the trail for other hikers to admire it. I'm sure someone will take it home with them:)

Starved Rock State Park Hike

2010-12-29T10:19:00.006-06:00

Yesterday, I needed to get away to find my Zen. I spent the entire day at home the day before without a car! I was going stir crazy!! Anyway, I took a day trip to Starved Rock State Park, which is one of my favorite areas to hike. The reason I like it so much is it definitely takes you "out of Illinois" while staying in. Make sense? No corn fields, flat land, small timbers, etc. I hiked into 7 canyons and visited the Council Bluff Overhang. Below is the map that shows the area I hiked.

Rather than ramble on about what I saw, I'll just show you:)

Illinois Canyon

Council Bluff Overhang

Kaskaskia Canyon

Ottawa Canyon

LaSalle Canyon

Tonti Canyon

Owl Canyon

I got most of the hike in before the city-dwellers got there. Once they got there, the wild areas somehow became tame and urbanized. Screaming kids and yelling parents erupted through this serene area. I'm really glad I started early:) All in all, a wonderful hike to reach my Zen state of mind and I learned a few lessons along the way. The power of wool socks is unbeatable. But that is a different story:)

Snow Drive

2010-12-24T10:33:00.002-06:00

We're in the middle of a decent snow fall right now, and I love to drive in the snow, so I went out to see what I could find. There's never much running around right in the middle of a snow storm, but to my pleasant surprise, I came across this lovely couple in the middle of a corn field!

Ho Hum

2010-12-21T20:22:00.003-06:00

Hi Folks! It's been awhile since I have posted, but I have been out hiking. There hasn't been much action and the weather has been dreary, but here are a few photos from the past couple of hikes.

I don't know my fungi like I should outside of morels, hen of the woods, and shaggy mane, but I'm think the photo below is of witch's butter. It looks a little different from the stuff I have seen from the past, but I'm going out on a limb in thinking this is what it is.

Below is a shelf polypore of some sort.

A tom cat that had stalked me while sitting in the snow in my snow camo. He was a bit surprised when he figured out I was so big:) Poor guy has gotten beat up by something:(

A couple of distant photos from my truck of a coyote hunting for mice. It was really fun to watch him. The second photo is of him pouncing on a mouse tunneling under the snow! He did this several times.

I've got a two week break coming up starting tomorrow and have a few day trips planned for that time off. Time to find my zen. Hopefully I'll come up with some interesting material to post here. Until then, have a Merry Christmas!

Thoughts From the Past

2010-11-28T12:24:00.003-06:00

While hiking, I often get in the frame of thought about what things have led me to my passion for the outdoors. What drives me to go outside every moment I get, and be completely content with tromping the same areas over and over?

Overall, I think this is how I'm wired. If you look at the categories in the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, there is the category of "naturalistic". That is definitely one of my limited intelligences! When I think back to my childhood, I was ALWAYS outside looking at bugs, throwing rocks in water, and playing in the mud. My dad would take me fishing, and after about 15 minutes of that, I would be off tromping and exploring looking for frogs and snakes. I simply couldn't help myself.

I also had a supportive family foundation that encouraged me to explore, get dirty, and do it for long periods of time. My parents never held me back from wandering a wooded timber in Missouri by myself, or get close to the edge of a river that was moving a bit fast. Of course, they always kept a close eye on me, but they didn't ever hinder me from exploring. They let me be the rambunctious little boy that I was:)

I also found myself wondering what "things" have facilitated my love for the outdoors. We all have favorite gear that we bring to the woods with us, but as a child, I had few things, and certainly no money to buy anything. I look at all the "stuff" that I bring with me on hikes such as cameras, knives, a pack, binoculars, a tarp, a personal survival kit, etc. that I certainly didn't have then. What things made the impact?

I've narrowed it down to three things. Two knives and a gun:) Two of these objects, I am still blessed to have. My Uncle Bill gave me a cheap folding fishing knife, complete with fake plastic antler scales. It wasn't a Buck, Schrade, or any brand name for that matter. I can just imagine him coming across that add in the back of Popular Mechanics and ordering me that knife:) He gave it to me for Christmas and I was exuberant! It even came with its own leather sheath, and I would wear that everywhere I went outside.

My parents also facilitated the gear side of my personality. I remember seeing First Blood in the early 80's and I just had to have a hollow handled knife! Of course, the Jimmy Lile originals were far to much money, so my parents settled on an Explorer Wilderness hollow handled knife! Wow! What a knife:) Not only did this knife keep me outdoors, but it began a personal obsession for cutlery that I still have today! This knife was thrown at trees, dug holes, sawed branches, and cut sticks more than any other blade I have today. While I have many knives of better quality steel and edge retention, none are as special as this blade. I'm lucky to still have it.

Finally, the last object that I can attribute to my love for the outdoors was the awesome Crossman 760 pellet gun. This pellet gun opened many new possibilities for a young explorer. Not only did it put holes through pop cans with its awesome power, it would also do the same thing to birds! My hunting instinct immediately came out. The thousands of pumps I had to put through that gun was worth every tired, sore arm I ever got from it.

The freedom to wander and these three items opened up a plethora of interests relating to the outdoors. I certainly thank my family for all of that. It's really too bad that Christmas gifts are now iPods, X-Boxes, and Nintendo Wiis instead of pocket knives, bb guns, and other outdoor gear. The "get out and play" mentality seems to be dwindling in our society. Now, I imagine that this isn't the case with anyone reading this blog, so keep your kids outside and give them the opportunity to create, explore, and play hard! Enough of my rambling. If you comment, I would be more than interested in any of those things that have led you to your passion of the outdoors. I hope you all had a fine Thanksgiving weekend.

Just a Weekend

2010-11-22T21:20:00.008-06:00

I really haven't been having much success in getting anything new or spectacular for the blog here lately. It's been deer season, so I thought I might be coming across some deer, but nada! I got out quite a bit this weekend, but once again, very uneventful.

I went out to the beaver area that I have been talking about and boy has he been busy! The den has grown outward quite a bit, and a lot more mud has been placed a around and on it.

The tree that he had started chewing on has had quite a bit more damage done to it in two week's time! It may be down by mid December.

I'm going to try and set up a trail camera next to this tree. The beaver is obviously determined to take care of this one, so this may be the only way I can get a photo of it. The only problem with this is that it is on public land and I get quite nervous leaving my cameras over night. After a little though, I may just have to risk it.

A coyote had been through the stream bed not long before I got there. This was a very fresh track.

Fox squirrel hiding out.

No real whining here. It's always good to get out with the anticipation that something great will be seen or discovered. Isn't that what keeps us outside? Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

A Squirrely Couple of Days

2010-11-12T21:11:00.005-06:00

Well, I've been fortunate to have a couple of days off, so of course, I headed for the woods with my camera. For two days, I have spent most of my time motionless in the woods hoping for that photograph of a fox, coyote, the often reported (and never seen) Illinois cougar, or even Sasquatch. Instead, I was constantly harassed by.....SQUIRRELS! Those furry little devils just wouldn't leave me alone! It was like an alien invasion in the woods. They were absolutely everywhere!

In all honesty, after awhile, I didn't mind them at all. They have me some practice at lower-light photography. I hate taking photos in low light, so this was a perfect opportunity to have some practice with different setting on my camera. Most of they came out pretty decent.

The eastern gray squirrel below was very curious. He actually came about 6 feet from me, so he made a perfect subject.

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Eastern Gray Squirrel (black variant)

Fox Squirrel

The ghost of the forest below. This is the first time I have seen a white squirrel away from town. This was taken in a timber a couple of miles out of town. This one was very skittish and difficult to photograph. I came across him in several different areas, but he refused to let me get close.

Eastern Gray Squirrel (white variant)

I was so tired of sitting by the end of the day, I decided to do some geocaching. I found two caches and in one of them was this really nice geocoin. The purpose of the geocoin is to move from cache to cache so that it can be tracked online. I brought it home to log that I had found it, and that I was going to move it, but it had not been registered online. So, to keep it moving, I registered it and will place it in the next geocache that I find. I will be heading down to the St. Louis area on Sunday, so hopefully I can find a cache to put it in.

On a final note, I did take a couple of evening to go to the beaver den site that I had posted about a couple weeks back. I am not having any luck. I have tried early morning, late evening, and every time in between. This/these beaver are taking down several trees in the area, so I know it is active. Just a couple of days ago, they started on the large tree below. Sooner or later I'll find those suckers! This has certainly become a quest. I might have to just go out there at night with a spotlight to get a photo.

