It's All a Matter of Perspective

Trying to see familiar things in a different and pleasing way, that's what I've been after lately.

In the past I looked for green grass and foliage to provide an out of focus background for colorful flower images. So it was a leap for me to point my camera towards the nearby gravel road in order to create these images of Indian Paintbrush flowers(Castilleja coccinea).

The flowers were in prime condition and I'm really pleased that I didn't shoot it in my usual way and then leave. By spending the time and trying to imagine a different view I ended up with some beautiful images.

By way of comparrison, here are some Indian Paintbrush flowers I had shot a little earlier.

Though I don't think these images are bad, I much prefer the almost painting like quality of the earlier ones.

Whatever your preference, you really can't go wrong when photographing Indian Paintbrush. The colors are amazing.











You Never Know..

what you'll find when you head outside.

I spent two cool and sometimes wet days at Crex Meadows Wildlife Area last week and saw these

diamond like raindrops on the leaves of a flower I haven't identified yet. (If you know what it is please let me know.)

A rain drop on a bird's-foot violet. (Viola pedata)

A trumpeter swan taking a break from feeding on underwater plants.

Although it was cold, I was able to find two northern prairie skinks by turning over a few logs. It may not look like it, but this skink is fine. When prairie skinks are captured by predators (or people) they wriggle their bodies until whatever is attempting to catch them is left holding only their tail. The skinks tail detaches from its body and continues to twitch and move, keeping the attackers attention while the actual skink makes its escape. Over time the skink will grow back its tail.

With the day as cool and damp as it was, I felt really lucky to find a 4-5 foot bullsnake crossing one of the dirt roads. I made a few images and watched it move off into a nearby woods.

It was as if I was actually watching spring unfold as these new leaves grew on a scrub oak.

What Luck

I stopped to photograph wild lupines along a road in the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area near Grantsburg Wisconsin. I wasn't having much luck with the flowers but noticed that a lot of dragonflies were landing nearby. So I changed lenses and decided to try and photograph the dragonflies instead.

The good news is that I did better with the dragonflies than I had with the flowers. The photo above is of a four-spot skimmer on a lupine flower. 

Later in the afternoon shadows fell across the flowers near me and the dragonflies moved about 30 yards away to be in the sun. So I picked up my camera and tripod and walked towards the dragonflies. Just as I got there I heard something moving in the grass and leaf litter. I realized it was a snake and tried to catch it.

The snake looked similar to a garter snake but was much faster than any garter snake I had ever caught. It took some quick action on my part, but I did catch the snake.

I was thrilled when I realized just what I was holding in my hands. I had just caught a ribbon snake, and it was only the second one I had ever seen or caught in Wisconsin. The photo at the top of the page and this one are both of that snake reflected in water.

 Ribbon snakes are very cool and very different than the garter snakes they resemble. The first noticeable difference is their speed, they are really fast. They also have a more slender body and a much longer tail. I could see a place about 6 inches from the tip of its tail where the tail could detach if a predator grabbed it. The snake I found had one injured eye (not shown in the photos), but still had all of its tail.

It took some real creativity for me to make any successful photos of this snake and I am really happy with the images I created of this not often seen Wisconsin critter.

Back to Crex Meadows

I was lucky enough to make it back to the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area near Grantsburg last weekend. I was hoping to find reptiles like bullsnakes, hognose snakes, and prairie skinks. The day started out sunny and I was optimistic.

I finally found this eastern hognose snake crossing a road bordering the wildlife area.

After I pulled safely to the side of the road I picked up the snake and moved it off the road in the direction it was travelling before any other cars came. The above photo shows the snake playing dead once I put it on the ground.

I noticed a small foot sticking out of the snake's mouth while I was moving it. Turns out the snake had just eaten an American toad which it spit out once I set it down.



I was sorry the snake lost its lunch because I moved it, but hoped that my help may have kept it from being run over on the road.

I then followed the snake as it travelled more than 100 yards away from the road off into some scrub oak trees. The snake seemed to draw a straight line as it moved through the terrain, stopping frequently to look around before continuing on.

This hognose snake was the only reptile I found or photographed all day, but I did see a black bear with her cub and lots of muskrats.

Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Wisconsin



Rainbows over a refuge road.





A male northern prairie skink.





A brown thrasher on its nest.





A singing red winged blackbird.



 



After the storm, clouds at sunset.



 



Rainbows over Phantom Lake.

 



A red fox kit.

 


An American bittern.

 


A red fox kit at its den.

 




A thirteen-lined ground squirrel.

 




Trumpeter swans.

 



A red fox with food for its kits.





An eastern king bird.




A bullsnake's face.








A bullsnake.

 



Sandhill cranes take flight.





In May I visited the Crex Meadows Wildlife Refuge located near Grantsburg Wisconsin for the first time. It turns out that Crex Meadows has a lot to offer nature photographers.  In just a few days I was able to locate and photograph trumpeter swans, northern prairie skinks, bullsnakes, sandhill cranes, bald eagles, white-tailed deer, red fox, and many other mammals and birds. 

I was surprised by the variety of species making their home on the refuge. I also saw coyotes and wolves, but wasn't able to photograph them. 

Crex Meadows is a wonderful place and one of the largest wildlife refuges in Wisconsin. While I was there I stopped in the visitor center and found the people to be incredibly kind and helpful. The refuge roads are in good shape, well layed out, and often close to water. 

If you get the chance, Crex Meadows is a great place to visit.  There is a lot to see and do there, and it was surprisingly uncrowded. I can't wait to go back.