"What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." -Aldo Leopold
Referred to as the “feathered mouse”, the Sedge Wren is most easily seen in his nesting territory during breeding season. During this time one must simply listen for his song and follow by ear. With patience, the vociferous little wren can be viewed. These guys were plentiful at Dunn Ranch and adjacent Pawnee prairies this past July. This species has been affected by the destruction wet prairies, meadows and wetland type habitats that they rely upon.
“Sunshine & Song”
“Con Fuoco”
Don’t forget to thank a turkey today.
“Turkey Pride”
Every since I heard of the weird sandpiper that decided to live in the plains, away from considerable amounts of water, I dreamed of seeing and photographing them. Our trip this summer to Dunn Ranch Prairie provided for that, adding a new bird to both Steve’s and my life lists.
“Upland Sandpiper, Dunn Ranch Prairie, 2013”
“Upland Sandpiper in Flight, Dunn Ranch Prairie, 2013”
A couple taken of “Dripping Springs” at Creve Coeur Lake this Autumn.
Bobwhite Quail were surprisingly and pleasantly abundant across Dunn and neighboring Pawnee Prairies. We even flushed a covey of chicks along our drive. This guy was kind enough to find a nice perch to pose on.
“Bobwhite Quail”
While at Dunn we got to see our first ever Bobolink in breeding plumage. What a treat!
“Male Bobolink on Wild White Indigo”
The first bird photographed at Dunn Ranch, this Grasshopper Sparrow was trying his best to dry off following an early morning shower.
“Grasshopper Sparrow”
Going on four months ago, Steve and I made a road trip to the western half of the state to find some birds of the plains, run with bison, and generally harass any other creatures that we might encounter. Our primary destination was Dunn Ranch Prairie, a Nature Conservancy tallgrass prairie habitat, but there were other stops along the way. This looking like a week that winter is first saying its hello, I thought it might be time to remember July.
Our first stop on our journey was Tucker Prairie CA, located near Columbia. This was a small patch of prairie, located within sight of busy Interstate 70. On an isolated Persimmon tree near the parking pull-in we found these guys.
“Four Patient Ones”
Here’s Mom trying her best…
“Is That All You Brought?”
Dad helped out once in a while. Here he brought a dragonfly…
“Are You Sure It’s Dead?”
This is where and how we left them. We knew they were within mere days of fledging. We also knew we were at risk of staying and watching these guys until they did. With our heads full of second thoughts we continued our trip to the north-west, wondering and hoping the young ones the best.
With dutiful mom watching over how could anything go wrong?
“Mom”
An infra-red look at the scour in the earth resulting from the collapse of the Taum Sauk Reservoir on Profit Mountain. The IR treatment really pronounces the newly constructed reservoir as the dark monolith to waste that it is. The clouds were caught just perfectly as the light is approximating the same path that the 1.3 billion gallons of water took on it’s way down the Mountain. In the foreground are young cottonwood and sycamore that have started since the flood in 2005.
“The Scour“
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 