Baltimore Oriole and Black-Throated Green Warbler!

My head is spinning from looking up, down, and all around.  It was another wonderful spring day.  Sunshine, blue sky, temps in the 70s at their high.  Which way do you look when you walk outdoors?  Down at the ground?  In the shrubs and trees?  In the sky?  In the water?  If you don't check it all out, you'll no doubt miss something, especially in Spring!  There was definitely a lot to see today.

I started the day at Hopkinton State Park where I was able to get a couple decent photos of my 2nd Baltimore Oriole (male) of the year.

 Nice tail fan!

Baltimore Oriole

Chipping Sparrow

Tree Swallow

Birds seen:

American Crow

American Goldfinch

Barn Swallow

Brown-Headed Cowbird

Canada Goose

Chipping Sparrow

Gray Catbird

Great Blue Heron

Northern Cardinal
Tree Swallow
Warbling Vireo (the poor drab bird!)

Yesterday I saw a beautiful macro photo of a dandelion and was surprised at its tiny details and beauty.  So today I thought I'd tried for one of my own (Thanks to Cliff for the idea!).  I should have changed lenses, but by this point, I was a bit rushed for time and needed to get to work.   Look at all the little curlicues!

Later, I was quite excited to see a new warbler in the front yard, a Black-Throated Green Warbler!  I rushed out for a photo.  It was high in the trees, but chased another bird down low and stopped right in front of me.  Well, my camera was still on the macro setting from the blasted dandelion, and I missed the shot!

Here are the distant rotten photos!  It's a pretty bird!  Lifer and yard bird!  Click on the photo if you want to enlarge it.  Otherwise, you may want to click here to see what it looks like.

I took my lunchtime hike at Breakneck Hill Conservation Land.   I had three species of butterflies:  Cabbage White (snore), Mourning Cloak and my first-of-2014 Eastern Tailed Blue.

 Mourning Cloak

ditto

It was nice to see some flowers and trees blooming (or about to) around the property:

Wood Violet

Wood Anemone

Wild strawberry

Downy Woodpecker

Brown-Headed Cowbird pair

Eastern Tailed Blue 

(my excuse for the lousy shot is that someone was coming up the trail...)

Mystery moth

Mystery bugs

(Am searching my new bug guide for these)

Green Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle

 Eastern Painted Turtles

 Eastern Bluebird (male)

Song Sparrow

Birds seen:

Brown-Headed Cowbird

Downy Woodpecker

Eastern Bluebird

House Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Red-Tailed Hawk

Red-Winged Blackbird

Song Sparrow

Tree Swallow

White-Breasted Nuthatch

Meanwhile, back at home my tulips are just finally in bloom.  There aren't as many this year as in other years, so I think the harsh winter had an effect on them.