Failure Has Its Bonuses

2010-11-06T14:49:00.004-05:00

I went out to check out the beaver area this morning. I spent the better part of 45 minutes stalking into the area, and it was PAINFULLY slow for me:) I had seen some water disturbance, so my hopes were high. I made it to the area and quietly found my place and watched......and watched....and...you get the picture. After sitting for an hour, I couldn't stand it anymore. Failure. The beaver were not moving this morning, but it was still a gorgeous day.

I kept moving forward toward an aqueduct in which a creek flows under the canal. I approached so slowly, and my turtle pace paid off! A mink was moving just under the aqueduct as I peaked over. It saw me right away, but couldn't make out what I was. Normally they just run and hide when they see me coming, but this one was extremely curious.

He bounced in an out of the brush pile like a whack-a-mole! His curiosity allowed me to take several photos.

What a cute little thing. I did learn something new about mink while observing this one. It kept hissing at me as it was moving around the brush pile. I couldn't tell if it was a growl or a hiss, but it reminded me of cobras hissing when I have seen them on tv.

After it got tired of messing around with me, it disappeared under the water, came up on the other side of the creek, and led me right to where its den was. This will definitely be a place to go back to for some more, perhaps closer photos of an awesome creature.

Oddly enough, after all of this stalking around, I turned around at one point and found I was being stalked myself:) I imagine this cat was patiently watching the mink as it foraged for its morning meal. I don't think I was his failure bonus:)

White Squirrel

2010-11-05T19:55:00.003-05:00

In the past decade, white squirrels have become quite abundant in our little town. When I first moved here as a wee little young one in 1979, the only squirrels that were seen were bush-tailed fox squirrels. By 1990, the eastern gray squirrels had moved their way in and seemed to be taking over the local neighborhoods. Not long after that, black squirrels began to appear, and now white squirrels.

Many people around town refer to them as albino squirrels, but that doesn't seem to be the case. These squirrels lack the pink/red eyes that are commonly a trait of true albino animals. Upon some research, I found that both the black and the white squirrels are genetic variants of the Eastern Gray Squirrel.

The little guy below runs the neighborhood near one of the schools I work at. I happened to have my camera in my truck, so I had the opportunity to photograph him this morning. He's a jittery little guy and very shy.

Although his eyes appear red in this photo, that is simply because I deployed the flash on my camera. I must not have the red-eye reduction set:)

I got out on a Friday hike after work, but it didn't prove fruitful as far as animals are concerned. When I begin to get bored, I start looking at things that I don't normally notice. This is a good thing, because I begin to appreciate those things I don't normally go in search of.

I came across a patch of staghorn sumac and the sun just caught this cluster enough to make me notice it. The reddish fall color reminded me of Thanksgiving for some reason:)

Staghorn Sumac

This mullein stalk made me laugh:) Ive never seen one that isn't straight, and I wonder what made it grow like this. There were no other branches or plants around it to cause this. A wonderful oddity of the plant world. Mullein makes a good hand drill for fire starting and is also used in tea for its medicinal properties.

Mullein Stalk

Finally, these clusters of honey locust thorns look so menacing! I once saw a squirrel with one of these long thorns pierced through its leg. It must have fallen and snagged it on the way down. I have felt their wrath as well when pushing through dense clusters of forest. Ouch!

Honey Locust Thorns

Gear Review and a Couple of Pics

2010-11-02T19:53:00.003-05:00

Other than knowing your camera's settings, I have found (for me) that stabilization and light are the two other most important factors to improve photo quality. I still struggle with all of them, but every now and then I get some good photos due to good light and and a solid platform for the camera.

One thing that I found at our local Farm & Fleet store to help with the solid platform issue is a Primos Trigger Stick monopod. If you know the name Primos, you know they provide many goodies for hunting such as calls, trail cameras, etc. The Trigger Stick is actually a monopod for supporting a rifle. However, if you remove the rifle support, there are dual threads. The threads for the rifle support actually press down when a camera is installed, revealing another set of threads for cameras.

This monopod is built like a tank, and the best thing about it is the trigger seen in the photo above. When the trigger is pulled, the monopod extends or collapses instantly to give you a better position. As seen below, it extends to just under 6 feet. I am six feet tall, and it puts the camera right at eye level while standing straight up.

