Kip’s Comments - August 9, 2023
What Did You Do Today?
I might be wrong, but I have an idea I may have had an unusually odd day compared to normal (if there is such a thing). So far I have had no EMS or other emergency calls, no EMA responses, and no meetings - that is good. I did, however, have some interesting wildlife encounters I will share with you.
This afternoon I was notified of a young trumpeter swan that was caught on or by something in a shallow pond. The parent birds were agitated as the young swan attempted to free itself from whatever was restraining it. I went out to see if I could help the swan. To access the bird required wearing chest waders, walking in head-high grass filled with bugs, and having frogs and other critters move through the grass as I trekked to the pond. The good news is that on my arrival I saw nothing - no swans at all. When I approached closer, two adult trumpeter swans and two cygnets swam out into the water. From what I could tell, all was well with each bird family member. That effort became unnecessary - a good thing! Thanks for the notification!
Trumpeter Swan Family - Image 833841
As I made my way through the tall vegetation back to my truck I saw a few things of interest. One was this large bullfrog. In the field I noticed nothing odd about it. When looking at the image on my computer I noticed the frog is missing its right front leg. I cannot tell if this was a birth defect or something else.
Bullfrog (missing a leg) - Image 833721
I also found a couple of plant species I was not sure of their identification. The first was dodder and the second was prairie onion.
Dodder - Image 833722
Prairie Onion - Image 833748
Two species without any interesting remarks were an arrowhead plant and a Halloween pennant dragonfly.
Broadleaf Arrowhead - Image 833707
Halloween Pennant Dragonfly - Image 833737
Halloween Pennant Dragonfly - Image 833743
Perhaps the most interesting wildlife activity of the day was a response to a bat in the basement of a house. I could not get there right away, leaving the homeowner with a feeling of uneasiness. All turned out well when I quickly found and captured the bat for a safe relocation. The relocation process for the bat came with a hitch - I got to shoot pictures of it before freedom was granted. My early images were of the bat in a clear container. That did not work well due to condensation and the bat making a mess of the container. So, I removed the lid and photographed the bat without visual obstructions. I really wanted to show its teeth that the bat showed me, but there were no real good incisor pictures. So, I will share what I did manage to capture.
Bat Removed From House - Image 833905
Bat Removed From House - Image 833913
So, that was my day. What fun stuff did you do?
