A Hognose Snake by the Side of the Road

Broad-winged Hawk Kettling Over Maxville

Spring visited the Lower Chippewa River Valley today.  Not a cloud in the sky.  Temps in the 60s.   I hopped in the Prius and headed out to see who's out - before spring goes into hiding again tomorrow.

And what a day it was!

Barn Swallows on Kings Highway.  Hawks kettling over the coulees - with surprisingly good looks at Broad-wings.   The midge emergence is over.  Only a few Yellow-rumps flitting around in the trees, hawking insects in the popping buds.  The first warbler wave has moved on.

Butterflies were out and flitting on Rustic Road 107.  Very flighty - difficult to get close enough for an identification.  Nearly impossible to get a good photo.

"Spring" Spring Azure

Mustard White

Gray Comma

I pulled over to take a photo of an orange butterfly and as I walked in front of my Prius, I discovered this big brown snake sunning itself in the grass.

Hognose Snake

I didn't recognize it right away, so I carefully moved in closer to take some photos.  As I did, the snake made like a cobra!  I kid you not.  Right in front of me.  Out came the cowl, then an audible "hissss" as the snake lifted its head off the ground and flicked its tongue out.

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

There shouldn't be any cobras in Wisconsin, and this snake had round eyes.   I knew it wasn't venomous.   But what is it?  

The "frightening" display and a stubby snout are all the clues I needed.  It's an Eastern Hognose also known as a "puff adder."   If the cobra routine doesn't scare you off, the Hognose might try its "roll over and play dead" routine.  This one didn't - it was all huff and puff.  

And then it took off and disappeared in the prairie grasses.  

Awesome!

First of the Year - Butterflies

My First Butterfly of 2011 - Eastern Comma polygonia

With the forecast promising the first 60-degree weather of the season, I headed out to look for new migrants today.  I wasn't disappointed:  a Belted Kingfisher, lots of Eastern Phoebes, Turkey Vultures and kestrels.  Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, Buffleheads, Canvasbacks, White Pelicans and Ring-necked Ducks.

The mammals are out too:  raccoons, opossums, skunks and ground squirrels.  I stopped to move a raccoon carcass to the shoulder of my favorite Rustic Road (#107) and something orange flitted by.  Hm... not an oak leaf.  It was ...  a butterfly!

But which one?  It looked like one of the "punctuation" butterflies (one of the commas or a questionmark).  It wasn't until I got home that I could tell for sure.  My camera picked up the diagnostic smudged black dot on the forewing:  an Eastern Comma. 

I would see six Eastern Commas on the way to Meridean (pronounced "mary - dean"), Wisconsin and 3 of my favorite Milbert's Tortoiseshells.

I expected my first of the year would be a Mourning Cloak.  They overwinter as adults.  I was surprised to discover that the Eastern Comma and the Milbert's both overwinter as adults too.

I had forgotten how "flitty" the Milbert's is.  They wouldn't let me get close enough for a photo, so I had to rely on my binoculars to get a good look.  Either my butterfly photographing instincts have gotten rusty or these insects were very wary.  According to Ebner (Butterflies of Wisconsin), "they are difficult to approach and take flight at the slightest provocation.  The flight is fairly rapid."

I agree.

As soon as the nettles start shooting up sprouts, I'll be looking for Milbert's butterfly eggs and caterpillars (enclosed collectively in silk webs) on the undersides of their leaves.

Flood Waters Crest in Durand

The river crest was forecast for 7am today.  I went downtown to check it out.

You can see the water line on the side of these buildings.

Across the bridge, the floodwaters have spread over County Road P.

USGS predicts the river will get get back to "normal" levels by the end of the week.

I walked the Chippewa River State Trail this afternoon.  There was standing water in the woods and farm fields along the trail.  More than I'd ever seen.

But I will remember this day because of the animals I spotted on the trail:  snails, butterflies, a Belted Kingfisher and a day-flying moth, Hyles lineata, also known as a White-lined Spinx (hummingbird) moth.

White-lined Sphinx moth (head on)

White-lined Sphinx moth

This day-flying month is common throughout the western hemisphere.  But this is only the second time I've ever seen one.  They're active from February to November (2 broods).  The caterpillars feed on several plants including four o'clock (Mirabilis), apple (Malus), evening primrose (Oenothera), elm (Ulmus) and grape (Vitis).  They pupate underground.

Flood Waters Continue to Rise in Durand

Here's some perspective:

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the record-setting flood in the Chippewa Valley took place on September 11, 1884.  The Chicago Tribune reported that the 27-foot flood carried away houses and all the bridges in Eau Claire.  Flood-related losses in the Eau Claire Valley were estimated at $1,500,000.   More than 3,000 homes from Chippewa Falls to Durand were lost.

Here's what's happening today:

The water level hit the "moderate stage" flooding at 16-feet, and it's still rising.

The best place to see the old flood gage (where the old Hwy 10 bridge crossed the Chippewa) is the deck on the river side of the Corral Bar.

Here's how it looks at 4th and Main Street.  River Street is completely submerged.

Here's the view from the deck at the Corral, looking up-river at the old flood gage (next to Chippewa View Park).  Look for the numbers at the lower left of the gray building.

According to the old gage - at 2pm today, the river was up 14-feet.

The official gage, up-river by the new bridge, is 2-feet higher.  The river level is 16-feet.

I drove across the river to take a look at the flooding at State Rd 25 and County Road P in Waterville Twp.

Then I headed back across the river to check out my favorite rustic road - R107 to Meridean.  It was closed east of the Xcel Energy property at Tyrone.

