Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

update:
Most arrivals expected on may 11, 12, and 13.

Weather
expected to be in the 60s to low 70s, great for being oqwut and around hiking and photographing.

Full moon on the night of May 14, but accuweather predicts a cloudy sky. Never fear: the nights of the 12th, 13th, and 15th are expected to be clear and the almost full moon should provide great opportunities for moonlight scenics of the Badlands!

I'll be arriving late on Sunday, the 11th. I drive a white Ford Escape with yellow tennis balls on the antenna. so I can be identified by other hoggers , so flag me down if you want directions or just a chat.

For those who wish to meet up at the noon hour on Tuesday, the 12 th and Wednesday, the 13th (when the sun is high and the light is flat) and want a mid-day respite to eat your packed lunch and to chat with other Hoggers (and to hear yours truly give a brief talk on exposure of RAW image data for maximum image quality*) I've reserved the Fire Hall in Interior for mid-day on Tuesday and Wednesday.

*I'm sure you've all heard the rave reviews that talk received at the N4C (North Central Camera Cub Council) meeting at Springbrook State Park in Iowa at the end of April" /;-)

Hope to see you all there.

Dave Graham

manderson Loc: Northeast Nebraska

Can't wait. See you there.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

another update with possibly helpful info.:

If you are camping there should be several nights when no shelter is needed.
Dont forget a wee flashlight ( with red bulb if possible) for nightime camera adjustments!

While we are in the BL the almost-full to full moon will be rising roughly from the ESE and setting in the WSW, so your best bet for early moonlit scenes wil be viewed facing the WNW and for pre-moonset pre-dawn scenes view the scenes facing the ENE. Better bring a compass, because if the moon goes behind clouds for a while you'll want to know the direction of its light to be ready when it comes out again! It is best to scout out the scenes you really want to get by moonlight during mid-day when the sunlight is flat and the daylight terrain is least interesting.

oh yeah...with nightime temps in the low 60s or lower, there's no worry about rattlers, except the odd lost one that might want to crawl into a warm sleeping bag.*

if you should see a snake - even a rattler - or lizard while there, they can be great subjects for photos if the weather...and they ...are cool,and sluggish. Be careful not to hit them on the road; if it's cool; they are on the road, especially paved ones, to gain warmth and can't move fast and out-slither a car.

I love the raptors so am familiar with the ones you might see in the Badlands and may have a chance to photograph:
American Kestrel -smallest American falcon...pointed wings, " kileee...kileee" , often hovers.
merlin / pigeon hawk- another small falcon ...dusty tan to dusy blue-gray
harrier / marsh hawk (obvious white patch on top of rump)
prairie falcon ( dark " armpits" and slender, pointed wings in flight)
peregrine falcon, less common and larger than prairie facon
red-tailed hawk
ferruginous hawk...more eagle-like than Buteo-like in build, flight, and behavior
golden eagle. don't approach if on nest
Bald eagle... " " " " "
Turkey vulture
Black vulture
Cooper's hawk - Short, rounded wings, long tail...mostly in wooded draws
Sharp-shinned hawk - Smaller, otherwise like Cooper's
Goshawk ( unlikely to rare)
burrowing owl...check out these at prairie dog towns.
Great horned owl
saw-whet owl
screech owl
barn owl
frumious bandersnatch...(not reported in Badlands since Lewis Carroll's last visit and unconfirmed sighting thereof)

I'll let you know as more helpful snippets occur to me.

Dave