Lake Bemidji State Park
This is day 2 of our mini vacation. The first day was to Big Bog State Recreation area an hour north of Bemidji, MN. The 2nd day was a little closer to the hotel, just the other side of the lake. Lake Bemidji State Park also has a bog walk, although not quite as long as at Big Bog. This bog walk is a little more dense with larger trees, but still a lot of neat stuff to see.
LunchDragonfly in a Pitcher Plant
We saw a lot of Pitcher Plants again, but this time we actually saw the carnivorous plant in action.
This dragonfly appears to be lunch. Not sure how long he's been trapped, but definitely isn't going anywhere.
Marsh CinquefoilPotentilla palustris
We also found more Marsh Cinquefoil here. I figured that I'd show a wider angle shot than in the last post.
Grass Pink OrchidCalopogon tuberosus
The first new flower we saw was quite a ways off the board walk. I thought I might have to pull out the long lens and hope for the best, but another hiker coming back from the other direction let us know that we'd see more a little further down the walk.
True enough. It wasn't long before we saw more. This is the Grass Pink Orchid. It is quite small. Most every example that I've seen online are indeed pink, but the flowers we saw were all more purple (as in this image).
We didn't hear as much birdsong here, but we certainly saw more butterflies and dragonflies.
The varieties of dragonflies amaze me, although I haven't spent time learning which is which, like I do with butterflies and flowers. I may need to start that at some point!
Northern CrescentPhyciodes cocyta
The first butterfly I was able to get a photo of was this Northern Crescent. This one was nice enough to land right on the boardwalk next to where I was photographing flowers.
Just like the day before, we had another chance to see the Minnesota state flower - the Showy Lady's Slipper.
They seemed a little further along in their blooming than at Big Bog.
HarebellCampanula rotundifolia
I noticed these small purple flowers on the way into the boardwalk, but I didn't slow down to photograph them until we were on the way out.
Very small, delicate little bell shaped flowers. This is the Harebell.
Little Wood SatyrMegisto cymela
I really got serious about chasing down some butterflies at this point.
This tiny butterfly is the Little Wood Satyr.
Harris CheckerspotChlosyne harrisii
I first thought this was the same type of butterfly that I posted earlier, but this is not a Northern Crescent.
This one stumped me for a while. I couldn't seem to find in in my go-to book (Kaufman Field Guide of Butterflies and Moths), although it gave me some close ones to start from.
Finally found this on the web on the butterflies and moths of North America website. This is the Harris Checkerspot.
This last photo is my favorite from the trip. I'd never seen a butterfly quite like this before. This was the largest that we saw, but still smaller than a Monarch. This is a Norther Pearly-Eye. I definitely love the striking eye shapes on its wings. I was very fortunate to spot this one flitting around in the dark forest. It was very nice to land in the one spot of light on this leaf so I could get this fun shot.
Northern Pearly-EyeEnodia anthedond
We definitely enjoyed the mini-vacation, but as all vacations it was over way too soon. Hopefully, we'll have future opportunities to visit both the Big Bog and Lake Bemidji State Park. I'm betting each visit would be quite unique.
Until next time - PJ