Pipestone National Monument Week 6

I worked some more overtime this week and used my one day off to go to Blue Mounds State Park again, this time with bird researchers Arjun and Cassie. We hiked around admiring grasslands birds, then returned via a "trail" that weaved through the woods at the base of the cliff. We continued this way, listening to the eastern wood pewees above us until the trail tapered out into nothing in a weedy field. We had some theories about what the plant might have been, which led to me calling the rangers down there the next day. Among the blooming prickly pears, we discovered a flower with an interesting name, Venus's looking glass.

Venus's Looking Glass

The gigantic prickly pear at the beginning of the trail at Pipestone National Monument started blooming this week. It will have quite a few flowers on it when they all open. Other flowers I have not yet identified have been opening here and there.

Prickly Pear Cactus

Milkweed

Along the Casey Jones State Trail, the only reliable place where my cell phone works (but not if I don't stand up straight!), some yellow coneflowers and black-eyed susans have begun blooming.

Yellow coneflower

Within the park, I observed a kingbird fighting off a nighthawk, living up to its "tyrant flycatcher" family name. Another time, while listening to a bluebird that I could not see, waiting for it to appear, I was surprised when it suddenly flew down to chase a wren in the tree where the bluebird nest had been, then peck at a nighthawk perched in a nearby tree in one long swoop.

I also had the pleasure of observing two white-tail fawns still wearing their spots. They just watched me. I didn't have my camera.

Prairie Phlox

Within the park, a small group of sun dancers is encamped at the Sun Dance grounds. While the group leader has come in to the visitor center a couple times to sign in to quarry the pipestone, I haven't seen much of the group. I am content to let them do their thing and be alone. It is interesting to walk around the park and hear the singing and drumming from a short way off.

We continued presenting our evening programs at the Pipestone RV Campground. I rustled up 15 people for my show, which doesn't sound like much. Compared to Glacier, though, I'm reaching a proportion of the park's annual visitation a power of ten higher per show.

European honeybee on smooth sumac