Annual Burgess Lake visit

At least once a year I try to remember to visit Burgess Lake, a small lake on the southwest end of the Flathead Reservation. It is accessed by a half mile long trail that climbs about four hundred feet up from Montana Highway 200. It’s a steep, rocky and rough little trail which might explain why the lake gets few human visitors.

About half way up the trail there is this rather nice bed of moss which seems to do quite nicely in an otherwise completely rocky draw.

The lake of about four acres in size sits on a little shelf on the north slope of the Coeur d’Alene Mountains above the Flathead river and rumor has it that it contains some sizable Cutthroat Trout. The same rumor says that this is the rattlesnake capitol of western Montana. I can’t vouch for the truth of either rumor.

It’s a rather private, pretty place where one can relax on a spring day and enjoy observing the daily routines of several dozen pairs of ducks who believe they own the lake and very loudly argue their case.

The flip side

This photo shows the underside of the Satyr Comma’s (from the previous post) wings. Pretty good camouflage, eh?

(For those who might be interested in such things, the butterfly is perched on some old wolf scat. The wolf ate a meal of venison without first taking the wrapper off.)

Common name… Comma?

Satyr Comma – Polygonia satyrus

Seems to me this pretty little thing should have a more attractive name than that! (Of course I’m not a hundred percent sure of the identification, either.) Anyway, it was kind enough to pose for a portrait right in the middle of the Munson Creek trail yesterday after I insisted.