It has been hot for the last week or so but now a big cool down is here. Very windy yesterday and it finally blew in some new birds. Today, I had Red-necked Phalaropes, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, California Gull and some Ring-billed Gulls at the sewage ponds. There are Soras and Virginia Rails at Highway Tank. Today I watched a Great Egret in a palm tree, I wondered what it was doing up there. About an hour later I came back and it was swallowing House Finch. I had a couple of good nights for astro too, but nothing ready to show yet.
There is still one Lewis’s Woodpecker at the golf course, and I got a good photo this afternoon. I’ve seen two Sora at Highway Tank; this one is a juvenile and the other is an adult. No frogs, no fish, no problem. Carmine Skimmer at Highway Tank. I originally thought this was a Flame Skimmer but have changed my ID. Virginia Rail at Highway TankMore Great Egrets
I arrived in Ajo almost a week ago. I’ve been waiting to accumulate some new photos before posting an update. The area has had a good monsoon season, everything is green, and all the tanks and ponds are full of water. The bird migration is building up slowly here, so far nothing very exciting. I had a Kit Fox near the camper last night while I was out doing astro. It is good to be back in the Sonoran Desert.
A California Patch, first one I’ve seen in a long time. This species is not common here. This one was nectaring on Desert Broom. This is only the second Pyrruloxia I’ve seen in the Ajo area. More common to the east. I found this one this morning near Darby Well. A female Phainopepla, these birds should be happy this winter, there is a huge crop of mistletoe berries for them to eat. Another dark nebula, this is known as the Wolf’s Cave Nebula, or LDN 1217. It is located in the constellation Cepheus.
I left Pierre last Sunday morning and headed south. First night was at McCook, NE and the second at the roadside park at Timpas, CO. Now I’m at the Bosque Birders RV Park near Socorro, NM. I paid for two nights here since I was really tired of driving and needed a break. Birding at Bosque del Apache NWR is pretty slow but I’m seeing lots of birds I haven’t seen for many months now. Tomorrow, I plan to drive to Ajo but may make a stop at the Sonoran Desert Museum outside of Tucson. There has been a White-eared Hummingbird there for several days. It would be a life bird for me if it stays. I will need to get an early start for that, it is over 500 miles to Ajo and I won’t be able to make it if I spend too much time looking for this hummingbird.
While in Pierre, I saw this mantis laying eggs on the corner of my parents’ house. I’ve never seen this before. This is the European Mantis, not native. They are introduced into gardens as a means of pest control, but this is a misguided action. Mantids eat any insect, beneficial or harmful. They are not particular. This fall migration produced more Nashville Warblers than I’ve ever seen before, here is one of them on a red-osier dogwood. Here’s a somewhat rare bird for the Pierre area, a Yellow-throated Vireo. I keep a few county life lists, and this was a new species for my Stanley County life list (now at 292 species).Orange-crowned Warbler, also on red-osier dogwood. Notice all the dark spots on the leaves, those are aphids that the warblers feed on, heavily, in the fall. Yellow-rumped Warblers are known to feed on fruits, usually in the winter, but this one is already eating cedar berries in September. The ability to eat and digest fruits allows this species to winter further north than most warbler species.The only photo I’ve taken since I left Pierre, a Roadrunner at Bosque del Apache NWR.
The Slim Buttes area was getting pretty crowded with the opening of archery deer season and the Labor Day weekend. I decided to move back to Pierre for a while. Last night, I was about to go to sleep but decided to check Spaceweather.com one more time to see what the aurora was doing. There was a geomagnetic storm in progress, so I loaded what equipment I needed and drove north of town. Rural Hughes county is not as dark as Harding County but it is pretty good. The only problem was the moon, it is about half phase now and was still above the horizon. By midnight it was sinking below the horizon and conditions improved a lot. This was far from the best displays of aurora borealis I’ve seen, but it has been at least a decade since I’ve seen one this good!
