I’ve been here since Monday now and haven’t seen anyone except my brother Ted, who stopped by yesterday. He maintains State Radio communications towers in western South Dakota and there is a tower about a mile north of where I’m camped. We had a short visit before he had to get back to work. I’ve been spending my mornings on the cliff behind camp, photographing the Prairie Falcons and White-throated Swifts that are here every summer. The great photo of a White-throated Swifts still eludes me, but I keep trying.
My campsite, on a dead-end spur road off the North Divide Road, Slim Buttes. I get pretty good shade most of the day and can still keep the solar panel in the sun. If anyone wonders why the hood of the truck is slightly up, I put some mouse traps in the engine every night, I don’t want rodents chewing on the wires. A hundred and twenty feet west of my camp, this is the view looking west. Prairie Falcon giving me the evil eye. Well, this isn’t too bad, but I’m still waiting for that one really great shot. The swifts are very fast and always changing course. My best hope is to get one in the frame while still quite far out, focus and track until it comes closer. Sounds easier than it is! A Prairie Falcon is almost no challenge compared to these little speedsters.
I decided to leave the Black Hills. The National Guard left the meadow at my favorite camp site, so I moved there on Friday. While coming down the hill from my alternate site, the hitch jack caught on a rock and was bent. It still works but at an angle. Not an ideal situation. I can buy a new one and it should not be hard to replace (I already had to replace it once when it got bent in a gas station exit in Glasgow, MT years ago), but the bracket it mounts on may be bent too. I won’t know until I take it off. For now, it is functional. Anyway, I got set up at my site, hadn’t been there more than an hour when a Hahn mechanical tree processor came rumbling up the road, obliterating trees next to the road. I talked to the guy running it, he said there would be a bulldozer coming through next and then they would be hauling logs out on that road. Well, I knew this might be coming but I hoped it wouldn’t. I can’t put up with that kind of noise and I wasn’t about the take Scamp back up the hill that had just damaged it. So, this morning I packed up again and headed north, to the Slim Buttes. I’m here now, on the North Divide Road, camped on a dead-end spur road. Very quiet. The area has had a lot of rain and I worried that the mosquitoes might be bad but so far, I haven’t seen any.
One morning I was hiking in Hell Canyon when I came across a herd of Bighorn Sheep. This one was close, in the shade with a sunlit background. I watched for a while then it proceeded across the trail and up the canyon side. Here’s the rest of them, waiting to see what the other one was going to do. They all followed. One morning at Baldwin Spring, this Ovenbird hopped up onto a branch just a few feet away. I’ve had them do this before but as soon as I moved the camera toward them, they always took off. This one let me get one shot. This is nearly full frame. First time I’ve imaged an Indra Swallowtail on a flower. This one is nectaring on Wall Flower. The angle works out well in this situation as the butterfly was really beat up on the hind wings. A Two-tailed Swallowtail in the mud at Baldwin Spring.
I’m enjoying the relatively cool temperatures at my campsite. Back in Pierre, temps have been over 100 F. but it hasn’t been over 90 F. here. It cools off at night. I’ve been spending time at Jumpoff Spring and Baldwin Spring. There isn’t a lot of bird activity but enough to get some good photos. Just a few minutes ago I went outside and heard some loud squawking, looked around and saw a Gray Jay, first one since I got here. It is very quiet up here; I cannot hear the National Guard except when a helicopter flies in almost every day. There is lots of Mountain Lion sign, I hope I can get more video of one. Last night, the wind went down and it remained warm and fairly humid. I set up the black light and had a spectacular number of moths show up. There were hundreds of cutworm moths of various species and some other good moths that have been rarely recorded.
A Broad-tailed Hummingbird that appeared at my feeder one afternoon. I haven’t seen it since. An Ovenbird at Baldwin Spring. Macaria adonis, and that’s about all that is known about this moth. BugGuide and Butterflies and Moths of North America had no South Dakota records of this moth until last night, when I photographed several at my black light. Phaeoura mexicanaria,another moth that is poorly understood. BugGuide had one previous record for South Dakota, Terry Peak area in 2013. Caripeta aequaliaria. One previous South Dakota record from Terry Peak in 2013.
I’ve actually been back almost two weeks now. I’ve been keeping busy chasing migrant birds. For a few days there were good numbers of migrants, I suppose it could be characterized as a fallout. The numbers of warblers were pretty amazing, but the diversity of species wasn’t that great. I’m hoping for an even better “fallout” later this week, when a cold front moves through.
Here’s one I don’t get to see very often, a Black-throated Green Warbler. Several orioles are coming to oranges in my parent’s backyard. I spent one afternoon photographing them. Red-headed Woodpeckers just showed up a few days ago. I got lucky with this one. Just a Chipping Sparrow, but I really like this photo with its smooth background. Last night I went outside to see the lunar eclipse. I couldn’t resist, I had to set up the 500 f4 and take some images. According to Spaceweather.com, this lunar eclipse is darker and redder than most due to the eruption of the Tonga volcano back in January. Common Yellowthroat up close with the 500 f4.
I left the Socorro area yesterday. Had a great day of birding at Bosque del Apache NWR but didn’t see anything very rare or exciting. No lifers. Some nice photos though. I headed east to Valley of Fires Recreation Area and stopped for a short walk, where I did get a lifer, an Eastern Collared Lizard. I’ve been looking for one of these for a long time. I’ve been told a good place to see them is Granite Gap, but I’ve never seen one there. I left Valley of Fire and drove north to get back on I-25 near Las Vegas. I was about 30 miles out when my phone started sounding the Civil Defense alarm and announcing evacuations of west Las Vegas and other areas due to the fires. I made it through with no problems, but the smoke was pretty bad. Last night I stayed in a free campsite on the Comanche National Grasslands (Timpas Picnic Area) near La Junta, Colorado. Now I’m near McCook, NE and should be in Pierre tomorrow, though it looks like I will be driving in rain.