When the trigger is pulled, I can squat down instantly and the monopod follows. This comes in very handy when trying to adjust the monopod in tiny increments to get proper photo position.

Now, for the down-sides. When I first got this, I hated it because it was somewhat cumbersome to carry around. It isn't super light, so you are carrying around some extra weight. However, it is much better than carrying around a tripod. A tripod will still give you a much better platform, but for quick adjustments, weight and portability, the Trigger Stick is worth it.

One other con that must be mentioned is the noise of the sliding poles. If you move to quickly, you do hear a light metal-on-metal scrape that can certainly scare critters away. However, if you're in no hurry, and take things slow, it is an excellent tool to help provide stabilization and support.

Now, on to a couple of photos I captured tonight using the Trigger Stick. I caught sight of this button buck just as he spotted me. You can just see the bumps on his head if you click on the photo.

Not far behind was this nice doe peaking through a tree at me. I was not moving the Trigger Stick at all. I was just standing there like a big sign saying "Look at Me!". They came in so quick, I didn't have time to squat down into a less conspicuous position. It all turned out ok though:)

Finally, I caught this tiny Bell's Vireo feeding on the buds of this tree.

All in all, the Primos Trigger Stick has worked out very well for me. At first I didn't like it, but it was an acquired taste. Now, I always have it strapped to my pack, especially for days when the light is less than desirable. That extra support for a camera can make the difference on days such as this. Monopods aren't for everyone, but if you like the idea, it is certainly worth considering.

Halloween Hike

2010-10-31T16:29:00.007-05:00

Today was one of those days that I could have walked all day and not cared if I saw anything or not. The morning started off pretty cold, but once the sun was up, it was perfect! There were certainly no forest wraiths, or swamp demons out on this Halloween day, but I did manage to spot some of the less-evil creatures.

This little field mouse played peek-a-boo with me for a bit, which was quite odd because they always scurry away when approached. This little guy would hide behind a leaf, and when I moved, go to another and duck down. As he was going down the bank, I noticed that his back end was wounded, perhaps a sharp nick from the talons of the red-tailed hawk that frequents this area.

Finally some birds sat still for me:) The cedar waxwings were out raiding the berry bushes that line the canal.

Cedar Waxwing

This black-capped chickadee was quite curious about me. She posed just long enough to get one decent pic.

Black-Capped Chickadee

A red dragonfly darted around me as I walked down the path. I love how dragonflies "race" me as I'm walking. It's almost as if they want to interact. I'm not sure which species this is. This is the first red dragonfly that I have seen in this area.

Later in the day, my son and I set up a trail camera at my in-laws house. They have been having a coyote problem in the narrow timber/creek area behind their house. My father-in-law's jack russell terrier, Thor, was actually grabbed out of the back yard by a sneaky coyote. His other jack russell, Herbie (RIP), attacked the coyote and got it to drop him. Despite some puncture marks around his neck, Thor was ok, although very scared for a couple of days.

Hopefully we'll get some pics of the coyotes in the next couple of days. I always hate putting out my scouting cameras in fear of getting them stolen, but what's the purpose of having them if I don't put them out?

Beaver Set

2010-10-30T15:06:00.004-05:00

Very windy today! Despite the cold, windy morning, I went on my weekend hike anyway. I was heading to an area where I have seen beaver sign in the past and wanted to check it out and see if it was still active. I only saw a few birds along the way, but I think I'm too impatient to get good photos of birds:( They never sit still!

Anyway, I did see a couple of young opossums scavenging around the banks of the canal. They were just like the stinking birds! They wouldn't stop long enough to get a good pic. The one below is the only semi-decent on that I got, but it was fun watching them. Regardless of what most think about possums, I think they are pretty cute.

Juvenile Opossum

As I walked among the giant cottonwood trees, I spotted this raccoon lounging in the opening of a hollowed section. He was moving around a bit, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get him to peak out at me. I made every type of squeak noise that I could possibly make, tossed some gravel up there, and even grabbed some brush to rattle, but his nap was just too important to accommodate the impatient passer-byer.

As I got closer to the beaver area, I started to realize that it was quite active in the area. There were several felled trees off the bank, lots of wood chips, and floating debris on the canal!

There was also sign of a new den being made. The branches are being layered over caved-in bank. I'm going to keep an eye on this and see if it is getting bigger over the next couple of weeks.

