Down by the tracks in Dogtown, I saw this Springtime Darner settle down in the ballast. It’s my first Springtime Darner encounter.
Down in the dirt, soaking up some sun is a Lancet Clubtail.
Another Lancet Clubtail chillaxing on last year’s leaves.
Finally, a Lancet Clubtail finishing off a fly on wild grape leaves.
Happy Friday. From the archive dive this week, I’ve dredged up some shots of Marbled Godwits taken in December of 2009 in Santa Cruz, California. Enjoy!
Today I have just a few shots of some recent butterflies taken here on Cape Ann. The first three are Common Ringlets.
Red Admiral
Eastern Tailed Blue sunning on a pebble.
Every once in a while, I find a great resource. Such is the mulberry tree at the Ipswich River Audubon property in Topsfield, Massachusetts. This is one of the most fantastic bird magnets I’ve seen in my umpteen years of photographing birds.
I generally like to head off away from the crowds. However solitude is a double-edged sword. Where I go, the birds are generally not accustomed to people. But going to places where the birds do get used to twitchers and shutterbugs has its rewards.
Plus I get to chit-chat with like minded enthusiasts about this and that. This time of year a gathering of photographers can be found under the mulberry tree, all waiting for the star of the show…the Scarlet Tanager. Unfortunately, we didn’t get shots of Tanagers on this day, but if you’re curious check my Scarlet Tanager post from a July 18, 2010.
Below is a Red-bellied Woodpecker juvenile feeding on mulberries.
While you may be tempted to rotate this clockwise by 90 degrees, that would not reflect reality. The woodpecker found this to be the easiest position to feed on the ends of the branches.
And here is a real Cock-of-the-Rock. Look real close. That pinky wash on its belly is where the bird gets its name from.
Another Cock-of-the-Rock is this Male Eastern Bluebird.
Northern Cardinals, unlike American Robins and Cedar Waxwings will hork down a whole berry. Cardinals, being seed eaters, will roll the berry between its bills and make a bit of a mess of it. Perhaps that is were he gets his black face from.
And the money shot.
Also seen in the mulberry tree is the Gray Catbird.
First, pick the berry…
…get it into position..
…and with a couple of head jerks, gobble it down!
I told you they hork the berries!
Also, in true Oriole style, Baltimore Orioles were flying in and out of the top of the tree.
And there were plenty of Cedar Waxwings, too.
After getting his fill of mulberries, this red squirrel takes a siesta in the sun.
I found a Common Buckeye walking in Dogtown on a Lance-leaved Coreopsis flower.
I was hoping that there would be other opportunities, however it preferred sunning in the dirt on the path.
No matter, there are other bugs to shoot on the coreopsis.
Be sure to stop by tomorrow. I’ll have some wonderful bird shots from a little hot-spot I know of.
Everyone loves a Bluebird. Here in the North East, the Eastern Bluebird chicks have fledged and they are learning about life out of the nest.
A couple of fledglings follow mom and dad into a mulberry tree.
Here’s a shot of mom keeping an eye on things…
…and dad’s on the fence.
Did you know that Bluebirds are members of the Thrush family? It’s true, they are related to the American Robin and the Hermit Thrush.
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