"A beetle may or may not be inferior to a man ― the matter awaits demonstration; but if he were inferior by ten thousand fathoms, the fact remains that there is probably a beetle view of things of which a man is entirely ignorant. If he wishes to conceive that point of view, he will scarcely reach it by persistently reveling in the fact that he is not a beetle."
― G.K. Chesterton
Though a couple of my Cicindelini compadres already observed their first spring tiger beetles a couple of weeks ago, I permitted birding to get in the way on those few warm days. However, this weekend the temperatures shot up into the sixties and seventies ― I knew this would prompt more of the little sand and rock monsters to emerge from their burrows.
I figured I'd find Oblique-lined and Festive, but I wasn't sure about Splendid. I was a little surprised there weren't any Big Sand Tiger Beetles given the warm temperature. To see Splendid, one has to make their way to the rocky outcroppings at the top of the bluff.
Recently burned, there weren't that many flowering plants just yet, and not that many birds. Several Eastern Meadowlarks sang throughout my afternoon hike, and at one point I heard a Field Sparrow sing a few brief phrases. The avian surprise of the outing were two Common Ravens calling and circling over the bluff ― too far for quality photos. I think this may be the furthest south I have ever encountered them. I took a few documentation shots, but I'm not planning on reporting them.
A Field Sparrow, which was my first of spring...
Atop this bluff, and to the right ― that's where the Splendid Tiger Beetles are!
It's a haul, but presto!
There were so few Splendids I didn't have many opportunities to get a variety of angles like I did last summer, but this next one is still kind of a fun photo ― anthropomorphically giving this "Hey! What's that over there!?" impression. Or is he going to roll that rock over the edge to hit the Roadrunner? ;)
The most numerous were Festives, which were found all throughout the lower trail system. Most were rather brown, but a few had purple or green iridescent highlights.
I found a half dozen or so Oblique-lined Tiger Beetles, which were near the first bend in the trail north of the kiosk. Since it was already past the noon hour and rather warm, the beetles were speedy and extremely difficult to approach. But the Tiger Beetler will not leave empty handed!
Appearing brown most of the time, they iridesce purple at some angles...
This was how I spent Saturday afternoon, but I hit the Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor, Stricker's Pond, Baxter's Hollow, and the Sauk City Canoe Launch on Sunday. I took way more photographs than I can put together for long blog, but I'll probably publish the rest later this week.
All images © 2021 Mike McDowell
All images © 2021 Mike McDowell