Summer birding has clearly arrived on the prairies. It’s no longer a matter of just following my ears – now I have to actively go look for the birds as the singing has decreased dramatically.
Fortunately, we have a very handy little spruce tree close by. Warbling Vireo, House Wren and Yellow Warblers were busy picking off bugs, and the American Goldfinch was doing his bit with the seeds.
In my post a few weeks ago, I mentioned a Swainson’s hawk nest just down the way. I stand corrected. Last year there were Swainson’s in this nest, but this year it appears to be Prairie Falcons. Although this little guy looks big enough to fly on his own, he spent the entire weekend screeching for food.
On Saturday afternoon, I noticed a gull doing low, lazy circles over our campsight. I thought that might be a good opportunity to practice some bird-in-flight shots. The following ten minutes saw me turning around and around in circles, pointing my camera at the sky. I must have looked like a total idiot, but I got him eventually!
I’m really beginning to think I can forget about having a relaxing weekend out there.
Around dusk on Saturday, I was sitting in our screen room waiting for the bats to make a return appearance, and watching a beautiful pastel sunset reflected in the lake.
At one point, I went into the trailer and turned the light on over our bed. Almost immediately, I had about a dozen moths circling it. I grabbed a glass to catch them in, put them all outside, and then turned to pick up the snack I had gone in for.
Hmmm. There’s a few more moths around the light. I put them outside too. Wondering if I had found all of them, I decided to leave the light on and went back outside. When I returned about 15 minutes later, I was astonished to see about 20 more moths circling the light. After they had finally been put outside (mumble, mumble) we started looking behind the curtains and under pillows.
The two of us spent at least an hour putting moths outside. (mumble, swear). Finally we felt we were moth-free, and went to bed.
Not being one of those people who fall asleep right away, I was soon hearing noises that sounded like big fat raindrops hitting the canvas on the roof. Knowing it wasn’t raining, curiosity got the better of me and I turned on the light. Moths were gently fluttering against the canvas. On the inside.
We put out another 20 or so and went back to bed.
Flutter, flutter, flutter. Light on. Moths out. Swearing. Bed.
FOUR TIMES we repeated this scenario. I have no idea where all these moths came from. Each time we did a clear-out, we waited for a good five minutes to see if they were all gone. And they were – until the light was turned off again.
We rescued every one of the bloody things, although I do admit to telling the last few to “go be bat food” when I let them go. It was not one of the more restful nights we’ve had. (And no, I didn’t stop to take a picture of our guests. They were about half an inch long, and a beautiful chocolate brown with black heads).
Not having an excess of energy for walks on Sunday morning (go figure), we decided to take a drive to look for Pronghorn. We knew we were in the right area since we’d seen them often in the past, and sure enough, we did spot a small group. This was the only one in my camera range, but it was nice to know they’re still out there.
Summer birding on the prairies doesn’t necessary mean there are no bird sounds. I’m still looking for the OFF button on that Willett…
Birds Added This Trip:
- Black Tern
- Prairie Falcon
- Warbling Vireo
Total Birds Species To Date: 65
Hee, hee – I could not stop laughing at the Moth story, sounds just like you. So glad you are having the time of your life. Sounds like a great place to visit 🙂
Excellent post and photos Pat! I especially liked the moth story.