"Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination."
― Louise Brooks
Here are a few photos from last weekend's trip out to Arena's sandbars on the Wisconsin River. The smoke and haze definitely cut down on visibility to the horizon, but it ended up creating a pretty cool atmosphere for these shots. The repair job I did to my Nikon FT1 adapter seems to be holding up as well, so I'm putting off purchasing a new camera for now. I've saved for it and I'm not going to use those funds to buy another guitar!
As I mentioned in my previous post, despite the fantastic habitat, tiger beetles were nowhere to be found on the sandbars. However, the phenological window is right for the Sandy Stream Tiger Beetle—which emerges only in summer, unlike species with spring/fall cycles. I'll likely look for them again tomorrow or Sunday.
A few southbound Least Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) were foraging for invertebrates along the sandbars ...
Ah yes! Fall migration has begun.
There were lots of Allegheny Monkey Flower (Mimulus ringens) ...
Macro close-ups ...
The only insect I photographed was a this deceased stag beetle ...
As usual, I ended up at Sauk Rec, but it was already late and sweltering when I arrived. The only tiger beetles out were a few Punctured Tiger Beetles; the rest were likely sheltering in their burrows to escape the high heat. While we had a nice cooldown this week, temperatures are set to climb back into the 80s and 90s over the weekend.
Though on the non-native and invasive Knapweed (Centaurea biebersteinii), I got a nice photo of a Common Sootywing (Pholisora catullus) ...
Before resigning myself from the oppressive heat, I spent a few moments photographing Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea) ...
As for tomorrow, if I don't find Sandy Stream Tiger Beetles at Sauk (or Arena), I may end up exploring the Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor or Deer Creek.
All images © 2026 Mike McDowell