Tag Archives: grassland

Photo of the Week – September 26, 2013

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If found this dragonfly encased in dew a couple weeks ago as I walked through a small prairie here in Aurora.  I’m sure someone reading this will be able to tell me what species it is – I don’t know my dragonflies very well.

Dew-covered dragonfly on pitcher sage. Lincoln Creek Prairie - Aurora, Nebraska. September 13, 2013

Dew-covered dragonfly on pitcher sage. Lincoln Creek Prairie – Aurora, Nebraska. September 13, 2013

There were a couple of these in the prairie that morning, but we’ve also been seeing some bigger groups (flocks?  herds? swarms?) of other dragonfly species coming through Nebraska lately on their annual migrations.  Many more insect species migrate than you might expect, including (at least) moths, butterflies, and dragonflies.  I expect we’ll learn a tremendous amount about these phenomena during the next decade as efforts to study those migrations continue to ramp up.  Technology, including tiny radio transmitters, will help, as will volunteer citizen science efforts to gather sightings from across large areas.  It will be exciting to learn more about what seems an improbable but very interesting behavior from insects we don’t give nearly enough credit to.

You can learn more about insect migration from an earlier post I wrote on moths last year, as well as another post on intercontinental insect migrations.

Finally, if you are interested in nature photography or prairie ecology and are within driving distance of Lincoln, you might enjoy the lecture I’m giving tomorrow night for the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.  More information on the event and ticket information is available here.

Photo of the Week – September 19, 2013

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I was a little surprised last week to find a fledgling meadowlark in the Platte River Prairies.  The bird was young enough that it still couldn’t do much more than flutter clumsily away from me as I first approached it.  The bird must have come out of a very late nest (probably the 3rd or 4th nesting attempt by its parents?)  Multiple nest attempts aren’t unusual for grassland birds – many nests fail because of predators or other reasons – but I can’t remember ever seeing a bird so young this late in the season.

This young meadowlark peered through the grass at me as I crept close enough to photograph it. Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.

This young meadowlark peered through the grass at me as I crept close enough to photograph it. Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.

While this particular meadowlark was unusually young for this time of year, it’s common for young-of-the-year birds of many species to hang around prairies longer than their parents, many of whom migrate south soon after their offspring leave the nest.  Because they are not expert fliers and inexperienced with life’s challenges, those newly independent birds are vulnerable to everything from predators to haying equipment.  In some species, young birds appear to take advantage of the adults’ absence by scouting for their own potential future nesting locations – a strategy that might help save them time when they return from migration next year.  However, just knowing where you want to set up a territory doesn’t mean you can fight off a more experienced male who has the same idea!