Duck Hunt In Hell

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Duck Hunt In Hell 

Been a long winter here, record cold and snow, got 4 inches / 10 cm of snow on the "Blood Moon", this years first full moon of Spring, but let's go back to September of 2013.

Here's a duck hunt video filmed on the hottest September 10th in recorded history.  96 degrees is now the current record for this day. The temperature in the Bayous of Lasalle Fish and Wildlife Area had to be +100 with 100% humidity and no wind.

The ditch I had to canoe was a mile and a half mud hole, beaver dams and food stores blocked the ditch every 30 yards, forcing me to get out and drag the canoe across knee deep muck. When this ditch is at normal fall water levels I can canoe the mile+ to the Waterfowl Resting Area in 15 min, on this day it took every bit of 2 hours. One thing for sure, I love me some duck hunting.

This video is a little long, about 25 minutes, so grab a snack, your favorite beverage and a smoke( if its ok with mama), and get a laugh with this duck hunting fool on his "Duck Hunt In Hell".

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Turkey Vulture

On the road, going to a home supply store for plumbing stuff, replacing water pipes in my shack. I passed a little squirrel laid out on the pavement and thought, poor little guy survived winter to end up being road-kill. I took care of my needs at the store, as I approached the scene of the hit-and-run, I could see a rather large animal in the road where the squirrel lay. What have I run into this time? Up and into a near by tree, this large bird flew. As I passed I could ID the bird as a Turkey Vulture. Each year they show up at this time of year. I've seen them soaring on the thermal up-drafts but to see one on the ground is a rare sight.

A large bird with a wing-span of six feet, the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) range from southern Canada to the southern tip of South American. They feed almost exclusively on carrion, dead animals, which they find with their extremely sensitive sense of smell. The turkey is one of only a few birds that can smell. The Genus name Cathartes is the Latinized form from Greek meaning "Purifier". After all, the Vulture's place in nature is to consume the dead before putrefaction sets in, many deadly bacteria are killed by the Turkey Vultures digestive system.

Look at that face, don't you love it, well I do. My favorite bird of all. The Turkey Vulture is the only bird that does no harm to any other animal. They don't harm bugs, worms or fish, the Turkey Vulture should be the symbol of world peace and environment purification. Can I get an Amen!  

Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education

Found myself in the Miller section of Gary, with a couple hours to kill. So I drove to the Lake St. Beach on Lake Michigan. West of the parking is another section of the Indiana Dunes National Shoreline. The weather was much nicer than last month's conditions during my scouting trip for fishing holes. Temperature was close to thirty degrees and a mild wind.    

(Click on any photo to see an Enlarged Slide Show)

American marram or beachgrass

Walking the beach, in a westerly direction, between the lake and the foredune( the first dune on the beach). I encountered American beachgrass grow up the entire north slope of the dune. Beachgrass only grows on the foredune(first dune), where the sand is constantly shifting, its roots stabilizes the sand, aiding with the growth of the dune. On the south face of the dune, where the sand is stable the beachgrass has a hard time growing. You can see a line on the backside of the dune where the beachgrass will not grow and it is replaced by other dune plants.

Chicago on Ice

Looking in a northwesterly direction, you can see how the dunes are formed or the process of dune formation as it is happening. Okay, what do you see, besides "Chicago on Ice". The Winds makes waves that carry sand ashore and pile the sand in the form of dunes. In time some of the sand will be blown inshore to replenish the dune and some will wash back into the lake forming underwater sand bars that create the dangerous rip currents that claim too many lives each summer.  

A view to the south, the high grounds are the dunes, the land between the dunes are called swales. The plant life changes as the distances from the lake increases. Grasses to shrubs and Pin Oaks to the large Pines,  Oaks and Maples in the distances.

Ring-billed Gull. This is a pic for the sea gull lovers in you

Finished the dune walk. Pleasant weather but I forgot how hard a walk in the sifting sand dune can be for an old man. This walk will count for my early spring stress test.

Center display table with a view of the dunes

Had to stop at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education. Maybe I can get a map of the National Lakeshore and directions to where I can find access to the Little Calumet River. I was in luck. The Center was open and I met two nice National Park Rangers. They gave me maps galore and let me take a couple pic.

Display of  some of the animals that live in the dune habitat

A display bench, holds some of the animal traces that can be found in the forest litter if you are observant while hiking the dunes. Here are animal skulls, deer antlers and animal skins.

This is an activity room where environment education is taught. Remember keep the lids on your garbage cans, so we don't feed the animals.

A Junior Ranger Activities Board and Display

Bio-Rama display of the dune ecology

A neat Bio-Rama. The mural depicts an overview of the wooded dune with a bog in the swale. The animals that inhabit the dune environment can be seen in the foreground of the painting.  In front of the mural is a 3 dimensional replica of a cross-section of the forest floor and the soil below. Actual plants and leaf litter are collected from the woods to build the litter surface. Replicas of the animals that live on the forest floor are in place to show the zones in which they live. Under the litter layer is the dark rich top soil where the plants set their roots and most small animals live. All of the above rests on top of the sand that formed the dunes.  Look closely and you can see the mole and  gopher tunnels and tree roots that mix and aerate  the soils.

