Today's Birds and Butterflies

I didn't intend on birding.  I arrived in the parking lot at Chestnut Hill Farm and there were birds everywhere.  Good birds.  Fun birds.  Exciting birds (Think Scarlet Tanager!).  Before I even hit the trail, I saw:

1. Barn Swallow (nesting in the farm building)
2. Chipping Sparrow
3. Common Grackle
4. Eastern Bluebird (one sat on the parking sign)
5. Eastern Phoebe
6. Mourning Dove
7. Northern Flicker
8. Northern Mockingbird
9. Red-Winged Blackbird
10. Scarlet Tanager (saw it 3x fast, but it would not stop and pose)
11. Warbling Vireo

 Eastern Phoebe

 Queen Anne's Lace

 Warbling Vireo 

 Scarlet Tanager, my only shot just for the record

The parking lot was obviously the place to be, because even after walking the length of the dirt road, I was only able to add the following:

1. American Crow
2. Bobolink

 Bobolink (male)

Bobolink (female) with a big caterpillar!

I also saw Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur and American Lady butterflies as well as one possible Baltimore Checkerspot.

American Lady

It was a very nice start to the day!

At noon, I tried checking out the cemetery, but the DPW was there making all kinds of noise so that was a bust.  I stopped at Gryncel Park next, but someone else was sitting in their van there, so I didn't walk there either.   By this time, I was almost out of time but I did walk for 15 minutes at Breakneck Hill Conservation Land.  I just did the loop trail on the first hill and was surprised at how much I saw in such a short distance.

 Silver-Spotted Skipper

 American Crow being chased

 Halloween Pennant

 Great Spangled Fritillary

 Bee Balm in the butterfly garden

After work, I returned to BHCL for a real walk!

 Summer Azure

Banded Hairstreak

 Parasitic Fly

Tachinidae family

Juriniopsis species

 Red-Winged Blackbird (female)

 Song Sparrow

At the end of the work day, I looked out back and saw a little red fox taking a nap in the weeds.