It is hard to pass up a shot of a White-faced Ibis when it is offered. Same with the Snowy Egret. My lifer herp, an Eastern Collared Lizard. This one is a female. Taken at Valley of Fires Recreation Area, New Mexico. A Spiny Softshell Turtle basking. Bosque del Apache NWR. This was the scene as I approached I-25 from Highway 84. Las Vegas is a few miles to the right. Taken with a 35mm lens. I would estimate the flames to be 5 miles away. This is what it looked like with a 400mm lens. As always, right click and open in new tab or window for a larger image.
The weather continues to be nice. Birding hasn’t been too exciting except for a pair of Forster’s Terns that appeared on the ponds one day. These are the first terns of any species I’ve ever seen on the Ajo sewage ponds. Astrophotography has been hit and miss with clouds and wind.
This is NGC 3367, a galaxy that is so small in view that I wouldn’t typically bother with it. It is way out there, 120 million light years away. What makes it interesting to me now is the Type II supernova that occurred recently. Well, I should rephrase that, it occurred a long time ago and we are just seeing it now. And there it is. I captured a supernova in the Fireworks Galaxy some years back but wanted to try this one too. This is the sixth supernova reported from NGC 3367 in the last 30 years. One of the two Forster’s Terns at the ponds. First terns I’ve ever seen here. Yesterday I was at Highway Tank and was pleased to find this male Belted Kingfisher. There are no fish in the tank but it was catching large aquatic insects, some looked like dragonfly nymphs.
It is that time of year again, where there is so much to do I can’t decide what to do next. One result is I don’t get much sleep. I finally caught up on sleep last night.
A couple of nights ago, I captured about 2 hours of the Sombrero Galaxy, M104, and added it to what I captured last winter. I’d like to get even more, weather permitting. Same with M106, I added more to what I captured last winter. It is starting to look very nice. Even though these galaxies are tens of millions of light years out there, it is a sissy skip in distance compared to the quasars I posted earlier. Hardly even worth mentioning anymore. And M65, one of the Leo Triplets, more data added to what I had from last winter. The frustrating thing about astrophotography is the amount of time it takes to get a good image. At least the nighttime temperatures aren’t as cold now and it makes it more enjoyable to be outside. Last night I went to Valentine Well again and got this shot of a Pallid Bat in the act of getting a drink. A female Gila Woodpecker showing its underside. There were four of them having some kind of dispute and they all liked to hang on the fence while doing it. Phainopepla carrying nest material.
Friday afternoon I drove back out to Valentine Well. The weather wasn’t as warm as I had hoped but I still thought I could get some decent bat activity. About a mile before the well, I saw a sight that one does not often see here in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, an Osprey.
A rare sight around the Ajo area, an Osprey, and even rarer to see one perched on a Saguaro. I think I’ve seen Osprey maybe twice before. There is no water with fish for at least 60 miles, but the birds are common along the Sea of Cortez and of course will migrate through. But landing on a Saguaro? The main reason I keep trying for bats at Valentine Well is to get a really good photo of this species, Townsend’s Big-eared Bat. It is always close but so far I have none that are really sharp and contain the entire bat. This one is not sharp but otherwise it would be perfect! My big hope is for a Spotted Bat to start using the tank. Yuma Myotis are the most common bat out there and most of my shots are of this species. Therefore, I get more good ones. What I need is good photos of different species. This Yuma Myotis is coming in for a drink. They are very fast, and they don’t slow down much for a drink. As always, right click on an image and open in new window for a larger image.
Bird migration is picking up nicely. I’m seeing first of spring Bell’s Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Lucy’s Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Bullock’s Oriole, and many more. I went out to Valentine Well a couple of nights ago to try some bat photography. That didn’t work out but I did see a Poorwill. Nights are warming up, no longer do I need four blankets! The lack of rain results in very few wildflowers, unfortunately. It is very dry.
I’ve been hearing about a Lewis’s Woodpecker around town, it has apparently been here all winter. I finally caught up to it. There are lots of Lawrence’s Goldfinches moving through the area. Some days I can see over 30 at the golf course. Here is a flock watering with a Gila Woodpecker. These Lawrence’s Goldfinches were bathing at a pretty close range. My first of spring Lucy’s Warbler, at Highway Tank. FOS Cassin’s Kingbird at the golf course. Cinnamon Teal at Highway Tank.
Here it is, March 2, the day of the new moon and all I get is clouds. I’ve only had two good nights for astrophotography so far. At least the area got a little rain, 1/4 to 1/2 inch around the area. The biggest bird excitement was a Laughing Gull at Lake Ajo. Some birders came over from Tucson and for at least one it was an Arizona life bird. I’ve never seen one in Arizona myself. This afternoon I was passing by the Kit Fox den and saw two of the foxes outside taking a nap.
Both of the Kit Fox were pretty much sound asleep when I first got there. I just sat in the truck and watched. I don’t think they ever sleep too long before getting up and looking around. One spent quite a bit of time grooming the other. Time for a good scratch too. One of the foxes then went to the den and appeared to be listening for something down in the hole. Could be pups in there!This is NGC 4725 in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It is the brightest member of the Coma group of galaxies. NGC 4725 is about 40 million light years from Earth, the smaller galaxy above is NGC 4712 and it is over 200 million light years distant. That’s a lot of miles!The Laughing Gull at Lake Ajo (the sewage ponds). First one I’ve ever seen in Arizona.
