Page 18 | July 28, 2011
www.chaskaherald.com | Chaska Herald
In Black Hills, early bird catches wildlife views Knowing and understanding basic bi rd and anima l behavior is critical to being a successful wildlife photographer. I am not talking about an understanding of complex biological processes. No, I am talking about basic stuff. For example, last week I was in the Black Hills of South Dakota photographing with my wife and daughter. Every morning we would get up at 5 a.m. and head out to see what wildlife we could find. The mid-day temperatures were reaching well into the 90s so there was very little critter movement during the day. Any and all wildlife encounters were going to be early in the morning or at the end of the day. This is basic biological behavior. We were driving the wildlife loop road in Custer State Park and found a nice little valley with a number of trees and a small creek running through it. We parked our RV and my wife and I gathered up our camera gear and headed out across the prairie and into the valley. We were far enough away from the road where we wouldn’t be noticed but we were close enough to see what was going on where we parked. It was only 5:30 a.m. and the sun was just peeking over the horizon. As we walked into the valley, a large mule deer buck spotted us and stood up. He looked
Stan
TEKIELA NATURE SMART
at us for a while then turned and leaped over a fallen tree and bounded off deeper into the valley. I am sure he was in search of a cool shady spot in preparation for the coming day’s heat. We moved into the valley in hopes of photographing a spotted towhee, which is a large sparrow like bird with a long tail. The towhee was there and we did manage to get a few shots. I also wanted to make some audio recordings of this bird’s song so I hiked back to the RV and grabbed my large parabolic dish microphone and recorder. Within 20 minutes I had the recordings I was looking for. Within minutes we spotted a coyote that was trotting by on the far end of the valley. He didn’t stop so we didn’t get any images but it was great to see him anyway. Meanwhile,
two common nighthawks starting flying over head. This was fairly uncommon because these birds usually come out late in the evening. I managed a few nice in-flight images. I could hear a western tanager singing from a tall Ponderosa pine tree so we moved over to see if we could fi nd it. Sure enough, a beautiful male was singing his heart out so I set up my recorder and managed about 3 minutes of song recordings without any background noise. I was thrilled. We wanted to get some pictures of this bird but we were looking into the sun. In order to get the sun at our backs we had to cross a tiny stream. While stepping across the stream we could see about six western chorus frogs in the water. This valley was stuffed with all sorts of critters. The tanager cooperated and we got a few nice images. Just then a large pronghorn buck crested the hill to our right. He gave several loud high pitched snor ts because appa rent ly he was not happy with us. No doubt he wanted to join us in the cool valley and wasn’t used to sharing. By now it was getting close to 9 a.m. and I noticed the fi rst of the many safari Jeep rides coming down the road. These are open sided Jeeps with a guide/driver who takes tourists around and points out
PHOTO BY STAN TEKIELA
A pronghorn buck was on alert in a valley of the Black Hills. wildlife. They were moving fairly fast and slowed down a little bit when they passed by our RV. They couldn’t see us but we could clearly see them and I am sure they were wondering what we were seeing. I thought to myself, this is the fi rst people we have seen all morning. Almost four hours had passed since we started photographing and recording. It was getting a little hot and we
were about to call it a day and head back for some breakfast when the first wildlife watchers were showing up. Obviously the people in the Jeep wanted to see some wildlife. So here is my point. If you don’t understand basic wildlife behavior you won’t see much wildlife. In the heat of the summer, don’t wait until 9 or 10 a.m. before going out. Another thing, get out of your vehicle
and look around. The chances of seeing something cool is much greater when you are moving slower and are closer to the ground and away from the road. Until next time... Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer from Victoria who travels the United States to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Twitter.com or Facebook.com.
CLUB VOLLEYBALL
Chaska volleyball team places third at Nationals The Chaska Juniors 14-1s team wrapped up its season at the 38th annual AAU National Tournament in Orlando, Fla, June 15-18. The team had high expectations heading into the 130-team tournament and certainly met those expectations by finishing tied for third, losing to the eventual tournament champions, Team PIKO from Hawaii in the semifi nal match. The prospects of a magical season were set in place early with a strong core of players who have been teammates for a few years. Added to that strong
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core were a number of talented new players who enhanced and provided depth that allowed the group to reach its full potential. The team continually challenged itself by competing at the 15s and 16s levels for the majority of the season and responded by growing and maturing to a level where it could feel confident to compete for a national championship. Generally, not only did the team hold its own at these older levels, but more often than not succeeded and excelled. A d d it io n a l ly, t h e t e a m
participated in many events that pitted them against noncommunity based, open-club teams. Such was the case at t he Nat ion a l Tou r n a ment where t he majorit y of t he participants were from open clubs. To have a team from a community of our size do so well against open clubs from all around the country is quite an accomplishment. Because of the team’s success in Orlando, two members were voted by coaches to the All-American team – middle blocker Sarah Kelly and setter Makayla Wenzel.
