A whole new world…

It looked wet and windy outside this morning, so I took my time with breakfast and the newspaper. Then I remembered that Donna, who had shown us the great horned owlet a few weeks ago, had invited me to tag along with her Sunday morning birding group anytime, and today they were going to the Mequon Nature Preserve, which is just a few miles northwest of Estabrook, so I decided to give it a try. Well, what a treat it was.

I arrived a little early and was greeted by this spectacle: a muskrat in a little pond and holding its tail in the air. I figured I’d be able to find an explanation of this behavior online, but all I’ve found so far is other bloggers wondering the same thing, such as Mike and Sue.

Then I heard an odd little chirp, and soon found it was coming from this fancy-looking bird, who happens to be the very first eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) that I have ever seen. What a way to start the morning!

Then Donna and her birding group arrived, we set out across the prairie, and it didn’t take the group long to find another striking bird perched in a young oak tree, the very first dickcissel (Spiza americana) I have ever seen. Talk about being on a roll!

As we approached one of the “hardwood mesic forests” in the preserve, this amazing creature fluttered into view and landed nearly in front of me. It is a Virginia ctenucha moth (Ctenucha virginica), and it is the first one I have ever seen! I read that it is pronounced “ten-OOCH-ah”, and the name was coined by William Kirby from the Greek meaning “having a comb”, a reference to the showy antennae of some species. Will wonders never cease?

A few paces from the moth, we found a small frog, and I read that the little ridge of skin that runs from the back of the eye all the way to its rump indicates that it is a northern green frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota). I can’t say for sure that I’ve never seen one before, but I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever seen bullfrogs in Estabrook Park. Sweet!

Then, before I could even take a step, someone in the group had already spotted this cutie, the very first clay-colored sparrow (Spizella pallida) I have ever seen. I’ve had dreams that go like this!

There were a lot of familiar voices in the forest, but nothing I could get a picture of, and we were soon through it and back out into a big field being slowly converted from farm to prairie. We hadn’t gotten very far before this stunner flitted into view and stopped to soak up a little sun or moisture from the soil. It didn’t stay long, but I did manage to get this picture which is enough to identify it as a great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele). I’ve seen a silver-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene) in Craters of the Moon National Monument and a variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) in Yellowstone, but this is my very first great spangled.

I did finally get some pictures of familiar faces. Here’s an eastern bluebird, …

and here’s a yellow warbler.

We eventually had to hike back to the parking lot, and Donna asked about where I had seen the meadowlark, so I pointed out the spot, but the bird was nowhere to be found, of course. Then, as we were all chatting about upcoming events, look who showed up to make an honest man out of me. In fact, there were two of them, and one ducked right down into the grass while this one waited nearby in a little tree with a beak full of bugs. After it let me get this picture, it joined its mate in the tall grass and probably stuffed all those bugs into hungry little beaks.

Finally, as we all began preparing to leave, the young killdeer I had seen earlier also reappeared, and you can see that it is half-sized, at best, compared to its blurry parent keeping an eye on things in the background.

Now that’s what I would call a successful outing, wouldn’t you?