Things with Wings: Spring Birds, Butterflies and Wildflowers

Friday, April 25, 2014

Spring Birds, Butterflies and Wildflowers

Saturday it is supposed to rain all day. I could hardly stand the thought of working a full day when it was sunny and 65 today! So....I took the afternoon off!

1st Stop - Bolton Flats WMA, Lancaster, MA

I saw 2 Cabbage Whites, 1 Mourning Cloak, blooming Trout Lilies, and the following birds:

Black-Capped Chickadee
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
Chipping Sparrow
Great Egret
Greater Yellowlegs
Green-Winged Teal
Killdeer
Mallard
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged blackbird
Song Sparrow
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Wilson's Snipe
Wood Duck

Killdeer

Greater Yellowlegs

(there were 12 present)

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Both the male and female were working hard on this nest, which is a pretty little cup all decorated with lichen. I spotted a second nest (but no photo) of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers near the parking lot, too. Good habitat for them, I guess.

Again, collecting material

Trout Lily

ditto

Northern Cardinal

Cabbage White

2nd stop - Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston, MA

There were lots of kids with their parents or grandparents, enjoying the last day of school vacation. I walked a lot of trails, expecting to see butterflies and was shocked not to see any except for a couple Cabbage Whites in the flower gardens. I thought I'd walk up to the summit, as a last resort, and at the top, I finally saw 3 Mourning Cloaks and 3 Spring Azures. Bonanza!

The thing that really struck me at Tower Hill today was the perfume of the Magnolias. Unbelievable. Wish I could bottle that up and bring it home!

Chipping Sparrow

Indoors, the African Violet show was set up for the weekend. I didn't stay inside long, because that wasn't the point of this outing, but here are a few that caught my eye.