Things with Wings: September 2013

Monday, September 30, 2013

Looking Back: 3Q2013

It's always fun to look back at the past quarter and recall the highlights.

Surprises:

One big surprise was the white-tailed deer at Breakneck Hill that ran towards me instead of away. My theory on why it happened is that they had just put an electric fence around a new portion of the meadows for the Belted Galloways. The deer first ran away from me (toward the new electric fence) and may have been zapped, making it run frantically back towards me. It was the only logical explanation I can come up with!

A gray tree frog in my garden came as a big surprise in a small package. I've lived here 13 years and never seen a tree frog (although I've heard plenty!).

Finding a Harvester butterfly in my own back yard was a real treat and yet another surprise this past quarter!

Favorite Photos:

Last year I saw one or two mating pairs of butterflies over the entire season. This year, I seemed to run into them on a lot of my walks! I wonder if it's because I am more observant, or if it's pure coincidence...

Appalachian Browns

Common Ringlets

Eastern-Tailed Blues

Wild Indigo Duskywing

Cabbage Whites

Common Wood Nymphs

Pearl Crescents

New Butterflies:

Aphrodite Fritillary
Bronze Copper

Delaware Skipper

Juniper Hairstreak

Mulberry Wing Skipper

New Birds:

Black-Crowned Night Heron

New Places:

Appleton Farms, Ipswich, MA
Long Hill, Beverly, MA
Nine Acres, Concord, MA
Northampton Community Gardens, Northampton, MA
Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester, MA
Sedge Meadow, Wayland, MA

Shrewsbury MA Power Line Trail
Sudbury Community Gardens, Sudbury, MA
Wayland Community Gardens, Wayland, MA

Westboro, MA WMA Crane Swamp Trail
World's End, Hingham, MA

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Tower Hill Botanic Garden

I stopped at Tower Hill Botanic Garden this afternoon, hoping I may find some monarchs among their flower gardens. There were hardly any butterflies at all in the gardens. Cabbage Whites were flitting around the vegetable garden. A few Clouded Sulphurs and Cabbage Whites were in the meadow, but really, there was shockingly little butterfly activity.

poss. Pine Warbler

Compared to the Yellow-Rumped Warbler below, this one had a bright yellow throat.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

There were all kinds of birds in the trees around the parking lot. It seemed as soon as I'd get my eyes on one, people would return to their car right under that particular tree and off they'd fly. I just couldn't catch a break!

Wayside Inn Grist Mill

Woke up to very dense fog this morning. Not at all what had been predicted for weather this weekend (sunshine both days). After a slower start to the day and trying to determine where best to go in foggy conditions, I headed over to the Wayside Inn Grist Mill in Sudbury. It was quite pretty in the fog (which wasn't as thick here except over the water). Lots of spider webs were visible this morning because they were all adorned with water droplets, giving me another reason to take photographs. By 10:45 the sun burned through the fog, and it was beautiful the rest of the day.

Pied Billed Grebe

American Wigeon
adult, non-breeding

Leaves are starting to turn.

Eastern Bluebird

Pine Warbler

Ice house (behind Longfellow's Wayside Inn)

Jewelweed (showing how it got its name)

Martha Mary Chapel

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Concord and Lincoln Butterflies

I planned to walk at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, but first I wanted to stop at Nine Acres Corner in Concord. They were half finished with mowing the meadow and destroying the habitat. Hope any remaining monarch caterpillars are ok.....(even though I know they are doomed).