Category: Photography

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.
Categories
Birding Photography

Birds, Flowers, Butterflies

I haven’t been seeing anything too exciting. The weather has been windy and not good for trail cams. When the wind blows hard, movement of vegetation and shadows triggers the camera and I get hundreds of videos/photos with nothing in them. Now it looks like a couple of days of rain. I went back to Baldwin Spring one morning and got more nice bird photos. A walk in Hell Canyon was good for butterflies.

The Death Camas has all gone to seed, now the most abundant flower in my meadow is the Mariposa Lily. Thousands of them are in bloom now.
I think this is a Northwestern Fritillary. According to my butterfly guide, it is right on the edge of its range in the Black Hills.
Western Tanager at Baldwin Spring.
Just a robin, but I really like this photo.
Categories
Photography

Trail Cameras

I’ve had the two trail cameras out for quite awhile. Today I brought them in to download. I am getting a lot of elk photos. The image quality isn’t all that great though. On the camera I left set to take video I got two bobcats. One has a radio collar on it. This morning I checked out my Indra Swallowtail site and found one that is in better condition, but still kind of worn. The weather has been great, not too hot here.

This is one of the better elk photos from the trail cam.
Indra Swallowtail in better condition than the others I’ve seen.
Categories
Astrophotography Photography

Long Days in June

I got a couple of good nights for astrophotography but the days are so long, the nights so short! It is nearly 11 PM before it gets completely dark. I think I will give up on astro until the nights get longer. My trail cams have been picking up elk, red squirrels, cottontails, and one coyote, but no more mountain lions. It has been pretty hot, into the low 90’s yesterday. I went to Newcastle for groceries yesterday, it was 99 F. there.

The Crescent Nebula with the C8. I’d like to add a lot more exposure to this but it will have to wait.
The Fireworks Galaxy in Cepheus. This galaxy is somewhat obscured by interstellar dust that makes it faint and gives a more reddish color.
Juniper Hairstreaks are emerging now, fresh adults are quite common. This one is nectaring on Butte Candle, Cryptantha celosioides.
There have been some thunderstorms. One evening I watched this dark cloud go racing and swirling under some mammatus clouds. It was pretty impressive, I took this photo but a video would have been better.
Categories
Photography

Mountain Lion!

Anyone who has been following my travels knows that I just missed catching a Mountain Lion on my trail camera last year. Yesterday, I finally got one. I had two trail cams out, one at Jumpoff Spring and the other at Lost Spring. All I got at Lost Spring was Elk and some cottontails. But at Jumpoff Spring, a Mountain Lion! The cameras have been out for five days, I just picked them up this morning. Also got a lifer butterfly a couple of days ago in Hell Canyon.

A single frame from the 10 second video. The video is too big to upload from here, my internet is not that good. When I get back to Pierre I will put it online.
A Western Pine Elfin, hanging upside down. A common spring species in western pine forests.
Categories
Birding Photography

The Birds at Baldwin Spring

Baldwin Spring is my favorite bird photography spot in the Black Hills. I just wish some “new” birds would show up. I get photos of the same species every year. It is still fun to sit in my nest and take nice close-up photos. There is a perfect hiding spot (my nest) in between a juniper and some chokecherry bushes just a few feet away from the spring. I know the birds still know I’m there, but they get used to me. In the morning, the sun is behind me and usually the light is pretty nice. Today I carried the 500 f4 on a tripod to the spring. Yesterday I walked from camp, that is about 2 miles each way. I can drive to within a mile or so, depending on which route I take. One route is shorter and then one has to go down (and then up) a steep but short hill, maybe a few hundred yards. The other route is longer and downhill too but not as steep. I usually prefer the shorter route.

Yesterday I put my trail cams out at two trails leading to two other springs. There are no cattle this year so I’m hoping for something exciting to show up.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Audubon’s race.
Spotted Towhees are a regular at the spring.
There are lots of Red Crossbills this year. They come in an amazing variety of plumages. This one is a juvenile bird, apparently they have already hatched a brood. Sometimes there will be 15-20 of them getting a drink or bathing.
Male Red Crossbill, full color. I have lots of photos.
A Gray Jay. I don’t see this species at the spring very often.
A juvenile Clark’s Nutcracker. I watched one of the parents feeding it. Note the fleshy gape.
American Goldfinch on a nice perch.
Categories
Photography

More Wild Flowers and Some Butterflies

More of the same. I get out early in the morning before the wind comes up but it does need to warm up before the butterflies come out. The wind is my biggest obstacle when photographing flowers. Even a slight breeze makes it very difficult. I’ve been putting out the trail cam every night hoping for a mountain lion but so far all I’ve got is a coyote and some cottontails.

The common name for this flower is Blue-eyed Grass, but it is not a grass, it is in the Iris family.
Mountain Mahogany.
I went out to try for the “perfect” Shooting Star photo, whatever that is. I like the nice clean background.
I cannot find Pasqueflower in flower, just seed heads. I got here too late!
A Variable Checkerspot, one of most colorful butterflies, but this one is worn.
I have a spot where I can almost always find Indra Swallowtails in early summer. This spring is no exception. I seem to have bad luck with the condition though, I have never found a nice, fresh one.
Categories
Astrophotography Photography

Blue Skies

The weather has been perfect. Blue skies, warm but not hot, not much wind. I even got one night of astrophotography. I haven’t started the truck since I got here on Tuesday. I’ve just been hiking, taking some photos and reading D-Day by Stephen Ambrose.

Death Camas. As Susan pointed out, this plant is poisonous. It looks like a wild onion, somewhat, but has no onion odor. It is by far the most abundant flower on the prairie here right now.
Nuttall’s Violet, a larval food plant for many species of fritillaries.
A species of Phlox.
Shootingstar. Quite common now and very colorful.
NGC 6913, a large nebula area in Cygnus, with a bluish reflection nebula in the center. About two hours with the 500 f4.
The Cygnus Wall, a part of the North America Nebula. I have imaged this before but not with guiding. I only got about an hour of integration before I got tired and had to quit for the night. Short June nights are not the greatest for astrophotography, I don’t get much sleep!