At left – The Chaska Juniors 14-1s volleyball team placed third at the AAU National Tournament in Orlando, Fla. June 15-18. Team members are, front row from left, Assistant Coach Rachel Wenzel, Dillon Forseth, Keena Seifert, Erin Schindler, Makayla Wenzel, and Head Coach Sue Murphy. Back row: Assistant Coach Mike Hull, Sara Kelly, Lauren Nordvold, Elizabeth Hoppe, Lucia Saathoff, Geena VanVooren, and Assistant Coach Mike Murphy.
YOUTH SPORTS
Chaska places second in 3CV Tournament
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Teal takes third in 3CV Tourney Chanhassen AA does well at state tourney Victoria The Victoria Lions In-House High School girls’ fastpitch On July 6, the Chanhassen American AA baseball team concluded the final of two rescheduled games from a May rain out for a second-place finish in the Chaska Classic Tournament. The team also took fourth place out of 40 teams at the Minnesota Baseball State Tournament July 15-17 in Apple Valley. Chanhassen played seven games in two days to achieve its top-four finish. The players are, front row from left, Greg Schoepp, Zach Fox, Nick Craig, Preston Cobos and Jack Ryan. Middle row: Cole Fagan, Lincoln Kent-Schneider, Porter Conklin, Parker Benkstein and Brian Pitz. Back row: Coaches Bill Fox, Dan Fagan, Brian Benkstein and John Pitz. Not pictured is Jacob Zay.
CC United U12 wins league championship The CC United U12 girls’ soccer team won the West District championship to advance on to regionals. The players are, front row from left, Maddy Pernat, Sarah Althaus, Lauren Tritch, McKenzie Beno and Quinn O’Connor. Back row: Ava Bebler, Chloe Husemoen, Katie Ashpole, Anne Murphy, Hannah Lamson and Katya Berkland.
team (Teal) took third place at the 3CV year-end tournament. The players are, front row from left, Kylie Rumble, Abby Rolf, Sydney Davis, Marissa Krause, Lauren Sundby, and Janine Andrys. Back row: Coach Chris Rumble, Emily Thompson, Allison Sumners, Alexis Flesness, Hannah Wessels, Michaela Mandel, Rebekah Triethart and Coach Kevin Rolf. Not pictured are Megan Vandervest, Sarah McLarnan and Coach Doug Andrys.
After dropping its first game, the Chaska In-House High School team rallied back in the heat to win five straight games and finish second in the year-end 3CV fastpitch softball tournament. The players are, front row from left, Tessa Frederick, Sierra Vettel, Anne Richelsen, Allison Okonek, and Emilee Schimshock. Middle row: Taylor Nippoldt, Sydney Watts, Madison Koebnick, Hallie Nippoldt, Bailey Holasek, Kristen Matthews, and Coach Dan Holasek. Back Row: Coach John Matthews. Not pictured is Mary Welter.
Victoria Purple wins 3CV In-House title
Victoria wins 3CV year-end tournament
For the third year in a row, the Victoria High School Purple fastpitch team won the championship at the 3CV In-House year-end tournament July 16-17. The players are, front row from left, Kelsey Bell, Miriam Swanson, Katie Bell, Erin Wolke and Sam Mattingly. Middle row: Assistant Coach Jim Bell, Morgan Frye, Chloe Payne, Lauren Strigel, Marissa Larson, Caroline Brayden, and Christine Piwnica. Back row: Assistant Coach Tom Larson, Stephanie Yeager, and Head Coach Bill Piwnica. Not pictured is Marley Hoeft.
The Victoria Lions In-House girls’ fastpitch team took first place at the 3CV year-end tournament. The players are, front row from left, Sari Schwimmer, Megan Isreal, Brook Heaney, Michaela Spielberger, and Sydney Lura. Middle row: Coach Todd Triethart, Brianna Kaufhold, Bailey Weibel, Julia Jensen, Leah Kutch, Paige Strigel, Alayna Triethart, and Coach Joe Jensen. Back row: coach Tom Strigel, Erin Nydahl, Kathy Frye, Coach Kevin Shiffer, Kate Shiffer and Jessica Carroll. Not pictured are Mikeala Meadows and Kate Johnson.