"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
The beetles (order Coleoptera) are famous for being the most diverse group of animals on the planet. The flies, however, are not too far behind and many people are surprised to hear how many forms and places flies can be found. I have been able to find and photograph a few of these forms in my own backyard and will share them here. I photographed this carrion fly (Calliphoridae) hanging out on my rosinweed.
Most soldier beetles are true opportunists when it comes to tucker. While not being the most efficient pollinators, these beetles can be found around almost any flowers from mid to late summer where they feed on nectar, pollen and small insects like aphids and ants. This one was photographed on my common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).
Thanks for stopping by.
OZB
email: handsomeozarkbillyboy@gmail.com
Way back in April Steve and I visited Larue Road, AKA “Snake Road”, to visit the swamps of western Shawnee National Forest. We came up mostly short on snakes and found way to many naked apes on this particular Saturday, but we were pretty certain to find a good feathered reptile show, and we were not disappointed.
The Prothonotary Warbler is a staple of southern swamps and this area sure has its share. We were pleasantly surprised to find a number of these birds foraging along the road, without a care about what we were up to. This allowed for some very nice looks and photographic opportunities.
The image above shows how these guys (and most warblers) go about making a living. They know better than any entomologist that the best opportunities for finding caterpillars and spiders is to look under leaves and inside the folds and crevices of new leaves and flowers.
We didn’t find a nest cavity of one of these monks during this visit, but they were undoubtedly tending nests and potentially caring for eggs. If only this area were not a three hour drive!
Lastly, at one end of the road we were greeted by a gang of Coots feasting on Coon’s Tail.
Thanks for the visit.
OZB
email: handsomeozarkbillyboy@gmail.com
Many thanks to Connie and Jo Alwood who turned me on to this Virginia Rail they were watching this spring at BK Leach Conservation Area. The midday light was poor for photography, but the bird was cooperative as it hunted among the cattails. A couple of weeks later Sarah and I made a visit to BK Leach and found even more great rail habitat. We were able to watch three more Virginia Rails and of course I left the camera at home…
Please have a look at Jo Alwood’s YouTube Channel. I find it to be a treasure of Missouri wildlife documentary that ranks up there with the likes of Charles and Elizabeth Schwartz and Marty Stouffer.
Thanks for stopping by.
OZB
handsomeozarkbillyboy@gmail.com
I named this guy “Tiny Tim” due to the fact that he lost one of his main jumping legs long before his final instar. Poor fellow.
OZB
email: handsomeozarkbillyboy@gmail.com
One has to love a plover. These birds are often the only obvious sign of life in some pretty rough places. Adorable little fluff balls, Snowy Plovers can be found on salt flats and beaches on the pacific and gulf coasts as well as deep into the Caribbean. There are also populations that nest inland, such as the ones we encountered in central Kansas. I was quite fortunate to find these birds on salt flats in Kansas as well as Puerto Rico within a month apart… 🙂
Steve and I encountered somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-5 active nests during our early May visit to Quivira. Unfortunately, no chicks decided to hatch while we were there. It was difficult to leave without seeing the little chicks.
Most populations of Snowy Plover are doing well, relative to other Plover species. This inland nesting population is the only population that does any real migrating, coastal populations typically stick to one area of coast.
The little guy above is hiking through some of the salt tolerant vegetation that dominate these salt flat habitats.
Steve and I were tickled by the ability of these birds to live and work in constant 30-40 mph winds. Facing into the wind, the bird on its nest pictured above documents just that. We noted that when the parents left the nest, the eggs were placed such that they did not budge in the wind, although I am sure they lose heat quickly in such circumstances. Another one of my favorites… 😉
Thanks for your visit.
OZB
email: handsomeozarkbillyboy@gmail.com
Peeps, or “stints” if you find yourself in the old world refer to a group of small shorebirds in the genus Calidris (formally Erolia). The smallest of the peeps, and therefore, all shorebirds is the Least Sandpiper, which is also one of the more abundant shorebirds to travel through the interior of the United States on its way to its near-arctic nesting grounds.