This was my first stop, just before the moon set. At this point, I could see pillars and rays of the aurora with my unaided eyes. It stayed low on the horizon. After the moon set, I drove a few miles further east to get away from the lights of the Pierre area. There, I watched aurora come and go for a couple of hours. It never got much brighter but it was still worth staying out there! Another view. Tonight could be even better if the forecasters are correct. Just before I left, around 1:30 AM. While I was the Slim Buttes, I spent three nights working on this with the C8. The Ghost Nebula, a very faint dark nebula near Cepheus. I knew it was going to be hard with the C8, this one requires a lot of exposure and I need more, but here it is anyway. About 6 hours of exposure.
Two nights ago, Spaceweather.com was showing some promise for northern lights. I watched for a couple of hours. At one point, they got pretty bright, I was getting excited about a big show. Then, they just faded away. I saw some photos taken in Canada that night and those were spectacular. I hope to see a good display before I head for Arizona.
Here it is at its brightest. To my eyes, it was just a glow that was moving across the horizon, the camera captured the colors. A little later when the aurora was more spread out. Just before it faded away, it appears to show what aurora watchers call “picket fence” in the lower right. Ornate Checkered Beetle. I used the 100mm macro and a ring flash. A thread-waisted wasp, exact species unknown.
Not much new to report. However, I have been doing some updating of the website and now have a URL with a secure address. What I don’t know is if the old links will still work. So, if you have me bookmarked, you may have to update. (UPDATE: after publishing this new post, I tested it with my old links and it seems to work OK). Some of the archery seasons are open now, at least elk season is. There are only eight archery elk permits for this area, so it hasn’t been a huge increase in traffic, but it is noticeable. On September 1, archery deer season opens, that may be more noticeable. I have been watching for migrants but haven’t seen much yet, except for some flocks of Common Nighthawks.
Window Rock, another feature that shows on some maps of the Slim Buttes. I was at the JB Dam a few days ago looking for butterflies. The numbers of Leopard Frogs along the shore was amazing, just like this image. The entire shoreline and backwater area looked like this. Blue-eyed Darner, flight shot. A species of spread-wings (Lestes) damselfly. According to BugGuide, hard to ID to species. I was impressed with the brilliant blue eyes. One of the few species of skippers that I feel comfortable with my ID. A Pahaska Skipper on gayfeather.
I was very optimistic about photographing the aurora borealis last night. Earlier in the day, Spaceweather.com and NOAA Spaceweather Prediction Center were forecasting a possible G3 class solar storm. Later in the day, that prediction was downgraded to G2 or G1. I went out and watched anyway, it was a clear night and the moon is rising later so the sky was dark. As soon as it got dark, I could see a glow in the north and then areas of brighter glow. To my eyes, it was not very impressive, but the camera caught good auroral activity.
Aurora borealis low on the horizon. Not much of a show but I was glad to see it anyway. Maybe tonight will be better. The sun is very active now. In this image, the Double Cluster can be seen in the upper right. The bright star rising just above the trees is Capella. Just a bit to the left of Capella is the tip of the state radio communications tower poking above the trees. As always, right click on the image and open in a new tab for larger view. Taken with a Canon 6D, Sigma 35mm f1.4 lens, mounted on an iOptron Sky Tracker, 30 second exposure at ISO 1600. A few days ago, a passing thunderstorm sparked a grass fire to my west. It didn’t last long, the rain put it out shortly after. A juvenile Townsend’s Solitaire on the roof of the outhouse in the Reva Gap Campground. Gray Hairstreak nectaring.
I’ve been in Pierre since my last post. Now I’m back at the Slim Buttes. It was pretty hot in Pierre and not much cooler out here but that will be changing over the next few days. I am looking forward to cooler weather! On the birding and photography front, there hasn’t been much new. I got a couple of interesting photos while in Pierre.
Not a great photo but it is the only photo I’ve ever taken of a young Yellow-billed Cuckoo. This bird is just out of the nest and doesn’t have the yellow bill yet. Cuckoos are known for fast development. The entire time from egg-laying to fledging may be as little as 17 days. One morning while walking around my parent’s yard, I saw some movement in the flower bed by the house. Then I saw this scene, a Plains Garter Snake in the process of swallowing a Woodhouse’s Toad. I suppose I could come up with some caption that expresses the toad’s point of view, but I will resist doing that. This morning while on my daily hike, I saw a butterfly that flew a short distance and landed with its wings up. At first, I thought it had to be a comma of some species, as that is what they typically do. Then I got a better look, I could see it wasn’t a comma. I was a little puzzled until I realized it was a Variegated Fritillary. At least in my experience, they don’t usually land with their wings up. Here is the same butterfly with its wings spread. I got the Dalea flower in focus too, which may make an awkward composition, but I chose to keep it.