Covered foot bridge over Lake Street, Gary, In

Well, time to go.  Just a pic of the covered foot bridge over Lake St., that leads to the Environmental Education Center from the parking area. If you have a group of potential Junior Rangers or are an Educator who would like to brush up on your Environmental Education. I would suggest you visit the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Environmental Education website and sign up.   www.duneslearningcenter.org

American GoldFinch (Spinus tristis)

American GoldFinch (Spinus tristis)

Each July when the Goldfinch broods fledge, my garden is visited by family groups of Goldfinches.  The bright yellow males are the first to be noticed.  He perches on the tall stems of the Shasta Daisies, surveys the undergrowth for stalking urban leopards, house cats. The all-clear call is given and the rest of the group moves in to feed. In the background of the photo above can be seen the compound leaf of an Indiana Black Walnut, a tree that was once common through out Indiana before the forests were clear cut and burned for agriculture. The squirrels plant these trees, at one time I believed what I was told, squirrels bury tree seeds to hide for their next meal. After watching squirrels burying maple seeds one after another in my garden and the fact that the nearest walnut tree is a city block away from my yard, I tend to think that squirrels are distributing the tree seeds to replenish the forest habitat. After all no trees no squirrels.

July in my perennial wild flower garden.  The wild flowers were planted about twenty years ago, from bag and canned wild flower seed mixes.  I just turned the soil, broadcast the seed mix and let nature take its course. Every now and then, I'll root out the grass that invades from what little lawn that I have.  No ferts or pesticides, dividing the root clumps is a no-no also. Basically, no maintenance is the rule, I just let it grow. When I see plants taking hold that I do not want I just pull them out by the roots.  The deadheads are left on the stalks to re-seed, provide food for the visiting birds and shelter for the overwintering insects.

Margined Blister Beetle

I was first introduced to the Blister Beetle in the mid 70's. In a way that I would not wish upon my worst enemy or best friend( in creationist science your best friend is your worst enemy, talk about weird science, lol). Back to the point. I was strolling down the street, was a beautiful summer's eve, when I felt something crawling on the back of my neck. I reached back, gave it a whack and picked it off my neck. First glance I was relieved that it was not a hornet, yellow jacket or bee. I thought only a beetle,  good.  As I continued my stroll and examination of this unknown beetle, I observed a reddish fluid on the beetle and my fingers.  Suddenly, my neck and fingers began to burn, as if a hot comb was pressing against my skin. The back of my neck and fingers blistered something awful but the pain became scientific bliss when I realized that I had my first Blister Beetle.

The beetle in the photo is the Margined Blister Beetle (Epicauta pestifera). Common in the eastern USA. These beetles are vegetarians as adults. The eggs are laid in the soil, upon hatching the instar (nymphs) seek out grasshopper eggs for food.  During a drought, when grasshopper eggs are few, they substitute ground nesting bee larva for their food. Some consider them parasitic but they are actually insect predators(insectivores). The blister agent is secreted by the males and given to the females during mating.  She puts the fluid on the eggs.  This makes the eggs poisonous and repels any creature that finds the eggs. The toxic chemical in the fluid not only burns but it also kills horses, grazing animals and humans when the beetles are eaten. Old timers out there, remember the aphrodisiac "Spanish Fly", well, the ground up beetle was it. Now banned around the world because it is a deadly poison. If you ever wondered what a  Spanish Fly looked like, here it is.          

Snap Shots, January-February 2012

Stepping a couple months back for this post, here are a few of the snapshot made during the months of January and February 2012. Northwest Indiana had a mild winter, below average snow fall and above average temps. All in all a most pleasant winter.


Last summer I found an area with a large growth of Illinois Bundle weed (here is a photo of this plant in flower). I revisited the area and found the Bundle weed seed pods. The seed pods twist themselves about the flowerhead in a tight bundle. In the photo below you can see how the pods split open to release the seeds. I collected a few seeds and will try to grow them in my flower garden this spring.

Illinois Bundle Weed Seed Pods

The only birds seen in the field during this hike were a small flock of Chipping Sparrows. Flying from bush to bush, and close to the ground, looking for seeds and insects in the leaf litter.

Chipping Sparrow

The neighborhood in which I live is shared with a family of Cooper Hawks. They hunt and nest in Oaks and Maple trees. Skilled hunters, they fly through the trees taking any small animal that lets its guard down. 

Cooper Hawk

Many a time I have a Forest Gump moment, while standing in the yard, I'll see a feather drifting in the still air.  Sure enough a Cooper Hawk will be perched in a tree above, plucking it's lunch. 

