Kathy J.
( click on all pictures to enlarge)January: My trips to Crex become less frequent but there is a certain peacefulness in the silence.
February: One thing nice about fresh snow is that you can see signs of what traveled through the area . These wolf tracks were on Phantom Lake Road. Occasionally a set of tracks would wander off the road, go into the grasses. then return to join the pack.
March: The Trumpeters have returned. I spotted H56 swimming in the open water off of East Refuge Road. She and her uncollared mate were a highly visible pair from Main Dike Road in the refuge extension where they have nested for years. She was seen nesting but then disappeared. If anyone sees her, please send me a note.
March: Red-headed Blackbird males return a couple of weeks before the females to stake out their territories.
April: Canada Geese are nesting. Their nests are lined with a layer of down.
May: The deer are losing their winter coats and you can see patches of golden brown starting to appear.
May: (My favorite time of the year) If you're lucky you can catch sight of a Sandhill colt out in the open. This one was spotted on Abel Road.
May: The first Trumpeter cygnets start appearing. These were crossing the road in Fish Lake.
May: Green is beautiful after a long white winter.
May: This Sandhill was nesting across the road from Dike 1. Apparently it got too close to a pair of Red-headed Blackbirds as they started attacking it. If you look closely you'll see a patch of red from the male blackbird's wing as it attacks the Sandhill's butt.
June: Yellow-headed Blackbirds were quite visible this year at Phantom Lake.
June: The Loon pair on Phantom Lake had 2 chicks.
July: I got my first good look at a Badger as my granddaughter and I were sitting on a bench at the rest area eating our lunch.
July: Water levels were extremely low to non-existent during July. I watched to see if this Red Fox was going to go after the Mallard family but it just got a drink and trotted away. The water in this photo was completely gone the next week.
July: The drought yielded a bonanza for the Black Terns. This one was feeding on the small fish stranded in a mud puddle in the refuge extension.
July: This Karner Blue looked as if it was purposefully marked.
August: Trumpeter Swans and their cygnets are feasting on the wild rice in Upper North Fork Flowage
August: Egrets are frequently seen
September: John Menge leads a mushroom walk at Paint Mine by the St. Croix River
October: Chris Cold brings his Great Horned Owl to the Crex Fall Festival
November: Sandhills coming in to roost at sunset
December: As Dale B. says "The silent season has begun"
3 comments:
These pictures are great! I can see I have to start spending time at Crex.
Nice summary this years adventures.
~windchill~
I enjoyed your visual review of 2009 at GLG.
Sedge-crazed
Post a Comment