THE TWO WE SEE FIRST

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

I’m a little behind the time curve with today’s blog post due to several reasons but I still like to share these two photos with you, despite they were created already two weeks ago.

These two butterfly species are the first ones we can find here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa Valley in spring. The Mourning Cloak sometimes shows up as early as the snow thaws and this year it was even in February. It’s not an abundant butterfly, but we see them every spring after they emerge from hibernation.

The Red Admiral shows up a bit later and although we don’t have a lot of their preferred larval food plant here, sting nettles, their larvae will probably find plenty of them somewhere else.

You might expect that this was created with a macro lens but I was actually out for some bird photography, with the 150-600 plus teleconverter on camera. Both butterflies used the same tree at the same time to get some exposure to the sun. Two easy shots of the two we see first every spring…

Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)

NATURE CLICKS #412 - LITTLE BROWN BAT

Little Brown Bat (Myotis Lucifugus)

When you live in the woods it is inevitable that ones in a while a critter enters the house without a particular invitation. I have helped numerous birds over the years to reobtain their freedom after they couldn’t find the open door again through which they had entered the house. 

Knocked over decorations on a window sill told us already a few days ago that something is in the house that shouldn’t be there, but we couldn’t find any suspect. Yesterday I finally found this Little Brown Bat sitting on the floor, looking pretty powerless. I put a leather glove over my hand and a minute later the bat was in the grass behind the house. Bats are nocturnal and don’t usually fly during the day. The poor critter tried to reach a dark spot under the rack for the garden hose and moved on the ground while I tried to take a picture of it. After an hour it was gone and is hopefully in a better and safer spot.

Here are some facts I have found at different sources on the web: The Little Brown Bat (Myotis Lucifugus) is the most common bat in North America and can be found even in Alaska. As already mentioned, these bats are nocturnal and sleep or groom during the day. A single bat can eat up to 1000 mosquitos during only one hour! Bats are not aggressive by nature and unless you are threatening them they won't act aggressively toward you. Most bats are quite timid and prefer to avoid people.

Little Brown Bats are now at a higher threat due to white-nose syndrome (WNS) in eastern North America. White-nose syndrome is caused by the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which affects bats during hibernation. WNS is estimated to have killed more than 5.5 million bats in the Northeast and Canada. In some sites, 90 to 100 percent of bats have died (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, 2015). Many states have made special considerations with respect to the disease, including listing them as a sensitive or protected species. Canada has listed them as an endangered species. It is estimated that 94% of the population in the eastern half of the country has died over the last few years from WNS, and the disease is moving westward at a rate that may see them extirpated within as little as 12 years.

CHIPMUNK-OUT-OF-THE-DEN-DAY

Eastern Chipmunk - first appearance this spring

Oh, you never have heard about a ‘Chipmunk-out-of-the den-day’? Ok, it is my invention… 😊 For me spring does not really start until we have seen the Eastern Chipmunk around the house. During the winter, the chipmunk may enter long periods of torpor, but does not truly hibernate. We see the chipmunk very seldom during the winter. Despite we had a mild one this last season we didn’t see this critter at all until today.

With no leaves out yet the light is crispy and clear, even here in the woods, when the sun comes out in April. Yes, we finally saw the sun today! The challenge is the high contrast, even during the last hour before sunset. You got to watch the highlights and make sure they are not blown out in your photo. It is a good time to learn and practice exposure compensation...