Walk In The Field Part 13 - Harebell Flower

They grow in kind of a chaotic clumpy mess and are hard to photograph.





Tiny flower again. Here's more of a field view to give an idea how small they are. The color really stands out in a field of grass.



I think the color is actually more of a red purple.
Here's what they looked like on another photo shoot, warmer color.



When I was out in the field again, looking at the color, I think it's something in between those. lol
One seems too blue and the other seems too red.
Purples and reds seems tough to match in camera with actual.

I think this plant is a:
Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
Also Here.
In The Bellflower Family
Google Images

Walk In The Field Part 12 - Fleabane Flower

Continuing my field study of our land.

Taken with S3 Canon:






Next two taken with the XSi Canon:


These are actually teensy flowers, like white specks in the tall grass.



I think they are in the Aster Family
And probably some kind of Fleabane or Erigeron.

Several are listed as natives of North Dakota:
1. Cutleaf Fleabane (Erigeron compositus)
2. Manyflower Fleabane (Erigeron glabellus)
3. Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus)
4. Low Fleabane (Erigeron pumilus)
5. Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron strigosus)
6. Leafystem Fleabane (Erigeron subtrinervis)

I tried googling on those, but nothing really nailed it down for sure. But very close, I think.

Strong sun, high contrast (white blossoms) = blow outs and also some Chromatic Aberration (CA) or fringing with the S3 Canon. I shot underexposed on Manual. I did notice some CA with the XSi too, but significantly less. Paint Shop Pro has a CA removal tool that works really well and I used it on these white flower closeups.

Coneflower2

In bloom now.
Here are some favs so far, more to come probably, because blooming is just starting.
There is a lot of variation in the petal color and petal shape of coneflowers. Interesting.

(Field shot)


(These are roadside shots.)



NOTE: Alfalfa, Yellow Sweet Clover, Prairie Wild Rose, Coneflower, Milkweed: all very common roadside plants.

I'm taking my S3 Canon along next time to see if I can get sharper closeups. My XSi Canon seems consistently too soft, although the background bokeh has been wonderful. Creamy backgrounds are a whole lot tougher to do with the S3 Point and Shoot. Not impossible, just more work.

Robin Fledgling

Hey, I think we have a robin fledgling here.
At least that's what it looks like from googling it.
Seems fairly big/mature (juvenile?) and so I thought maybe it was a female robin, but females don't look like that.
And definitely flying with the robins.
That's the best pic I got of it and the closeup is blurry.

Cornell has a pic of a fledgling. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

NOTE: I'm noticing bird Families differ from place to place.
American Robin: Muscicapidae vs Turdidae.
Must not be a fixed categorization on those.
I noticed that on Sparrows too.

Also:
enature
Google images

Prairie Wild Rose

Hidden in the grass along the roadside. The pink color seem a little harsh. Pic is a little soft.

Prairie Wild Rose (Rosa arkansana):
flower
family

Previously, a better representation of it. Better lighting, I think.

MORE (Roadside, better color representation, paler pink) :

Milkweed

And now for the wonderful big fat weed along the roadside.
Hey, it gets status as a native wildflower at npwrc (links below).





(Shows buds, and also the fuzzy hairy back of the leaf.)

From the description of the buds (10-20 vs 20-100), I think it's a Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Could also be a Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)

NOTE:

Monarch Butterflies are totally reliant upon milkweed and lay their eggs on several milkweed species. As the larvae hatch they feed on the foliage which in turn protects them by making them distasteful and toxic to birds.

Milkweed Family

If I get a chance to take photos of it after it blossoms, I'll post it here. Ya never know if it'll even still be there. Could be mowed down.

MORE (Roadside, different plant, could not find same one):





NOTE: Going to see if I can get sharper pics with my S3 Canon. These are with the XSi Canon and tele.

UPDATE:
A different day and plant, Sat 11 Jul 09. Loved the bud closeup.


UPDATE: 19 Jul 09

Hey, the milkweed leaves are turning a pretty deep burgundy.



And this stuff looks like milkweed in the process of turning burgundy, but I'm not sure.
It sure was pretty too.


I think eventually they bear "fruit" also. I think I already have pics of those somewhere (taken 1 or 2 years ago).

Foxtail Barley

Foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum)
ND Grasses
google images
(I'm guessing. Looks like it.)

Yellow Sweet Clover

Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis)

It's a weed, it's an herb, it's a flower.
All depends on how you want to think about it, I guess. lol
Is Sweet Clover one word or two?

It's like alfalfa. Common. Along roadsides. Very uninteresting unless I zoom in with the tele and isolate a section of it.



Alfalfa is in the same family.
Fabaceae (The Bean Family)



Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis)

Google images

MORE (Roadside):


Dreamy:

Mourning Dove

Previous Mourning Dove pics
here
and
here

Grasshopper Sparrow

At first, I thought this was a juvenile of some sort, but after looking around on the Net, I think it's a Grasshopper Sparrow.

Cornell
enature
Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)

Google images

A new bird to add to my album.
Not the best, I know. He flew away before I could zoom in.
If I get better pics, I'll update.

UPDATE 4 Aug 09


Grasshopper, grasshopper sparrow.
Notice that little patch of yellow above the eye. One of the markers used to identify.
Almost looks like a different bird than the one above. But I have a profile pic that looks similar. And after studying how to id a sparrow I came back to grasshopper sparrow again.

Grasshopper Sparrow
Sparrows of North Dakota
What's That Sparrow?

Just Sing

Sing of good things, not bad
Sing of happy, not sad
Just
Sing...

At YouTube:
Sesame Street - Sing

At imeem:
The Carpenters Version

Wiki info



Clay-colored Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)

Okay, so he doesn't exactly sound like he is singing a lovely little song. lol
But it sure fits the poses.

Google images

I watched this little guy for quite a while. It was fun.

Neologisms + Aves = wordbirds

Oh these are great!
Birds and words at wordbirds.

Via MeFi

My Favs (pictured above):
NOSOH
Aplorable
Contryst
Cancellelation
E-quail

A few recent are good:
Smoove
Shaftling

Also checkout David Attenborough's The Life of Birds at YouTube.
Part of YouTube's Shows Section
Also via MeFi.