July 11, 2010 - MN Summer Photos

The Calico Pennant is a common dragonfly at our home in northern Minnesota. The heart-shaped spots on the abdomen help identify this species. Because the spots are red, you can tell this is an adult male. Females and juveniles have yellow spots.

DragonflyCalicoPennantDunningLake20100702

I found this Franklin’s Ground Squirrel at Scenic State Park in northern Minnesota. It makes its home in an underground burrow that can be up to 20 feet long. This squirrel is a true hibernator and often has a chamber in its burrow that is below the frost line. It can be hard to spot because it lives in brushier areas than our other two common squirrels (Red Squirrel and Gray Squirrel).

SquirrelFranklin'sGroundScenicStatePark20100527

Herring Gulls are common in Minnesota along the North Shore of Lake Superior. I was in Grand Marais and was fortunate to find this one standing on a rock that was covered with very colorful lichens.

GullHerringCroftvilleRoadGrandMarais20100605

One evening Diana and I were eating dinner on our porch when this Porcupine ambled into our yard. As this one demonstrated, Porcupines are good climbers. In winter they are often seen high in a tree where they feed on the inner bark of the tree.

PorcupineDunningLake20100619

Here’s the “business end” of the Porcupine. Their rump and tail are covered with up to 30,000 quills. These are modified hairs; solid on both ends, hollow in the middle, and with a sharp barb on the end. They are loosely attached to muscles just under the skin. Porcupines cannot “throw” their quills but any predator that gets too close could get a very painful lesson from the swinging tail of the Porcupine.

PorcupineDunningLake20100619

The last couple of years I have been fortunate to find baby Killdeer at the Trout Lake boat landing near Bovey, MN. I can’t resist taking a few photos of them because they are just so cute.

KilldeerBabyTroutLakeBovey20100515

Following up on Shawn's comment (below) and my response, I've added this photo showing how large the feet of this baby Killdeer are. It's kind of like a gangly teenager - all legs and feet!

KilldeerBabyTroutLakeBovey20100515