A little further down the path, I found the active den. It has been well piled, and the beaver have been mending the top areas, which were quite packed down with mud.

I don't have any really good photos of a beaver, so this may just become my project over the next month or two. I think if I sit out there closer to the evening, I might see some action around the den. Let's hope so!

Outdoor Blogger Network

2010-10-27T21:16:00.004-05:00

If you haven't noticed, I have a new badge on the left-hand side of the blog labeled Outdoor Blogger Network. Thanks to my new friend and fellow blogger Casey, I wandered over to this site and found many awesome blogs of like-minded individuals that share my passion for nature in one form or another. If you get a chance, please visit http://www.outdoorbloggernetwork.com/ and check out some of these great blogs under the Outdoor Blog Directory tab. I promise there is something there for everyone!

Back to the Flatland

2010-10-26T20:07:00.004-05:00

Ahh, it feels good to be back to my usual stomping grounds where carp, frogs, and bugs rule the ecosystem:) It's always fun to go to a new destination, but there's nothing like getting back to the places that I have appreciated since childhood. No matter how many frogs and spiders I see, I never get tired of observing their habits and admiring how amazing they really are.

Orb Weaver Spider

Leopard Frog

Yes, even the lowly carp has my appreciation. I always have time to stop and watch them feed on the thick moss that covers the canal.

Carp

Phoenix Trip

2010-10-23T16:34:00.004-05:00

While at a conference in Phoenix, I got a chance to escape to Camelback mountain with some friends. I wanted to at least get a little taste of a desert environment while I was there. Camelback is a popular tourist area, and there were several people there climbing the mountain. The surface of the rock was amazingly grippy, which made for easy climbing on boulders.

As is the case in many tourist-type areas, there were several places marked with signs as boundaries to keep people out. This always frustrates me because of all the great areas (meant for exploring) that have to be viewed from a distance.

Although my friend James and I did not go all the way to the top of Camelback, we did make it to the area between the humps which was about 3/4 of a mile up. The view was quite spectacular, although photos can never properly show it.

We did see some wildlife, but unfortunately I didn't capture some of it because I had a smaller camera with me (I knew I should have brought my good one!). I missed some quick moving lizards that wouldn't sit still unless you were far away from them. I also failed to get the cute little rock squirrels running around everywhere. I was surprised they weren't a less skittish due to all of the people that come to this area.

I saw quite a few of the birds like in the photo below. I have tried to identify it with my books, but to no avail. It looks to be some sort of icterid, similar to a grackle, or even a brown-headed cow bird. Maybe someone from this area will come along and give a positive ID.

The little black-throated sparrow below seemed quite interested in me. It would fly close, but remain protected behind the bushes. I guess if I saw me, I would hide behind the bushes too:)

Black-Throated Sparrow

Then came the best one yet. My friend Jackie had heard the rock squirrels squeaking pretty loudly followed by silence. She spotted this!

Rattlesnake Rattle

A speckled rattlesnake was moving around the area in search of shade. It finally found a suitable spot and curled up to rest. This is the first rattlesnake I have ever seen in the wild, so I took tons of pics to make sure I got a good one. I get overly excited when I get to see a new species of something! I think this one will work just fine. Again, I wish I had brought my good camera to get some super close-ups, but I am quite happy with this one.

Speckled Rattlesnake

I would love to visit Phoenix again and get outside of the city to see a full-fledged barren desert. I know there are many other species of critters to see out there. I was hoping to see a scorpion, desert tortoise, or even a ringtail. Regardless, I am very happy with what I did see! Seeing a rattlesnake was at the top of my list. It was great trip with some great friends!

Nature in the City

2010-10-21T00:32:00.005-05:00

While out and about here in Phoenix, I snapped a couple of photos of nature and the city merged together.

The photo below is of the Chase building. It looks as if the clouds are floating right through the buildings. The ghost illusion of the of the second building behind the first is crazy. I'm not sure how that worked out because I really wasn't paying attention to my surroundings when I took it, but it really came out pretty cool! Click on the photo to see a larger version.

The second photo was taken at night in the Arizona food court area not far from the Chase building. In the middle of the eating areas, palm trees have been decorated with lights.

I wish I had some time to just walk around the city and take photos. I normally shy away from city settings, but it is just really awesome here in Phoenix. It would be great to take a bike and a camera, and just cruise around! There's so many interesting things to see and people to meet. It's been a great trip.

I have a couple of wildlife photos and mountain scenes that I will share when I get back. I went and forgot my camera cable to import my photos to the computer! Duh!

Just Flew In

2010-10-19T01:17:00.001-05:00

I flew to Phoenix, AZ today. The cloud cover right outside of Moline was really awesome! Hopefully I'll find some wildlife tomorrow to show:)

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Blackhawk State Park

2010-10-16T21:58:00.006-05:00

I needed to run to the cities today, so I grabbed my camera and went on an early morning hike to Blackhawk State Park. It was a bit chilly, but it was a beautiful morning. The river was quiet.

I went into the timber and was sneaking quietly in hopes of seeing some deer. After a few minutes, the treetops erupted startling me! About 30 turkey vultures had been roosting in the trees and didn't quite like my presence! It was amazing watching them circle the area! I've never seen that many in one spot! I did manage to get a photo of one that didn't take off with the rest.

I continued on down the trail and spotted my original quarry, or rather it spotted me.

Four does had been making their way down a ravine and spotted me just as I saw them. It was a standoff for a few minutes, but I managed to get a couple of photos before the white flags went up, and they darted off to another location.

Further down the trail, I managed to sneak up on two small bucks feeding on some grasses. They never did see me:) Unfortunately, the photos of the deer were grainy because of low light conditions. I had to set my ISO setting pretty high:(

This was a great start to my day. I was only out for about an hour and saw plenty of wildlife. Blackhawk State Park is a great place to visit if you reach the Quad Cities. It's amazing how much wildlife there is in this little area surrounded by the city!

White Pines

2010-10-09T20:12:00.003-05:00

I'm at White Pines State Park just relaxing by the fire. No goals, no searches. Just sweet relaxation! I brought all 3 dogs with us. Here's Buster posing on a tree.

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Finally Got Out!

2010-09-25T23:07:00.004-05:00

It's been quite awhile since I posted last. School has been very busy, and we are in the process of selling our house, so it has been difficult to get out. I really enjoyed getting outside, despite the chilly, rainy day. I visited one of my favorite creeks to see what animal tracks I could find.

It was nice to be tracking again. I found the usual tracks such as deer, opossum, and raccoon. I also found this nice hind foot print of a striped skunk in the sand under the bridge.

Striped Skunk Print (Hind Foot)

I found several American Rubyspot damselflies along the creek. I have only found these along quick moving water along creeks and rivers. They are my favorite damselflies.

American Rubyspot

I found some wild cucumber along the creek as well. Actually, I didn't really notice them until I went plowing through them to get to the creek. My legs bear the marks from the spines. Ouch! Wild cucumber was used for medicinal purposes among several Native American tribes. Liver problems, sores, and even venereal diseases were treated with concoctions that included this plant. It is a part of the gourd family. It reminds me of a small spiky watermelon:)

Wild Cucumber

I also found this unidentified orb weaver spider right next to the creek. It reminds me of a squid the way it stretches its legs out in front of it. Hopefully I'll come across the name of this spider somewhere.

Ornate Box Turtle

2010-08-20T16:38:00.001-05:00

While the ornate box turtle is not on the list of turtles for our county, our school nurse found one crossing the road in town today! More than likely it was someone's pet that escaped or was intentionally let go. Not a pretty picture, but it's all I could get:(

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Storm

2010-08-20T16:32:00.002-05:00

A nice thunderstorm came raging in this afternoon! I love storms! Its air cooled things off.

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Short Bike Ride

2010-08-15T15:02:00.004-05:00

This is the last day of summer break :( Tomorrow, all of us teachers will be back to the grind (although most have for 3 weeks now anyway). I got out on one final bike ride before the frenzy starts. Although it was uneventful, I did snap a couple of interesting things.

First of all was this splintered cottonwood tree! Talk about jagged! Those are some huge splinters. The rest of the tree was on the other side of the trail. Someone had moved it, probably being the canal grounds crew. I was a little shocked at the trail being clear because they only seem to maintain the trail in our area once or twice a year.