The last few nights have been clear and dark. This area has the darkest skies to be found anywhere in North America and it is pretty amazing at night with no moon. I can see the Andromeda Galaxy with no difficulty, even without binoculars. I set up the Losmandy G11 and used the 500 f4 for a dark nebula and a comet.
I will have to leave pretty soon. I have an appointment in Pierre Monday morning. It is going to be hot there!
This is comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS). It is an Oort Cloud comet with a very long orbital period, it probably took millions of years to arrive at our sun from its origin in the Oort Cloud. It is a very large comet, at about 11 miles diameter. It cannot be seen without at least a 6-inch telescope. In my image, a faint red nebula is visible to the left of the comet. Its current location is in the constellation Ophiuchus. I wanted to get more exposure, but I had to deal with some tall trees that obscured it shortly after it got dark enough for photography. LDN 1082, a dark nebula in Cepheus. It is also known as Barnard 150. Also known as the Seahorse Nebula. This is actually upside down, I flipped it so the “seahorse” shape is more obvious. The interstellar cloud is so dense that the light of the stars behind it and all other background emissions are completely absorbed. An active star formation takes place almost invisibly inside the nebula.Flip it again, and it looks like a person walking, maybe with a long cape. So, the Batman Nebula?While out for a walk a few days ago, this American Kestrel started hazing me. It flew over many times, not happy with my presence. I assume there were young nearby. More elk, a cow and young calf inspecting something. I had 8 elk pass by in just a few minutes. A pair of Trumpeter Swans that nested at the JB Dam. Two cygnets can be seen hunkered down on the nest. There are some Painted Turtles sharing the nest with the swans. A Spotted Towhee that posed nicely for me.
Yes, I’m still here. I drove into Buffalo today for some ice, groceries, water, and gas. My total expenses since June 17 have been about $250.00, so I’m living cheap for now. I will have to go to Pierre sometime next week. Last night the forecast on Spaceweather.com was for a geomagnetic storm and all I got was clouds in the north. I saw today that many people did see Aurora Borealis last night, as far south as Virginia. I’m sure would have too if it hadn’t been for those clouds. Tonight, will be clear, maybe I’ll get lucky.
The number of elk here is pretty amazing, considering that just a few years ago, there were none. I’ve seen more elk than deer this summer. Apparently, Game, Fish and Parks is having a season on them this this fall, I’ve talked to a couple of people who have licenses and are planning a hunt.
One of the many elk I’ve seen or captured on my trail cams. I had five of them go by at this setup, not a very good angle. It is hard to find a good spot to set a camera, if the grass is too tall or if there are too many tree branches in the view, every time the wind blows the camera takes a 10 second video. Sometimes I will have several hundred videos to sort through. I have to pick a spot with short grass and no nearby tree branches, and also where no one is likely to see the camera and take it. Since I’ve been here in the Slim Buttes, I have captured coyotes, a porcupine, deer, the five elk, and a few Wild Turkeys. Once a House Wren landed in front of the camera and was checking it out. I’ve seen some mountain lion sign and am hoping to catch one of them on camera. A Red-eyed Vireo, the bright spot behind its head looks like a halo. There was a family group, two adults and three young. I think I was the first human being the young ones had ever seen. I set up the black light again, a few nights back. This is Argyrostrotis anilis, Short-lined Chocolate. First South Dakota record for BugGuide and Moth Photographer’s Group. Hesperumia sulphuraria, the Sulphur Moth. Mostly a western species with scattered records across eastern North America. Another first for South Dakota. Mulsantina picta, the Painted Lady Beetle. First one I have ever seen and a first for BugGuide in South Dakota. I see a few records in iNaturalist, all in western South Dakota.