I wondered if the high water would drive the bullsnakes to higher ground across the road near their winter hibernacula.  As the thought crossed my mind, I spotted one on the road, fattened by a vehicle.

How are the insects handling the water?  If they have wings, they're probably okay.  I spotted several bees, flies and butterflies...

Milbert's Tortoiseshell on the riverside deck at the Corral Bar

Eastern Tailed-blue

Eastern Comma

Clouded Sulphur

And the Woolly Bear caterpillars have started to show up all - crawling across sidewalks, the Chippewa River State Trail and State Road 25. 

 

 

Yellow Butterfly Population Explosion

It happened again this week, the second time this summer.  Hundreds of Clouded Sulphur butterflies floated over the alfalfa fields and puddled along the roadsides in west-central Wisconsin.

They frequented the goldenrod nectar bar too.

Clouded Sulphurs are one of the most common butterflies in Wisconsin.   They've been spotted as early as March and as late as the first week in November.  They have several broods in a season and overwinter here - but not as an adult. 
 
The last time these insects caught my attention, I wondered why haven't I seen any predators feasting on them?

I pulled to the side of the road and looked for predators and signs of predation.

I found dozens of yellow butterflies, hit by cars, dead on the road.  I also found little piles of wings (with no bodies) - but saw no predators (birds, dragonflies, frogs, rodents and mantids) in action until we were just about ready to head back home.

I stopped to take this picture of a very small and flitty, Eastern Tailed Blue. 

It was hot (87-degrees F) and the mosquitoes were merciless, so I gave up with the photography and headed back to the Prius.  As I was buckling in, my husband said:  look - there's an Eastern Phoebe, eating a sulphur!

We watched as the phoebe grabbed one of the sulphurs "puddling" just a few yards from the car.  The flycatcher whacked it on the ground and left the wings behind as it flew off to perch in a nearby tree.

Other sightings:

American Lady

Gray Comma

Red Admiral

Cabbage White
Monarchs
Viceroy
Hackberry Emperor
"Summer" Spring Azure
Question Mark

A Painted Lady

At first I thought it was just another Red Admiral butterfly.  (I've see hundreds this summer).  Same size.  Same stutter-flutter.

I pulled off the road and pushed the park button.   I hopped out of the car with my camera, and hoped the butterfly would sit still log enough for me to get a photo. 

Painted Lady - Vanessa cardui

I knew it was something else when it opened its wings.   My first thought was:  Painted Lady.  I'd never seen one before, other than in books.  So I pulled out my iPod and took a look at what Mike Reese has to say about them (on the Wisconsin Butterflies iPod app).

The Painted Lady is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world.  They're found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia (and New Zealand).  However, it's the least common  of the three Vanessa sp. in Wisconsin.  The other two are Red Admirals and the American Lady. The Painted has 4 eye spots on the hind wing, the American has two.

Like the Monarch, the Painted Lady is a migrant.  But unlike the Monarch, it's a sporadic (irruptive) migrant.  In the Western Hemisphere, Painted Lady butterflies are common in the deserts of the American southwest and northern Mexico.   Scientists believe rainy periods in the desert trigger their migration north. 

While Monarch larvae feed solely on milkweed, Painted Lady caterpillars are known to feed on more than 100 species, including thistle (cardui is Latin for "of thistle"), legumes (including soybeans), asters and mallow.  

Send your sightings of this species to the Vanessa Project at Iowa State University.  Check out their website.

If you're interested in raising Painted Lady butterflies, you can purchase a kit (insects and food).

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Other butterflies spotted today:

2 Eastern Tailed-blue and a "Summer" Spring Azure

Black Swallowtail

Cabbage White

Checkered White (male)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Mustard White
Clouded Sulphur
Orange Sulphur
Northern Crescent
Question Mark
Eastern Comma
Milbert's Tortoiseshell
Red Admiral
American Lady
Common Buckeye
Viceroy
Hackberry Emperor
Monarch

Watching Butterflies Through Binoculars

I spent the afternoon watching butterflies.

All I needed was my close-focus  Bushnell 7x26 Custom Compacts, my iPod (with the Wisconsin Butterflies App) and cup full of ice cubes.  

With the temperature hitting a record high of 96 and unbearable humidity after last night's storm, I expected to see lots of butterflies, in all the usual places.

I spotted 15 species - sunning on the roads, nectaring on wildflowers along the roads, feeding on scat and puddling on moist sand and mud.

I spotted hundreds of Clouded Sulphurs flitting over the alfalfa fields, nectaring on roadside wildflowers and congregating at puddles.

A surprise puddle of Mustard Whites on wet sand.  (Their larval food plants are in the mustard family - Rock Cress and Toothwort).

A dozen or so Milbert's Tortoiseshells along Dunn County Road "O" east of Meridean.  Not a surprise with all the larval food (nettles) in the ditches.  The adult Milbert's nectar on thistle and goldenrods - both starting to bloom.

I spotted Monarch Butterfly eggs and larvae, a pleasant surprise in view of the recent highway mowing.  I was sad to see all the adults dead on the road.

At first glance, I thought this Common Buckeye was just another Red Admiral.  A migrant in Wisconsin, it's the first I've ever seen other than on a postage stamp.  Their favorite nectar flowers are just starting to bloom - asters, chickory and knapweed.  Their larval food plant is plantain, gerardia and toadflax.

The other species on my list include: 

Question Mark

Eastern Comma

Red Spotted Purple

and...

Hackberry Emperors
Northern Crescents
Eastern Tiger Swallowtails
Black Swallowtails
Viceroys
Monarchs
Eastern Tailed Blues
Red Admirals