A boreal chorus frog with its vocal sac inflated. The frog is in a small pool of water. It appears to be in the middle of and perhaps standing on some reeds or plants in the water. The frog is white above its vocal sac and a black stripe above that which goes through its eyes and down its side. Its back is brown or a light grey.

Boreal chorus frog. #BorealChorusFrog #PseudacrisMaculata #Frog #Amphibian #Animal #Nature #Photography #GovernorDodgeStatePark #Dodgeville #Wisconsin

Sort of hard to see in this photo as it blends in so well with its surroundings, but an American woodcock stands next to a flowing stream. In the foreground is a lot of brown grass along the creek's edge. The woodcock is centered behind that, its round body slightly bent over. It appears mostly grey, with some brown streaking and some lighter areas. The head is round and it has a very long bill. Behind it is a creek with rusty water and on the other side of the stream is more grass on the far bank.

American woodcock. #AmericanWoodcock #ScolopaxMinor #Woodcock #Bird #Animal #Nature #Photography #GovernorDodgeStatePark #Dodgeville #Wisconsin

A pair of ornate snipe flies mating on a leaf. They are back-to-back in the photo. Both have alternating brown and yellow strips down the entire body. The wings are clear except for veining and are spread out. They have long legs The one on the left is considerably thicker than the one on the right.

Mating ornate snipe flies. #OrnateSnipeFly #ChrysopilusOrnatus #SnipeFly #Fly #Mating #Insect #Animal #Nature #Photography #GovernorDodgeStatePark #Dodgeville #Wisconsin

An Eastern pondhawk clinging to a stick. The dragonfly is dark at the tail end. Its abdomen and lower body is a chalky white color and its thorax is a light green. It has four wings which are all spread out. They are clear except for veining throughout and small dark spots near the top outer edge of each.

Immature Eastern pondhawk. #EasternPondhawk #ErythemisSimplicicollis #CommonPondhawk #Pondhawk #Dragonfly #Insect #Animal #Nature #Photography #GovernorDodgeStatePark #Dodgeville #Wisconsin

Red-spotted purple butterfly on the ground. It is resting on dirt with its head toward the top of the photo. The butterfly has its wings spread open. The wings are mostly black, except for a bit of brown toward the top outer edge. At the outer edges of the forewings there is a line of white dashes, Below that is another line of light dashes that moves from almost white to a light blue. Below that is a line of a couple white dashes, several orange dashes, and then a couple of blue spots. The hindwings have white spots at the outer edge, some light blue curved lines below that, followed by a black line, and then a larger line of light blue squares. The body is black.

Red-spotted purple. #Red-SpottedPurple #LimenitisArthemis #Butterfly #Insect #Animal #Nature #Photography #GovernorDodgeStatePark #Dodgeville #Wisconsin

Green-legged grasshopper on a leaf. The head is dark, with large brown eyes and long antennae. The thorax and wings are also dark, but not as much as the head, and the wings have light veining throughout. Its abdomen is alternating light and dark stripes. The legs are a striking light green and the back ones have dark lines going across them. It is sitting on a leaf which is much larger than the grasshopper. The outer edges of the wing and the background are very dark and sunlight is highlighting the grasshopper in the middle of the leaf.

Green-legged grasshopper. #Green-LeggedGrasshopper #MelanoplusViridipes #Green-LeggedLocust #Spur-throatedGrasshopper #Grasshopper #Insect #Animal #Nature #Photography #GovernorDodgeStatePark #Dodgeville #Wisconsin

Governor Dodge State Park, Wisconsin. Photo by S. Bruins 2015.

#NaturePhotography #Prairies #GovernorDodgeStatePark #Wisconsin