Secondly, I found several of these Polyporus squamosus mushrooms. These were pretty big, but I have seen them bigger. They are also known as Pheasant Back mushrooms. Supposedly, these are edible when cooked, but I think I'll stick to morels and hen-of-the-woods. I found contradictory information on the net as to whether or not these were edible, so when in doubt, simply leave it alone.

Polyporus squamosus

Double Rainbow

2010-08-13T20:31:00.002-05:00

On the way home from the bat cave, there was a gorgeous double rainbow. Pictures can't do them justice, at least from a phone. You can barely just see the second one.

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Going Batty

2010-08-13T20:25:00.003-05:00

I just rescued my sister-in-law from a vicious, rabid brown bat (not really rabid). This little guy found his way into the living room. At first I thought it was going to be an easy catch because he was on the window sill, but he was soon airborne and the excitement was on! I finally snagged him with a small fishing net in mid-air. Bats are fun:)

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Birthday Ride

2010-07-20T21:46:00.005-05:00

Well, today I hit the big 40! Not sure how to feel about that yet, but I still have energy to get outside and do the things I want. Hopefully, I'll still be able to when I'm 60. I decided to go on a bike ride on the Hennepin Canal between Wyanet, Illinois and Tiskilwa, Il. There is a nice creek that splits the canal and provides lots of exploration opportunities.

Below is the equipment for the day. My trusty steed, an older hardtail Klein. I've had this bike for 13 years and haven't found a reason to get another. It is super light and I have upgraded some of the components over the years. The frame is rock-solid!

The creek I visited doesn't seem to have a name according to all the maps I have looked at. There are several creek systems that run into it, and it all spills into the Illinois River. I'm sure the locals have a name for it, but I didn't see anyone the entire time I was out! I love that! The creek seems more like a river to me, as it is wider than the Green River, but shallower. This is the second time I have been here exploring and it brings back many childhood memories of exploring the Meramac River in Missouri. It's rock/sand mixture of the sandbars are very similar to this creek.
It was raining when I got there and continued for about an hour, but it was not heavy. The sun came out and it was pleasant from then on. I explored the banks for awhile and waded around the pools. I didn't see any wildlife, but saw tracks of muskrat, cottontail rabbit, raccoon, and many bird species. After that, I rode along the canal for a couple more hours and enjoyed the day. It was nice, peaceful way to spend my 40th:) That reminds me. I should probably update my blog profile!

Update: The creek mentioned in this post is Bureau Creek. Little Bureau Creek runs along the canal and into this one. I went back with my son, and a local family was there, so I asked them:)

Cool Caterpillar

2010-07-18T17:06:00.005-05:00

Today's hike was hot and uneventful other than this really awesome caterpillar I found! It is the caterpillar of an eight spotted forester moth. This is actually the first in caterpillar form I have seen.

Eight Spotted Forester Caterpillar

In researching this caterpillar, it is said that if these caterpillars are disturbed, they can vomit an orange, mostly clear fluid. Fortunately, I did not disturb this one:) Below is a photo I took in the past of an adult. Pretty moths.

Eight Spotted Forester Adult Moth

Blackberries

2010-07-10T20:42:00.001-05:00

I ran into a great area for blackberries today! They were everywhere!

I filled a gallon ziplock and stopped. I'm going to get a blackberry cobbler going courtesy of my wife:) I can't wait!

Sorry for the poor photos. The pics were taken with the iPhone 3G. Not a very impressive camera:( The post was done from the iPhone as well. This is a great feature:)

Twins and a Bird

2010-07-08T16:48:00.006-05:00

Here are a couple of highlights from a hike I took the other day. Right when I arrived there, I spotted twin fawns playing around along a roadside. They saw me, but continued to play with each other despite my presence. They were beautiful and seemed to be having a great time:)

Whitetail Fawns

As I approached a pond, I spotted a diving duck that I have tried to photograph in the past. It is a pied-billed grebe. They are difficult to approach because the second they see you, they dive under the water. I happened to sneak up on this one undetected.

Pied-Billed Grebe

Been Gone

2010-07-05T12:38:00.005-05:00

Well, my son and I just returned from a week at the Cornerstone Music Festival in Bushnell, Illinois. It was a week of insane music, brutal mosh pits, making new friends, and yes, even a little nature:) Even though there were thousands of people there, we managed to find a back 40 clearing surrounded by trees. There was hardly anyone camping back there! Although I didn't bring my camera, we saw several species of birds, picked and ate blackberries, and thwarted off the late night raccoon raids that some campers negatively experienced (storing food and trash properly is a must).

