Sept. 26, 2021 - End of Summer - 2

Here’s my last set of summer photos.

Around the middle of July, it was pretty obvious that the Common Loons on our lake were not going to be raising any young ones this summer. That’s also the time of year that other loons who are not taking care of babies start visiting nearby lakes. If our loons had babies, they wouldn’t have tolerated a third loon coming on the lake.

LoonCommonDunningLakeItascaCounty20210722

I mentioned in an earlier posting that I often see other insects besides moths when I leave our porch light on at night. This Roundneck Sexton Beetle showed up at the end of June. It’s not very big, just ⅝″ to ⅞″ long. I found the following description of their unappetizing diet at Minnesotaseasons.com. “Adults feed mostly on the feces of carnivores, including humans, but also on carrion, maggots, and rotting fruit.”

SextonBeetleRoundneckNicrophorusorbicollisDunningLakeItascaCounty20210625

This summer, many parts of the United States experienced smoky skies as a result of wildfires on the west coast and in Canada. That gave a reddish look to the setting sun.

SunsetDunningLakeItascaCounty20210710

The scientific name for a Gray Tree Frog is Hyla versicolor which comes from the Latin words for variable color. That’s why this “Gray” Tree Frog is green; it can change its color to match its surroundings.

TreefrogGrayWindTurbineFieldDunningLakeItascaCounty20210807

Here’s another Gray Tree Frog. I found it on our deck when I was out at night looking for moths. It has changed its color to brown to match the color of the deck.

TreeFrogGrayDunningLakeItascaCounty20210711

Driving from our lake home to our apartment one day, I saw this Wild Turkey with a very large group of half-grown youngsters. They were in a field just north of Floodwood, Minnesota.

TurkeyWildfamilyFloodwoodLouisCounty20210807