Garden in the Woods

American Lady butterfly

 Appalachian Brown Butterfly

 Widow Skimmer (female)

 Blue Dasher (female)

Wondering when I am going to start paying attention to the signs.

These moths flew across the parking lot, attached, mating.  I had to find them.  Two Garden in the Woods interns were chatting nearby, and I think they thought it very odd that I was photographing dead leaves on the ground....I am not interested enough in moths to research what variety they are.....maybe some day!

(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

Took a walk at 8AM this morning in Concord at Great Meadows, hoping for some wildlife sightings worthy of a picture.  I was not disappointed.  It was hot, hot, hot and I dressed in long pants and long sleeves expecting bugs to be a problem.  There really weren't any bugs!

This was the first time I walked on the causeway and found Canada geese along the trail, in groups.  They hissed nastily as I passed, and it really got my heart rate up!  Other people seemed more used to them, or at least confident that they were not "attack" geese!

I saw more Great Blue Heron here today than I have ever seen in one outing.  They are really a fun bird to watch!  Good fishing!

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

What is that swimming next to this GBH?

Northern Black Snake

 Wood Duck Mama and three "teens"

 Monarch (1st sighting of 2012)

 Eat...

 and fly!

I heard a rustling in the leaves just as I was nearing the parking lot.   I stopped to check it out and found this adorable little bunny.  

Massachusetts Butterflies

 American Lady butterfly

 Hairy, isn't she?

 Question Mark butterfly (see the little marking on its wing?)

Question Mark butterfly

 Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly

Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly

White-Tailed Deer

I spotted this young deer out the back window just as I was leaving for lunch.  He's just starting to get his antlers.  Imagine being able to twist your neck that far around?  I'm jealous!

Reminder to self:  continue to use bug spray to prevent lyme disease!

Pollinators

Green Metallic Bee on Threadleaf Coreopsis

Syrphid Fly (hover fly)

Hover flies often have coloring/banding of yellow and black, and many people mistake them for bees.

Double Crested Cormorant

Something new along the Sudbury River!  I look at this section of the river every time I drive by it (frequently), and today I spotted something I had not seen before on the opposite side of the river.  I parked at the train station and waited for traffic to abate before running across the road to snap this photo!

The orange throat indicates breeding color.  This type of bird can be found commonly along the coast or inland, but this is a first Ashland sighting for me!  (Click to enlarge photos)

It was looking around trying to figure out what the camera noise was....

Starlings Exploring Woodpecker Nest

I don't typically like European starlings, but this morning there were two juveniles poking around in an abandoned woodpecker hole, possibly looking for bugs?  They were kind of entertaining to watch!

Song Sparrow

Sing your heart out!

Song Sparrow - Southboro, MA

White Mountains, New Hampshire

We spent Saturday-Sunday in the White Mountains, enjoying beautiful scenery, wildlife sightings, good friends and lots of butterflies!  The lupine had mostly gone by, as the heat shortened the bloom time and sent them to seed.  There were still occasional blooms to see, and you can just imagine how beautiful the area is during peak season.

Our first outing was to hike at Flume Gorge.

It's a two mile trail, mostly uphill, with lots of stairs at the end of the gorge, which has 70-90 feet granite walls and a waterfall rushing through it.  Shortly after we started our hike, we came to a covered bridge and saw about 20 White Admiral butterflies on the stones along the river below the bridge.  None of us had ever seen so many butterflies gathered in one place!  And it was a first sighting of this variety for me!  Whoot!

White Admiral butterflies

As we continued along the trail, we began noticing thunder...but we continued on!  We saw more White Admirals all along the trail.

We almost made it around the loop before the rain began, and since we were under a dense forest canopy, we didn't get wet!  

See the Mama Turkey and all her babies?  They are well camouflaged!

Saturday evening, we went on a Moose Tour with Pemi Valley Mouse Tours from 8-11:30PM.  I had never seen a moose before, and we all agreed it might be fun to go on an official tour.  It wasn't guaranteed, but they had a 97% success rate.  We saw four moose and a black bear on the tour!  Why are the moose at the sides of the roads, when they have the whole forest available to them?  After winter, they can gain weight more easily by eating salt.  The rock salt used to treat icy roads in the winter washes into the ditches and roadside swampy areas, and the moose are drawn to it like moths to a flame!

Credit:  Pemi Valley Moose Tours

One of the stops on our Moose Tour was to watch the sun set over the mountain.  It was a lovely sunset!  I didn't get any photos of the moose or bear.  Things moved too quickly and it was too dark!

Today we drove up to Sugar Hill for breakfast at Polly's Pancake Parlor.  Delicious!  We also walked through the lupine fields, although they were mostly gone by.

Bobolink!

Check this off my life list!

Can you say BEAUTIFUL!?

Summer Azure butterfly

Ctenucha Virginica Moth

Silvery Blue Butterfly

Silver-Bordered Fritillary butterfly (a first sighting!)

White Admiral butterfly

European Skipper

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail