Sunday, July 29, 2018

Young birds

A male hummer made several wary visits to the feeder.  It almost seemed like he was keeping his back to the light so his throat wouldn't flash and attract a female that would chase him away. 

A snowy egret hung around the dam outfall and soon a great egret showed up.  A young brown thrasher investigated things an adult would ignore.  But it couldn't figure out how to reach the bark butter balls.  Then a young mockingbird arrived.  A nervous titmouse was pushed off the feeder by the other birds.  Blue jays tried to sneak up on the dish of treats but they were too greedy.  One got into a dispute with the young brown thrasher.  A juvenile cardinal explored under the seed feeder.  A male towhee wanted sunflower seeds too.

A fritillary butterfly was obscured by leaves until it discovered the portulaca.  A black swallowtail headed for the rue.  The milkweed attracted a monarch but the small bees that had been feasting there tried to drive it away..  Eventually the bees won.  A blue dasher perched on the mint.  Later a  slaty and a great blue skimmer found perches.  In the pool, I rescued a few spiders and beetles, and a couple of crickets. 

The sky was very changeable from hazy blue to overcast to puffy clouds, but it stayed dry. Sunset was lovely with golden cloud streaks. 


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