My safe-haven during the day was my hammock. Oh, how I love my hammock! It was a great little spot to relax and nap during the day, and an awesome end to the early morning hours when the music stopped:) Even though I don't look too happy below, I had just awoke from one of the best naps in years.

There really isn't much point to this post other than if you haven't tried hammock camping, it is an excellent alternative to a tent. As long as there are trees, you can set up anywhere! Setup is much quicker than a tent, resting is more comfortable, and best of all, you're off the ground so those raiding raccoons don't get to0 close:) You can purchase a rain tarp and a bug net for hammocks. I have both, but the weather was so good, I didn't need either of them. Now I'm off to find some real nature photos for my next post!

Strange Behavior

2010-06-26T18:43:00.004-05:00

As I was trotting down the trail on my hike today, something startled me in the weeds along side the canal. I could see brown hair, but approached cautiously. This is what I saw:

This muskrat was just laying there in the weeds two feet away! I was a bit puzzled, and though that maybe it was sick and dying. I stood there for quite awhile just looking quietly. It started to move around again. It would get up, and then roll around in the weeds! Every time I moved, it would freeze, but continue its rolling around. This behavior reminded me of when my dogs find a smell that they really enjoy when hiking, and they will start rolling around in it (dead fish! Yuck!).

It would stop and eat some of the grasses there, but as I look closely in the photos, there are some leaves laying around there. Perhaps they have an effect on muskrats like dead fish do on dogs!

I watched the muskrat until it had enough, waddled down the bank, and swam away. Very strange, but funny to watch at the same time.

Stormy

2010-06-21T21:17:00.003-05:00

We've been having some severe weather this week, so tonight when it started rolling in, I went for a drive. Nothing really came of it yet (tornado watch until 10), but I did get a couple of nice pics.

Hennepin Canal Water Quality Results

2010-06-18T15:30:00.005-05:00

Below is a pdf of the water quality results that we collected over the week using Hennepin Canal water samples. When the students predicted the water quality, all but two stated that they though the canal had bad water quality. Reasons for this included the fact that they saw trash along the water, or that there was so much algae in the water.

According to the data collection sheet, the pollution index shows that the Hennepin Canal does have good water quality, and that it provides a strong environment for a variety of different macroinvertebrates. I think this is a pretty impressive data collection from students in the 3rd -6th grades. They worked hard at collecting and identifying these organisms. I hope you find this as interesting as I do!
Summer School Results

DeKay's Brown Snake

2010-06-18T15:24:00.004-05:00

Today was the last day of our Summer Enrichment course. The kids found a couple of smaller snakes today. One group found a feisty little northern water snake. I didn't let them hold it because it was a bit aggressive. The second group found a docile DeKay's Brown Snake. It wasn't bothered by the fact that we were holding it. It was a nice little learning moment for the kids to see that snakes aren't all that bad, and there is no need to kill them on sight.

DeKay's Brown Snake

Overall, I think the kids saw and learned a lot this week. Most of them were really into the exploration side of things! It's nice to get kids outside and let them find out that getting dirty and wet isn't a bad thing. I had some really great naturalists in bloom! It was a great week!

Pond Slider

2010-06-16T19:14:00.005-05:00

Today, we gave the kids in summer school a break from researching macro invertebrates, so we headed over to the sand pit. The sand pit is a natural hill of sand that is used by our city for various projects. It is a small canyon due to all the digging. The kids LOVE to play in the sand pit, and could probably spend hours there.

When I got down there with the second group, I started noticing lots of turtle egg shells scattered about the sand. I began to wonder if raccoons had raided the clutches, or perhaps they had hatched and went on with their lives. While I was showing these to the kids, I noticed a very large Pond Slider turtle in the high grass. She had just dug her hole to lay the eggs in and was positioned to begin laying them. We took a couple of quick photos, showed the kids, and got out of there so we wouldn't disturb her.

Pond Slider

Positioned for egg laying

Pond Slider Up Close

In the photo below, you will see a juvenile painted turtle. What a cute little guy/girl :) One of our Summer Learning Students, Rebekah, brought Swimmy in to show us:) Thanks Rebekah!

Juvenile Painted Turtle