Tag Archives: photography

Photo of the Week – May 30, 2014

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I made another trip up to Griffith Prairie last week.  It looked pretty much as it had the week before – still lots of ragwort blooming –  but the photographs I returned with were very different.  This time, I came home with a bunch of photos of dumb invertebrates.

(I don’t mean that invertebrates as a group or concept are dumb, rather that the particular individuals I photographed seemed not to be very smart or savvy.  I’ll explain in a minute.)

Since I’d spent quite a bit of time photographing landscapes on my previous visit, I decided to put my macro lens on the camera and look for insects this time.  It was immediately clear that the long winter had dulled my insect photography skills…

First, I had to get my brain refocused on the idea of finding small creatures.  That part actually came back fairly easily.  Second, however, I had to work on my approach once I spotted those small creatures (come in low and slow).  I started by tracking some damselflies that were flitting just ahead of me as I walked.  I’d wait for one to land, then creep slowly toward it.  Unfortunately, just as I’d set my tripod down and lean forward to focus, the damselfly would fly about 2 feet further away and I’d have to repeat the whole process.  That highlighted the third aspect of insect photography I had to recapture… patience.

This was not the first damselfly I tried to photograph...just the one that finally let me get close enough to get a picture of it.

This was not the first damselfly I tried to photograph…just the one that finally let me get close enough to get a picture of it.

I did finally manage to get a photo of a damselfly.  I think it was a matter of following several different ones until I found one that wasn’t as skittery.  Of course, that’s probably a bad sign for the potential survival of that individual damselfly, since skittery is a good tactic to avoid predation.  I often wonder whether the insects I photograph are the ones that are not long for the world…

This returns us to the “dumb insect” topic.  Do you suppose smart insects look different from dumb ones?  I’ll probably never know because the only invertebrates I can photograph are the ones that are too dumb to run, jump, or fly away!

Here is a selection of some of the invertebrates that hung around on ragwort flowers long enough for me to photograph them last week.  I wish them the best, of course, but I’m not optimistic about their long-term survival…

This tiny beetle was on several ragwort plants. Most of the beetles turned away or jumped to safety when they saw me coming, but this one didn't.

This tiny beetle species was on several ragwort plants. All of the other similar-looking beetles turned away or jumped to safety when they saw me coming, but this one didn’t.  It appeared to be enjoying its pollen dinner too much to bother running away.  It’s probably inside a bird or spider by now.

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Not a very smart little fly...

Not a very smart little fly…

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I must have seen two dozen crab spiders before I got this photo. All the rest of them crawled beneath the petals when I approached, or dropped to the ground if I kept coming. This one just sat there.

I must have seen two dozen crab spiders before I got this photo. All the rest of them crawled beneath the petals when I approached, or dropped to the ground if I kept coming. This one just sat there.

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I got several photos of various individuals of this bug species (a true bug - Hemiptera). Maybe the whole species is not so smart?

I was able to photograph several individuals of this bug species (a true bug – Hemiptera). Maybe the whole species is not so smart?

It was pretty neat to see the diversity of insects and other invertebrates using this one species of wildflower.  There were quite a few more than I’m showing here because most of them didn’t stick around long enough to be photographed (the smart ones).  I’m grateful to those that did.

…and I bet there are some grateful predators out there too.

2014 Woodland Burning at the Rulo Bluffs Preserve

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I made a trip down to our Rulo Bluffs Preserve last week.  I wanted to get down and see the results of the prescribed fire we conducted earlier this spring.  We’re in a restoration mode at the site, trying to re-open the woodland and increase the amount of light hitting the ground.  The day we burned the site this spring, the relative humidity was very low, so the fire was a little hotter and burned a higher percentage of the unit than we’d seen  in previous burns.  Killing small trees and brush with a nice hot fire was good for our objective.  On the other hand, I worried a little that we might have cooked some of the bigger trees we wanted to keep.

Another panorama showing burned and unburned. This time, the burned area is to the left and the unburned to the right.

A panorama (four photos merged together) along the edge of the burn unit. The area burned this spring is to the left and the unburned is to the right.

Overall, I was very pleased with what I saw last week.  The fire, combined with some recent “hack-and-squirt” herbicide treatments on smaller trees has done a great job of increasing the amount of light hitting the ground.  At the same time, the majority of larger trees were still alive and leafing out, maintaining a fairly complete canopy – but one that allows for mottled light to hit the ground throughout the day.  We hope to continue annual, or at least very frequent, fires for the next several years to set the woodland back on the trajectory we want.  Then we may back off on the fire frequency a little.  Eventual success will be measured by whether we see an increased abundance of wildflowers, sedges, and grasses on the woodland floor, and – more importantly – regeneration of oak trees, which is crucial for the survival of the woodland itself.

Here are some photos of this year’s spring fire, as well as what I found during my walk through the site last week.

