"Animals that beg" at the Indiana Dunes St. Park....

I couldn't think of a title.....obviously :-)  

We stopped at the Indiana Dunes on the way to Michigan.  It wasn't exactly what I was expecting.  Mostly it was just a big beach with a lot of people, and some high dunes behind it covered in vegetation that don't look like what I thought the dunes would look like.  Will put in a couple shots at the end of this post.  We did not climb any of them....too hard on my bad knee.

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These two raccoons were at the nature center in the park.  We were watching birds at the feeders when these two came strolling out of the woods to see if there was any food for them!  I thought they were very brazen!

"I don't see any food over there."

 "Maybe there is something under here."

 "Hey, stupid...the food is up here!"

Then later as we picnicked by the beach, a gull decided to watch us and wait for crumbs.

 "Don't mind me.  I'll just wait here until you are finished."

 A few gulls that a little girl was feeding.

 "Would you hurry up!  I'm getting tired of waiting!"

 He had to keep chasing away the other gulls.  Apparently our table was "his" territory.

 Watching the waves.

 "Sigh....I'm still waiting!"

I did make sure I left a few crumbs under the table when we left and he moved right in to claim them.  I was surprised that he was as "polite" as he was and didn't attack us for food while we ate!

 Lake Michigan.  This beach was less crowded.

 The dunes.

 These two photos are of a dune called Mt. Baldy.  You can get an idea of how high it is seeing it from the parking lot.  I think it was about 180+ feet tall.

More wetlands odds and ends....

You may get tired of seeing my wetlands in this blog, but I never tire of going there :-)  This will probably be my last post from there for awhile.

 A Blue Dasher doing his handstand.

 I don't know the names of damselflies, but this was a very tiny one.  I was looking for tree frogs but haven't found any yet this year.

The Eastern Pondhawk male on the duckweed. 

 The resident Great Blue Heron hiding in the weeds at the edge of the lake.  He didn't seem to be stalking anything.

 These mushrooms are actually in my yard, but I wanted to include them in this post.  I'm starting to see little mushrooms pop up all over the yard.

This morning the mushrooms were totally gone!  We had 3 skunks out there last night.  Do skunks eat mushrooms?  Something certainly did.

 A Question Mark butterfly being very cooperative for photos.

Same for this Red-spotted Purple Admiral. 

It gave me open and wings-up shots both!

 A female Common Whitetail, I think.

The clouds reflecting in the creek.

I don't know what this little pink flower is but it is on a very tall sprawling plant. 

Swallows up in the tree. 

And of course...turtles!  Look at the evil looking nails on those front feet. 

This one was lazily swimming around right below me. 

I think it is the same one I saw the last time with the rough shell and yellow head marks. 

On the log catching some sun. 

Running out of room. 

Thistle stuff 

Yellow flower...no idea of name.
(If anyone cares, that weird bug I posted 3-4 posts ago is a Robber Fly!  Found that out from BugGuide.net.  They are so helpful for unknown bugs.)

Green Heron, mantis, other odds and ends....

The last visit at the wetlands we actually saw a bird :-)  We saw two Green Herons.

 This one was on the boardwalk in front of me.

 I think it is young.  Seemed small and very striped.

 Walking along the rail he raised his crest up.

Stretching up tall

 He finally leaped off the boardwalk into the grasses.  Crest  up again.

 Calmed down.

 Flew into the reeds where I couldn't see him any more.

The first Green Heron we saw as soon as we got on the boardwalk, but it saw us too and flew up into a little cypress tree.

 On the path through the meadow, we found a Praying Mantis on the path in front of us.

 I think he is "praying" that his next "prey" is that little bee on the fleabane :-)  When we came back an hour later he was still there by the same patch of  fleabane.

 In the woods Mike spotted a few mushrooms.  I like how this one just spread its cap right through the grass.  I think it looks like a big pancake.

 Looking over the bridge rail at the top of a turtle shell.  It immediately sank down out of sight.

 The day was cool and late in the afternoon and not many were out sunning.

 Going back to the car we saw a fish doing something (feeding?) and his fin kept sticking out of the water.  Probably someone's pet goldfish (carp) that someone has "released" into the wetlands slough.

Fish tail ballet

An Amberwing dragonfly on the pond plants.  They are one of the smaller dragonflies I see around the water.

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We are spending a couple days in Michigan next week.  Going to the Grand Rapids Quilt Show and exploring whatever nature is in that area and around the Indiana Dunes...we hope!  So maybe I'll have something new and interesting.....I hope!