The striking beetle above was the coolest thing I saw in my stroll around Five Rivers EEC this evening. I have no idea what it is. I also spent some time near blooming apple trees hoping to get pictures of other cool bugs but had no luck (I have been carrying my macro lens because my back is sore and I don’t feel like lugging the telephoto).

In terms of bird life the Green Herons are everywhere, the Bobolinks are back in numbers in their usual field, House Wrens sang from numerous locations, Common Yellowthroats and Blue-winged, Prarie and Yellow Warblers were everywhere you would expect them to be and Song Sparrows were ubiquitous. I didn’t even get a look at the best bird of the evening, a calling Black-billed Cuckoo.

I did get plenty of looks at dandelions though:

I know, I know, you are probably in awe of my field identification skills now, right?

I was also hoping to get good macro shots of bullfrogs but they would not cooperate. This was the best I could do:

And I would be remiss if I didn’t include a gosling picture!