Cooper Hawk with lunch

This is a photo of a Red-Tailed Hawk, high in a dead Cottonwood tree, overlooking Ranger's Marsh.

Red-Tailed Hawk

How mild was the winter of 2011-12.  I left the collard greens and cabbage in the ground last fall. We would go out and pick a hand full of greens when needed. Well, they grew all winter, these photos were taken February 27, 2012. I'll let them go to seed and maybe they'll be our greens for Easter dinner. 

Collard Greens in February 

Well, the winter was mild enough for this Blue Bot Fly to pay us a visit in February.

And the Maple trees are flowering in February.

(Left Click any Photo See the Slide Show)

Fall Photo Round-Up

Another year has passed me by, only got out a couple times to enjoy the call of the wild. No luck at all with my duck hunting and managed only a few photos from my limited outdoor adventures.  So I'll share what I have.

During this season of duck hunting, I saw more Pileated Woodpeckers than ducks. I've been hunting flooded timber for more than ten years and seeing this species of woodpecker but this is the first year that I have been able to get a photo of one. 

Sometimes the treasure you seek is not the treasure you find.

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker 2

Pileated Woodpecker 3

Pileated Woodpecker 4

These Mallard dekes are two of several that I carved almost 15 years ago, made from light brown cork and basswood heads they have with-stood years of abuse.

Hand-Carved Cork Working Decoys

This morning the clouds moved in and made the sun look like the full moon.

Dark-Sun

I have a weakness for the morning sun 's reflection in still water.

Double-Sun

Each and every plants fight an on going battle for their place in the sun.

Allusion of Chaos

Magenta sky at the break of day.

Sun-Rise over the Decoys

The heavens bleed after a good day of duck hunting.

The Sky Turned a Blood-Red

 The moon appeared to rise so far to the north and early on this afternoon that I actually thought there was a problem with the Universe, LOL.

Bayou Moon

October Buckeye

On a spring-like October afternoon, a Buckeye butterfly takes a last sip of Zinnia nectar, before hibernating for the winter. 

Nature Studies Cover

 

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No Place Like the Bayou

A couple/3 weeks ago, after Ranger Dangers yearly vet visit, we headed down to
Lasalle Fish and Wildlife Area for a walk and a swim in the Bayou. If we're lucky there will be a few migrating waterfowl using the bayous, resting before they continue their flight to Canada and all points north, east and west.

Ranger's on the lead, the cameras are packed, and we're ready to hit the dirt running. Before I go any further, I must warn you that this time of year, March thru May is Turkey season. Hunters are in the woods hoping to bag Big Tom Gobbler. So before you start stomping around at a Fish an Wildlife Area, go to the Headquarters and ask about their restrictions and rules at that property. If there are turkey hunters in the woods, I would not enter. Give the hunters the woods, the seasons only about a month in most states.


Three Little Turtles
















Three little turtles,
in the afternoon sun,
this is their message.
Don't worry ,
everything is going to be all right.

Sunning on a log are three Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) . These pics are taken mid to late April, still fairly cold. Low temps at night may fall to the mid 20's, day time highs may reach 50 degrees. But as the sun rises higher in the sky each day, the sunrays warm the plants, logs and mud in and under the cold water. Turtles being cold-blooded, spend the winter hibernating in leaves and mud under the water so they don't freeze. The warm sunlight wakes the turtles from their sleep. On a sunny day the turtles will congregate on a toasty log, soaking up the spring sunshine.


Big Old Tom Gobbler




















What on earth is this! This is what the hunters are after, a 20 lb Tom turkey. The Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) are a native bird, but the turkeys we see now were reintroduced to most of their original range because the original turkey population was exterminated from most of the Eastern United States.

This bird has a "beard" consisting of modified feathers that stick out from the breast. His beard is about 9 inches (230 mm) in length, about average. I know, hard to see this turkey in the straw, well click on the picture and you'll see an enlargement. Maybe you can make out the beard, it hangs from the front of his breast.


Can a 20 lb Turkey Really Fly?
















You betcha! Here's a couple pictures that demonstrate that a Wild Turkey is a strong flier.
If they see you coming they'll hold still and be virtually invisible,
get to close they will flush(jump up into the air) and fly away at full speed. It will scare the bejebees out of you!


















Seeing a large flock of Wild Turkeys flying through a dense oak woods is an amazing sight.

The Baker Unit, Lasalle Fish & Wildlife Area

We're facing north, looking over a flooded corn field. This is a part of the Baker Unit. Corn will be planted at this site (if the ground ever dries). The corn will provide food and cover for the migrating waterfowl next fall and winter. In this unit there are three duck hunting blinds. Hunter get up in the middle of the night, just to stand in line, way before daylight. Hoping to be lucky enough to get the opportunity to duck hunt the Baker Unit.