Dengler Images

New Year — Time for a bath

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On a New Year’s Day walk along the banks of Lake Springfield, I was greeted with the odd sight of a group of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) somersaulting in the water, followed by the loud flap, flap, flap of them flatly banging their wings on the water, then finishing with waving the wings back and forth in the air to dry, with a good ruffling of feathers for good measure. It was truly an odd sight, given that the large group of geese was doing it together. It was something I had never seen before. Perhaps they wanted to take advantage of the unseasonably warm day to start the New Year clean. The bathing came to an end with the passing by of a kayaker. All that remained were a pair of mallard ducks.

A Canada goose (Branta canadensis) rolls in the waters of Lake Springfield in Springfield, Missouri. Canada geese will roll in water, then flatly bang their wings on the water, then finish by waving the wings back and forth to dry, with a good ruffling of feathers for good measure. Canada geese are particularly fastidious about keeping their feathers clean and dry, pulling dirt and water off each feather using the ridges on their mandibles. A good shake and ruffling of their feathers will get them dry. That is followed by oiling their feathers with their bill with oil from the base of their tail. The oil keeps the feathers insulated, dry, and free of parasites.

Canada geese are particularly fastidious about keeping their feathers clean and dry, pulling dirt and water off each feather using the ridges on their mandibles. A good shake and ruffling of their feathers will get them dry. That is followed by oiling their feathers with their bill with oil from the base of their tail. The oil keeps the feathers insulated, dry, and free of parasites.

A Canada goose (Branta canadensis) flaps its wings to dry after rolling in the waters of Lake Springfield in Springfield, Missouri. Canada geese will roll in water, then flatly bang their wings on the water, then finish by waving the wings back and forth to dry, with a good ruffling of feathers for good measure. Canada geese are particularly fastidious about keeping their feathers clean and dry, pulling dirt and water off each feather using the ridges on their mandibles. A good shake and ruffling of their feathers will get them dry. That is followed by oiling their feathers with their bill with oil from the base of their tail. The oil keeps the feathers insulated, dry, and free of parasites.
A Canada goose (Branta canadensis) flaps its wings to dry after rolling in the waters of Lake Springfield in Springfield, Missouri. Canada geese will roll in water, then flatly bang their wings on the water, then finish by waving the wings back and forth to dry, with a good ruffling of feathers for good measure. Canada geese are particularly fastidious about keeping their feathers clean and dry, pulling dirt and water off each feather using the ridges on their mandibles. A good shake and ruffling of their feathers will get them dry. That is followed by oiling their feathers with their bill with oil from the base of their tail. The oil keeps the feathers insulated, dry, and free of parasites.
A Canada goose (Branta canadensis) ruffles its feathers to help dry them after rolling in the waters of Lake Springfield in Springfield, Missouri. Canada geese will roll in water, then flatly bang their wings on the water, then finish by waving the wings back and forth to dry, with a good ruffling of feathers for good measure. Canada geese are particularly fastidious about keeping their feathers clean and dry, pulling dirt and water off each feather using the ridges on their mandibles. A good shake and ruffling of their feathers will get them dry. That is followed by oiling their feathers with their bill with oil from the base of their tail. The oil keeps the feathers insulated, dry, and free of parasites.

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Nature’s Window: Spring melt

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Upper McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park surges with water, tumbling over McDonald Falls on a late Spring day in May. 

Glacier National Park in the Rocky Mountains of Montana encompasses more than 1 million acres. The park’s nickname is the “Crown of the Continent Ecosystem.” The park was established in May 1910. 

Climate change is affecting the park. Glacier National Park is currently home to 26 glaciers. Compare that to the 80 glaciers that existed in the park in 1850. Based on the current rate of climate change, there may not be any glaciers in Glacier National Park in 2030. Already, some of the remaining 26 glaciers are considered too small to be considered glaciers. Between 1966 and 2015, every named glacier in the park got smaller, some by more than 80%.

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Sights and sounds from a Columbian sharp-tailed grouse lek

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This two-minute video from a Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) lek is made up of mostly slow-motion footage to see the detail in the movement of the fast-moving grouse. Sharp-tailed grouse gather at the same exact spot (called a lek) in the spring to mate. Males will face off and battle each other for dominance and attract the attention of females. Things to pay attention to: near the end of the video you can see the fast-moving mating dance that the males perform to attract females. I love how the males flick the tip of their tails back and forth, something that can only be seen in slow motion. The same goes for the stomping of their fur-like covered feet. In the final clip, a group of males tries to catch the attention of a female, but she’s not interested in any of the suitors and runs away. EDITOR’S NOTE: sound is not sound at time of image capture due to the use of slow-motion filming.

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BLOG POST Columbian sharp-tailed grouse dance to impress
PHOTO GALLERY of all my Columbian Sharp-tailed grouse photos

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Backyard observations of a blue dasher

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People think you have to travel far to find interesting subjects for nature photography. That’s not true. In this case, I wanted to test a new video recorder monitor and simply took my gear out into the backyard and spent a few minutes filming a male blue dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) dragonfly. 

The blue dasher, technically a skimmer, is one of the most common dragonflies in North America. Their favorite perches are on plants leaning over slow-moving or calm water like my small backyard pond.

The blue dasher hunts by keeping still, waiting for flying insects to come close by. When an unsuspecting insect does, the blue dasher will suddenly dart from its position to catch it. Blue dashers are voracious eaters, consuming hundreds of small insects a day.

In the video, you will notice the blue dasher in what is known as the obelisk posture where it raises its abdomen vertically. It is believed this posture is a response to heat. 

The coolest thing though in my short time watching the dragonfly was seeing its abdomen pulsate with each breath it took. I thought that was pretty amazing.

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