Firebreaks for the fire were mostly created by using a power leaf blower to clear out a narrow trail. Nelson Winkel is shown here making a final pass around the breaks of the 100 acre burn unit.

Firebreaks for the fire were mostly created by using a power leaf blower to clear out a narrow trail. Nelson Winkel is shown here making a final pass around the breaks of the 100 acre burn unit.  Other members of the crew followed behind, raking out any other debris that needed to be cleared from the breaks.

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Anne Stine lights down a slope during the fire.

Anne Stine lights down a slope during the fire.

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The fire burned a little more intensively than most woodland burns we've done at the site, but nothing like a prairie fire - though it burned pretty hot up some of the steeper draws, where leaf litter had accumulated and slopes helped drive the fire.

The fire burned a little more intensively than most woodland burns we’ve done at the site, but nothing like a prairie fire – though it got pretty hot  as it went up some of the steeper draws where leaf litter had accumulated and slopes helped drive the fire.  Crew members patrolled the narrow breaks constantly during the burn, checking the fire, raking leaves and sticks in, and looking for dead trees burning along the edge of the unit that might need to be taken down.

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This multi-photo panorama shows the largest of the prairies at Rulo Bluffs, along with some of the woodland. The photo(s) were taken from our neighbor's pasture.

This stitched multi-photo panorama shows the largest of the prairies at Rulo Bluffs, along with some of the woodland. The photo(s) were taken from our neighbor’s pasture during the fire.

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This area

This area burned fairly completely but there were still small unburned patches here and there.

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We were able to use ATVs to access some portions of the firebreaks, but others were too steep and/or narrow, and were accessible only on foot.

We were able to use ATVs to access some portions of the firebreaks, but others were too steep and/or narrow, and were accessible only on foot.

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This panorama shows approximately the same area as Anne is shown lighting above. The right half of the photo was burned, the left was not. Note how much more open the burned area is.

This panorama shows approximately the same area as Anne was lighting in the earlier photo. The right half of this image was burned, the left was not. Note how much more open the burned area is.

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Burned on the left, unburned on the right.

Burned on the left, unburned on the right.  Wood nettles seem to be having a banner year in both burned and unburned areas.  I’m not sure why that is.

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More wood nettles (and other plants) - this time on a southeast-facing slope that burned pretty hot. Note the dead (or at least top-killed) small diameter trees.

More wood nettles (and other plants) – this time on a southeast-facing slope that burned pretty hot. Note the dead (or at least top-killed) small diameter trees.

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Wood nettles were most abundant on lower slopes. Higher up, mayapples, sanicle, and other plants were more common. Here, mayapples grow with little company. That will change as the plant community adjusts to an environment with more light availability.

Wood nettles were most abundant on lower slopes. Higher up, mayapples, sanicle, and other plants were more common. Here, mayapples grow with little company. That will change as the plant community adjusts to an environment with more light availability.  The fire wiped out this year’s crop of garlic mustard.  Hopefully, maintaining a high fire frequency in coming years will help suppress that invader.

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Here is a south-facing wooded slope that has a lot of bare ground. Again, this will change over time. Here, many of the small trees were dead prior to the fire (from the hack-and-squirt treatment.

Here is a south-facing wooded slope with a lot of bare ground. Again, this will change over time as light-loving plants colonize and spread. Here, many of the small trees were dead prior to the fire (from the hack-and-squirt treatment.

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Columbine was blooming on north-facing slopes - mainly in places the fire skipped.

Columbine was blooming on north-facing slopes – mainly in places the fire skipped.

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A close-up of columbine.

A close-up of columbine.

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Yellow ladies slipper orchids seemed to weather the fire just fine. Of four populations we marked with GPS last year, I found all four and three of them were blooming. All had been in areas that burned.

Yellow ladies slipper orchids seemed to weather the fire just fine. I found all four of the plants we marked with GPS last year, and three of them were blooming. All  four were in areas that burned.

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The prairie (left) and neighbor's pasture (right) shown in the earlier photo during the fire. the prairie greened up very nicely, and the numerous dogwoods were knocked back (temporarily).

Here is the same prairie (left) and neighbor’s pasture (right) shown in an earlier photo (during the fire). The prairie looks vibrant, and numerous dogwoods were knocked back (at least temporarily).

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Small prairie ridges were greening up very nicely. Most of the bur and black oaks in those areas appeared to escape the fire with little or no injury.

The  small prairie ridges scattered across the preserve are greening up very nicely.  Most of the bur and black oaks in those areas appeared to escape the fire with little or no injury.

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This beautiful spreading bur oak was clearly thriving - as was the prairie around it.

This beautiful spreading bur oak was clearly thriving – as were the prairie plants around it.  The top-killed shrubs will regrow, but frequent fires (and maybe some basal herbicide treatments) should keep them at bay.