My Summer Travels in 2017
So far, it hasn't amount to much travel. I've been in the Black Hills helping with American Dipper Banding and now I'm in the Slim Buttes in Harding County. I have a Prairie Falcon pair with young on a cliff just a hundred yards or so away. Lots of butterflies around but so far not much that I need photos of. Now moving into a new moon period and I'm hoping for lots of clear nights. So far I've had two, but the moon is still coming up early. Last night I was up till 2 AM. I will add more photos and news as things happen. See links below for photos in those categories from the last couple of weeks.
Astrophotography Birds Butterflies and other things
June 20, 2017 Last night
started out with high clouds, then it cleared for a couple of hours, then more
clouds. I was up till about 2 AM. It looks like tonight will be about the same,
so I may or may not get any shooting done. I put some new photos from yesterday
at the LINK.
June 21, 2017 It is still windy but I went
butterfly hunting anyway. I have some target species, Ridings' Satyr, Ruddy
Copper, Purplish Copper, but so far I have not found them. It is still early
though. Might have a county record for Harding County though, Bronze Copper. I'm
checking with Gary Marrone on that. Some new images at the
LINK.
June 23, 2017. Last night it cleared off for awhile, long enough
for me to get some good images of the Elephant Trunk Nebula. It was very windy,
and that cost me some subs, but I have pretty good protection here from wind. If
I had been out in the open, it would have been impossible. Forecast is for clear
sky for the next 3 nights! I put some new images at the
LINK.
June 24, 2017 Last night was absolutely perfect for night
photography. Very dark, no wind, atmosphere was very stable and cool, so I
stayed up late. It is too bad it takes so long to work on objects, it
takes up all night to just do four objects. These kinds of nights don't come
along very often. It might be that way again tonight. During the day I tried for
some Eastern Bluebird photos at the nest. The light isn't very good there and it
is hard to get sharp shots of the female feeding the young. I put some new
images at the LINK.
June 25, 2017 I was up all night, till it started
getting light in the east. Another near perfect night, although the atmosphere
wasn't quite as stable. This time of year, the nights are short and I don't get
as much shooting time as I'd like to. I posted some new images at the
LINK.
June 26, 2017 Yesterday I moved to the Reva Gap Campground. I
wanted to try doing a mosaic of the Milky Way over Reva Gap. I was surprised to
find three other guys there, with the same plan. Well, not exactly the same
plan, but they were doing something with the night sky. Anyway, it worked out
well for me, their light gave my image a little extra. For more on how I did
this and to see my final image, go to the
LINK.
June 28, 2017 Today the wind finally went down. Did a lot of
hiking. Almost got bit by a rattlesnake. See
LINK for photos.
July 7, 2017 I've been in the Black Hills for awhile now, escaping the
heat. I have no cell phone or internet at my current campsite at Rod and Gun
Campground in Spearfish Canyon. Not much new to post, I look for butterflies but
find nothing new. I have never seen so many people in the Black Hills, seems
like they are everywhere, running around on ATV's and other contraptions. I will
be glad to get to someplace quieter. Here's a few photos I took before leaving
the Slim Buttes, see LINK.
July 15, 2017 I'm at my quiet spot southwest of Jewel Cave. I
have not seen a soul in the area of my camp and I've been here since last
Tuesday. Yesterday I met Rick and Susan at Hell Canyon and we did some birding,
they got a lifer Lewis's Woodpecker. I have a hummingbird feeder out in Hell
Canyon, so far just Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. This morning I visited the butte
with a colony of Sagebrush Lizards, I mostly wanted to see if they are still
there and get some photos. I put some new photos at this
LINK and photos of the Sagebrush Lizards at
this LINK. No
cell phone or internet here, I have to go to town to get any service.
July 18, 2017 It has been hot! Finally, today, it has cooled down
to more normal Black Hills temperatures. A thunderstorm with lots of lightning
came through here last night. I've been photographing robber flies and yesterday
I found a Lewis's Woodpecker nest on Elk Mountain. The nest is perfectly
situated for photography in the early morning, so that's where I was this
morning at sunrise. A flock of Red Crossbills has taken a liking to my little
grove of pine trees at camp, right now there is a juvenile outside my back
window, about 6 ft. away! I posted robber fly photos at this
LINK and some bird photos at this
LINK.
