Month: July 2021

Categories
Birding Blacklighting Insects Photography

More Blacklighting

I decided to try the black light last night. This works best on dark, warm, humid nights. The moon is nearly full but it was certainly warm and humid. I got a few interesting insects. Birding is slow, a male Cassin’s Finch has found my feeder and comes in regularly, but nothing else does. I am sure glad I’m where I’m at because it has to be hot down on the plains if it is this hot here.

This is a mantispid, also known as a mantisfly. I’ve never seen them before and according to BugGuide this is a first for South Dakota. I had several come in last night. Most likely it is Dicromantispa sayi.
This moth is Eubaphe mendica, The Beggar. It gets its name from the spots which resemble holes in a beggar’s clothing. Also a first BugGuide record for South Dakota.
The Cassin’s Finch.

Categories
Birding Photography

Back to the Black Hills

I left the Slim Buttes on Friday and drove back to my quiet spot in the Black Hills. It was getting hot up there and forecast to get even hotter. When I got to my spot, someone else was there with a big 5th wheel and ATVs. There was plenty of room for me too but I decided I wanted some distance from ATVs so went back to the main road and took the road to Jumpoff Spring. I have often thought about taking the Scamp on that road but haven’t done it because of a steep hill and a rough, rocky road to get up there. Well, I tried it, took it real slow in 4 wheel drive and it turned out OK. No cupboards dumped out and nothing much happened. I really like this new spot, even quieter and more remote. One thing I am certain of, no one is pulling a 5th wheel or big camper up here! I put out the trail cams yesterday near Baldwin Spring and got nothing, then this afternoon I was walking down the trail by camp when I saw fresh Mountain Lion tracks from last night, made after the light rain that fell. I had one hummingbird at my feeder this morning that hasn’t come back, I think it was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

The meadow by my new camp is full of Purple Coneflower and many other flowers, there is a clump of Bristly Poppy in the back. The abundance of Purple Coneflower is amazing here.
A Western Wood-Pewee at Baldwin Spring. This one of the best photos I’ve ever taken of this species, they always seem to land in a shadow or too high up.
How many more photos can I take of Western Tanagers? I just can’t pass up a good shot.
A very scruffy looking Vesper Sparrow, in heavy molt.
I only got one shot of the hummingbird and it is not a good one. But, looks like Ruby-throated to me.

Categories
Blacklighting Insects Photography

Blacklight at the Slim Buttes

Something I’ve wanted to do since I got here is set up the black light for nocturnal insects. It has been too windy most nights. I have to use a white sheet (for a collecting surface and photography) illuminated by the black light. Wind just makes it very difficult. I had one good night and even then, it was quite cool so not as much activity as I hope for. I still did pretty good.

Perhaps the best catch of the night was this. I posted the photo on BugGuide.net and it came back Bertholdia trigona, Grote’s Bertholdia. A new species for South Dakota (there may be other records but it is the first for BugGuide). Lots of interesting things about this moth. Read the link at BugGuide for more.  Bertholdia trigona can emit clicking sounds to jam the sonar of bats.
A Tiger Moth, always fun to see.
Pine Sawyer Beetle
Dichorda rectaria, from BugGuide. Larva feed on Skunkbush Sumac, which is abundant here.
I didn’t need BugGuide for this. Nicrophorus orbicollis, a nocturnal burying beetle I’m very familiar with from my days of working with the American Burying Beetle.
Euchlaena johnsonaria, Johnson’s Euchlaena. I did need BugGuide for this one. I’ve never seen it before. A Geometrid moth.
Genus Drasteria. That’s all I know.
I have seen this one before too. The Great Ash Sphinx. These moths are enormous. I got this one with a more normal sized moth next to it.
Categories
Astrophotography Photography

Slim Buttes, Harding County

After a visit to Pierre, I’m now in the Slim Buttes in Harding County, about 25 miles east of Buffalo. Although this is one of my favorite places I haven’t been here for several years now. Not much has changed. There is a Forest Service campground at Reva Gap and it is usually nearly empty, although more people show up on weekends. As of right now, is is empty. No charge for camping, which I like!

My usual spot for Prairie Falcons did not disappoint. They are nesting on the same ledge as the last time I was here.
I got some butterfly photos while in Pierre. This is a Common Wood-Nymph, posing in nice light.
Gray Coppers were common too, more than I’ve ever seen in one place before.
Last night I tried some Milky Way photography. I did this a few years ago at the same location and found the stars in the top center of the photo were elongated, which I attributed to having bumped the camera or poor tracking. Well, I got the same results last night, so it must be the software that is doing it. This is 24 images, taken with a 35mm lens, stitched together in Lightroom. The sky was murky, maybe smoke, so the results are not what I hoped for. The final image was nearly a gigabyte in size. Right click and open in a new window to see a larger image.