Eclipse

On Sunday night, there was a supermoon combined with an eclipse.  The last time this happened was in 1982 and it won't happen again until 2033.  I decided to go out and take some pictures, but due to a major bone-head move I didn't get any while it was full.  Anyway, here they are!

I now wish I had stayed up until it was completely over, but sleep is important too:)

I think this is only the fourth or fifth eclipse I have ever seen, but this was definitely the most fun one for me!

Andrew

Tails and Terns

When our youth group went camping this weekend at Kanopolis Reservoir Anthony and I jumped at the chance to go birding in a different part of the state.

We arrived fairly late Friday evening and didn't really have a chance to go birding until late Saturday morning, when we recruited another guy to hiking with us on the Horsethief Canyon trail. He soon got tired of following us all over the country and stopped, sensibly, with a magazine to read. Anthony and I continued hiking over very rough terrain, hoping to reach a point in the lake where we had seen a large flock of gulls. After perhaps an hour we got there, only to find that there were only Franklin's and a few Ring-billed Gulls.

Franklin's Gull

 We kept scanning, however, and soon found a small group of terns within the larger flock. Most of them were classic Forster's, with isolated dark eye patches and pale wingtips. There was one in breeding plumage, which struck us as odd, since all the rest were in non-breeding plumage. It soon dawned upon us that it was actually a Common Tern, a lifer!

Common Tern (center). Note the gray belly and extensively dark primaries. Although not apparent in this photo, the bill was dark red with an extensive dark tip. Photo by Anthony

My poor photo of two of the Common Terns. Notice the diagnostic dark carpal bar on the non-breeding individual on the right.

A bit more scanning turned up two more Commons, these in non-breeding or juvenile plumage. In a valiant attempt to get better pics I waded out to my waist, all to no avail as I was still too far away for good photos.

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We reluctantly started back, groaning at the fact that we had nearly three miles of hiking to get back to camp. The misery was offset when, part way back, I noticed an unfamiliar butterfly. It was bright orange like a Sleepy Orange, but had black only on the front corners of its wings. I not-so-casually mentioned that it might be a Tailed Orange and sprinted off up the sumac-covered slope to try and photograph it. We soon succeeded and confirmed our suspicions, it was a Tailed Orange! Luckily it was quite cooperative, letting us get great pics.

I encouraged Anthony to try to get flight shots, since it was not markedly different from a Sleepy Orange on the underside. I failed miserably on this, but Anthony was successful in getting some great photos of this seventh state record.

Along with the limited black in the wings, the wing shape is also different from Sleepy Orange. Tailed has distinctly "squared-off" wings, unlike the Sleepy's more rounded wingtips. Photo by Anthony

It seemed that every patch of exposed rock had its own Prairie Fence Lizard. This one sat quietly pondering life, which turned out to be a small grasshopper, which it caught and ate.



Joseph

Long-tailed Skipper at the Dyck Arboretum!!!

Today I went to the Dyck Arboretum in Hesston to attend a plant sale with my aunt and sister. The first bird I saw was an Olive-sided Flycatcher perched in a dead tree right next to the path.

We had to wait a little while to get in, so I strolled around to look at some butterflies on some nearby blooming shrubs. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of Silver-spotted Skippers all over the bushes so I checked them carefully for something interesting. I glanced over at a Silver-spotted Skipper perched in front of me, "That's not a Silver-spotted Skipper, THAT'S A LONG-TAIL!"  Long-tailed Skippers are NOT expected in Kansas.

 I frantically snapped away for a couple minutes before it disappeared. Despite checking the bush several times throughout the afternoon I was unable to relocate it.

 According to BAMONA (Butterflies and Moths of North America Online) this is only the fourth state record!

Although I wasn't able to get a good photo of the upperside, you can see the characteristic greenish body here that separates it from other longtails

 

A bit later, while walking the trails, I came upon this Queen nectaring on some asters. Monarchs, at least, seem to be doing well at the arboretum, I found several caterpillars on a Tropical Milkweed plant.

It was a very satisfying afternoon to be out!

Joseph

Rufous Delight

I must admit I was a bit doubtful one evening last week when my sister hollered that there was a Rufous Hummingbird at the feeder, but a quick dive to the window confirmed her suspicions. It was indeed an immature male Rufous! I made another dive for the camera, but by the time I was back at the window it had left. I waited patiently and it soon appeared at our other feeder, where I was able to get some decent pics. Yes! A quality year-bird and only the second ever for my yard!

To be honest,  I couldn't confidently eliminate Allen's Hummingbird with these views, but with one previous state record what are the odds?

To my great surprise an adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird soon joined the Rufous. I have only had three or four Rubies at my feeder this fall so far, so this was a pleasant sight. It was also the first time I have ever had two species of hummers at once!

Andrew and Anthony soon showed up to see their third Reno Co hummer of the fall. (The third was Bryant and Andrew's Black-chinned a couple weeks ago). Luckily for them it was still sitting in the tree when they arrived. Surprisingly, the male Ruby right next to it didn't seem bothered by the Rufous casually sitting a few inches away. More typically, the adult male would have bullied the immature away from the feeder. Perhaps it was just too tired from a long flight. Who knows?

Joseph