July 31, 2017 It has been awhile since posting anything.
Spent a week going to a family reunion in Missouri where I managed to get a few
life birds and a lifer butterfly as well as visit relatives, some of whom I've
never even met before. The reunion took place in Lebanon and at Bennett Springs
State Park. I put some photos from Missouri at this
LINK. Since then, I've been staying at my spot SW
of Jewel Cave. A few photos from this area are at this
LINK. I haven't done any astrophotography
this month due mostly to being gone during the new moon period or from poor
weather, and the one night I did try it at Pierre, the mosquitoes drove me
inside.
August 1, 2017 Ricky Olson was here today, we birded Hell Canyon
and around Jumpoff Spring. Still no Rufous Hummingbirds. Found more Sagebrush
Lizards at Jumpoff Spring, where I have seen them before years ago. I put a few
new photos at the LINK.
August 8, 2017 I'm still in the same spot. On August 2,
Rick and I drove through the Jasper Burn and counted 80 Lewis's Woodpeckers.
That is probably nearly as many as I've seen in my life, all in one day. Been
hiking alot, weather is nice. Birds are starting to flock up. I have seen
Clark's Nutcrackers nearby but too far away for photos. Today I found a small
flock of Pygmy Nuthatch, not very far from camp. I put some new images at the
LINK.
August 10, 2017 Yesterday a juvenile male Calliope Hummingbird
showed up at my feeder. I posted a message on the SD Bird list-serve. Apparently
some people will be coming here to see it today. I put some photos at the
LINK.
August 12, 2017 Only 9 more days to the total solar eclipse.
I had been planning to just drive down early in the morning and try to find a
place to set up my equipment. But I've been losing sleep over that, I don't know
if there will be law enforcement telling people they can't park in the ditch or
if there will even be anywhere to park. In addition to that, I would only be
able to get a rough polar alignment with the mount, since I would not be able to
see Polaris. Today I was searching online and found a private ranch that is
taking reservations for camping or just a place to park. I called them up and
they still have room, so I will be going down the day before. This is the best
option for me, since I will be able to set everything up and get the tracking
mount polar aligned on Polaris the night before. It located between Lusk and
Torrington WY, only about 100 miles from where I am now. Now all I need is clear
skies! On the way up to the highway to make the phone call, I found a Smooth
Green Snake on the road, and took some photos, I did not have any very good
shots of this species before. I put a few new images at the
LINK.
August 14, 2017 One week to the solar eclipse. I will be glad
to finally be done waiting. I have had some good luck Pygmy Nuthatch and Brown
Creepers. It is getting dry here again but rain is in the forecast for the next
couple of days. I put some new images at the
LINK.
August 17, 2017 As of now, the forecast for eclipse day at Jay Em,
Wyoming is for mostly sunny sky. Last night, for the first time in about two
months, I got the astro equipment set up and tried some night shooting. Today,
I've been practicing on the sun. I've gotten a little rusty but it didn't take
too long to get back into the system of doing it. I put some new images at the
LINK.
August 19. 2017 Two more days to go. I'll be leaving tomorrow for
Jay Em, Wyoming. I suppose there will be cell phone service there but I don't
know for sure. Forecast still looks pretty good, but now The Weather Channel is
forecasting partly cloudy while the NWS is forecasting sunny. I was up late last
night, tried the Pelican Nebula and few other things. Also some new bird photos
at the LINK.
August 21, 2017 The total solar eclipse was the most spectacular
thing I've ever seen. Skies were perfectly clear, hardly any wind, my equipment
performed flawlessly, although I almost forgot to start shooting when totality
hit. All I had to do was push a shutter button on the cable release and turn a
wheel for different shutter speeds, so I had plenty of time to just look. I used
auto bracketing, set for 1 stop of light over and under the set exposure and it
worked out well. I was pretty amazed to see what I got. Now if I can figure out
how to stack layers and keep only the good parts of the images I have, I should
have a really good image of the corona out to several solar widths. For
starters, I put three photos at the
LINK. There will be more.