Friday, August 12, 2005

Giant swallowtail invades Ozaukee County! Dumb tom strolls into backyard! That's just its name. Along with two other swallowtail species, the giant swallowtail is North America's largest butterfly, measuring up to 5 inches or more across. Shivani and I saw one today while having lunch on our patio. A big yellow-and-black butterfly flitted from dahlia to cleone to petunia, as we tried to figure out what it was. Shivani looked a little comical, sneaking up on it with her guidebook in hand as it sat on a dahlia, its upper wings in constant motion, only to have it flit to another flower. She finally got a good enough look at it to identify it before it flew around the corner of the house and disappeared. I'm writing this from memory now, but I believe the guidebook said the giant swallowtail is common in the southern U.S., but is a strong flier and is sometimes found in the upper Midwest. First one I've ever seen, as far as I know. We commonly see tiger swallowtails, which are a little smaller and have yellow wings with black stripes.  The giants have black wings with a distinctive pattern of yellow spots straight across the top of the backs of both wings and a curved row of yellow spots beneath the upper row. A couple other swallowtails have a similar pattern, but it is most distinct in the giant, and I'm sure that's what this was. How or why it got here, I can't say, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for another one. I'm starting to see monarchs and also saw a couple tiger swallowtails on Lake Keesus on Wednesday, but haven't seen any at home yet. The year we grew fennel in the garden, we had tiger caterpillars on many of the plants, so we produced our own that year.  I sometimes wonder if the ugly green worms have any idea how beautiful they will become in a matter of weeks. I was working on a story on dove hunting this morning, hoping to finish it before heading up to Eagle River, when I heard a turkey gobble just outside my window. I looked out to see a youn tom standing on the trail that leads into the woods. He was obviously a yearling, as his beard was about 6 inches long and his gobble not quite the lusty, full rattle of a longbeard.  And he just stood there, so I went to the kitchen to fetch a box call (one of Brett Gorzalski's hand-made walnut boxes with a cedar top and poplar rails). I clucked to him a few times, and he started clucking and stepping around nervously. He could see the house, but he thought he heard a turkey talking back to him. I put a rubber band on the box and gobbled at him a couple times.  He half-gobbled back at me, but stood there for quite awhile.  I finally put the box down and went back to writing, and he must have lost interest and wandered off. It's fun to play with them any time of year, but some hunters say you can overdo it and make them wary of calls.  That may just be one of those "rural legend" ideas that have no truth to them.  Last time I saw him he was with his two buddies, probably his brothers, but today he was alone.  If they show up again, you can bet I'll try talking to them.  If they get call-shy, that will just make them more challenging to hunt next spring. Later... 11:49:44 PM    comment []

On the road in Eagle River For the next couple days, I'll be blogging from the Wisconsin Outdoor Communicators Association annual conference at Trees for Tomorrow in Eagle River.  Postings will appear on my "On the Road" page.  To get there, click "On the Road" over to the right ---> 11:02:47 PM    comment []