Random stuff

Anyone know dragonflies? I photographed this darner up in NW Iowa. Is it just a Shadow Darner or maybe a Lance-tipped Darner?

And hey, I followed this sign hoping to find one (or maybe because I work with curlews)... but 3 miles to the right just let me to a dinky, backcountry town here in northern Iowa:

Working slowly but surely on my Iowa state list, I headed down to downtown Des Moines to see the local MISSISSIPPI KITES at Ashworth Park. It took about 30 minutes to find any but around 10:15 AM, a couple kites quickly rose to the west. Here is one: