Sandhill Wildlife Area (June 9, 2004)
This wildlife area is located in Wood County east of Babcock, off of Co. Highway X. It is less than 20 miles north of the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.
After poor weather on every weekend in May, I have been looking forward to some warmer drier weather and looked forward to seeing some butterflies and other insects flying. Not one weekend day in May was above 60 degrees, and the sun only came out if the temperature hovered around 50 degrees. I didn’t see as many butterflies as I expected to see, but I did see the following:
Tiger Swallowtail sp. (8)(probably Canadian but I never got a good look)
Blue sp. (1)
Northern Crescent (2) (fresh)
Mourning Cloak (1)
American Lady (2) (very worn)
Viceroy (2)
Monarch (2)
Sleepy Duskywing (1)
Arctic Skipper (17)
Indian Skipper (1)
Hobomok Skipper (3)
Click to enlarge
My first Ebony Boghaunter
The Northern Crescent, Viceroy, Little Wood-Satyr, Sleepy Duskywing, Hobomok Skipper, Pepper and Salt Skipper were the first ones of these species that I saw this year.
I observed my first Ebony Boghaunter today, on a sandy roadway off the Trumpeter Trail. This species is listed as rare in the Dragonflies of Wisconsin and is a species of special concern by the Wisconsin DNR.
There were many Six-spotted Tiger Beetles on the sandy trails, but not many that were as cooperative as this one. This was the first time I was able to sneak up on a Tiger Beetle to take a good close-up.
I also observed the following deer eating in the water and was able to get a photo of this buck with two ducks.