Peeps are notoriously difficult to identify, but much depends on the circumstances. During winter, with few other species or birds available for comparison, it can be quite difficult. In breeding plumage, with other Calidris species in near proximity, proper identification will be easier with a little practice. There are plenty of resources to help you with identification, so I will not repeat those here. The Least Sandpiper is one of the more tame of the shorebirds, often coming quite close to a patient birder.
Thanks for your visit.
OZB
email: handsomeozarkbillyboy@gmail.com
I imagine the conversation may have went something like this…
Aphid (with a cockney accent, of course): “Oh, hello, who are you then?”
Damsel: “Name’s Damsel…”
“Oh, that’s a lovely name. My name is Aphid.”
“No, I think I’ll call you ‘Sugar Bag.’ “
“Sugar Bag? Now that doesn’t sound Aghhh!…”
😉
I caught a glimpse of this guy early one morning patrolling around the surfaces of my rosinweed and decided to watch. I didn’t wait long to observe the hunt. This bug is definitely in the family Nabidae, and I am going to call this one the common damsel bug, Nabis americoferus, due to it matching a few photos and the fact that this is considered to be the one of the most common hemipterans in the United States.
I have read that these guys overwinter as adults and have a wide selection in the prey they choose. It seems that if it is smaller than they are, or close in size at least, they will poke it and suck out their hemolymph. Like I said, “damsel” in name only…
Thanks for visiting!
OZB
email: handsomeozarkbillyboy@gmail.com
Birds of the wetlands are definitely the primary attraction and our focus for our visit to Quivira NWR. But, of course, we had to keep an eye out to see what “land birds” we could find. Quivira has a few wood lots to explore on foot, but is setup splendidly for birding from a vehicle. Driving near some shrub, we heard that familiar song. It took Steve and I a couple repetitions, but we eventually ID’d the singer by voice and waited for him to make an appearance. This one turned out to be one of my favorite images of the trip.
The Phalaropes are quite the interesting group. First of all, two of the three species are considered pelagic – meaning they spend a great part of their time out at sea, away from visible land. The Wilson’s Phalarope, pictured throughout this post was the most abundant of the shorebirds during our visit to Quivira NWR, and do nest within the refuge. The Phalaropes exhibit reverse sexual dimorphism – both in visual and behavioral characteristics. This means that females are the more brightly colored of the sexes. Similarly, the females display and fight for males. The males will immediately take over the responsibilities of incubating the eggs and raising the chicks, while the polyandrous female will attempt to find and mate with other males. See the photo below of a relatively drab male with his mate.
After reading of this role reversal in a field guide recently, of course I had to find out why. This is not an easy one to answer. Do a quick search and terms like Operational Sex Ratio (ratio of sexually active males and females in a given time and place) and Potential Reproductive Rate (potential offspring production rate if mate availability is unlimited) and Bateman’s Principle (in most species, reproductive success is more variable in males than in females – primarily due to anisogamy) come up often.
So what forces add up to cause this reversal in sexual selection (females competing for males – males choosing females)? Ultimately, this is quite a complex question to answer, and I cannot begin to cover all possible variables that affected this change. The primary changes that had to occur in these species is that OSR of males and females had to be skewed to a situation where females outnumber males in mating opportunities. This produces a scenario where females are forced to compete for males. There are anecdotal accounts of males actually competing for females in this species when the OSR switches to favor males (although males still kept their brood-rearing responsibilities). Another aspect to this model is that PRR must shift so that females can reproduce at rates close to that or greater than males. For instance, nesting sites should not be limited based on other resources. And, similar to traditional sex role systems, the male must be pretty certain that the eggs and brood he will be caring for are his. Observational reports confirm very few extra pair copulations/fertilizations occur in species where this role reversal has developed.
I must admit I only have a hint at the factors that go into creating sexual role reversal in these birds. Obviously there are important endocrinological and physiological changes that must go with the social and environmental changes. Here are a few of the sources that I have used to get these thoughts together. I look forward to learning more about this interesting phenomenon.
Thanks for visiting.
OZB
email: handsomeozarkbillyboy@gmail.com
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 