Cooler Day at Breakneck Hill Conservation Land

I was up and out by 6:30 AM for a nice, cool walk at Breakneck Hill Conservation Land in Southboro.  A sweatshirt was required in the beginning, but I took it off before the hour was up.  Dew was on the grass.  Birds were in the air.  One Common Wood Nymph struggled across the path and then landed on some grass and decided it was too early to go any further.

Common Wood Nymph

White Campion

This House Finch was feeding a fledgling, but I never could frame a photo with both of them in it at the same time.  It was fun to watch though!

Northern Flicker

Eastern Bluebird (juvenile)

The photo that I wish I had, but missed, was a ruby-throated hummingbird nectaring on a meadow wildflower.  It was such a treat to witness it.  I love hummingbirds, but I classify my sightings by 1) hummingbird feeder; 2) nectaring at a garden flower; and 3) nectaring in nature.  Number 3 is my favorite type of sighting and is much rarer and therefore more special!  

On the last hill before the parking lot, the apple trees were just filled with flashes of bluebirds.  You gotta love that kind of start to your morning!  Colorful, beautiful, peaceful and healthful!

(Click for a closer view)

I went back at 1:30 PM for an afternoon walk.  Beside the temperature being in the 70s and the lack of humidity, you can sense a seasonal shift towards Fall in the meadows.  There is lots of dry grass.  Goldenrod is dominating the meadows with its blooms.  The thistle is pretty much gone by.  There were definitely fewer butterflies to be found.  Barn swallows were flying low over the meadow grasses, sometimes flying so close to me it made me wonder if they didn't see me until the last moment.

Black Swallowtail

Eastern Tailed Blue

Chipping Sparrow

Eastern Tailed Blue 8

Black Swallowtail 3

Common Ringlet 11

Common Wood Nymph 2

Peck's Skipper 1

Orange Sulphur 2

Clouded Sulphur 3

Cabbage White 2

Blue Hill Butterflies

I spent an hour this morning at Blue Hill looking for butterflies.  I was hoping for a Juniper Hairstreak but had no luck in that department.  I did see a lot of nice swallowtails.

Red-Spotted Purple

Black Swallowtail

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Wild Indigo Duskywing

Eastern-Tailed Blue

Spicebush Swallowtail

Zabulon Skipper

Later on I stopped at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society gardens at Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley to see what might be flying there.  The flowers put on more of a show than the butterflies at this stop.

Great Spangled Fritillary

American Goldfinch

Day Trip to Ogunquit

Ogunquit, Maine, one of my favorite summer destinations.  Ogunquit means "a beautiful place by the sea", and it is aptly named.

Here is a sampling of photos from my day.

My first stop was the gardens at Stonewall Kitchens, just off Route 95.  Not even sure if this is in Ogunquit, but it's on my way.

Silver-Spotted Skipper

 Blue Dasher

Next, I walked The Marginal Way, enjoying the flower gardens at the beach end and looking for butterflies.

Black Swallowtail

 Cedar Waxwing

Gray Catbird

And a visit to my favorite garden next to Barnacle Billy's in Perkins Cove:

After enjoying a lobster roll and clam chowder at Barnacle Billys, we took a beautiful afternoon cruise aboard the Silverlining.

Northern Gannet

Double-Crested Cormorants

Returning to the Cove

A beautiful summer day!!

Ashland Community Garden Butterfly Garden

Random shots from the butterfly garden, taken today:

Zinnia

 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Zinnia

 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Sunflower

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

(too bad it was outside the fence -- it was sipping from a morning glory)

Zinnia

Zabulon Skipper

Pretty!

Greedy Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

This morning before work, I drove through Wildwood Cemetery, looking for wildlife.  I did see a White-Tailed Deer run off into the woods, but aside from that, it was very quiet there.  The only birds of interest were a couple of Northern Flickers and Chipping Sparrows.

Next, I drove over to Southboro to check my Parkerville Road stop.  Here I saw two Red-Tailed Hawks, three Mourning Doves, a Belted Kingfisher, three Mallards, 20+ Canada Geese, one Mute Swan, several Blue Jays, House Sparrows, Barn Swallows, and American Robins, one Cardinal, one Gray Catbird, and one Downy Woodpecker.  I didn't come home with any good photos, so I didn't consider it a successful outing, but after writing down everything I saw, it doesn't sound too bad.

Downy Woodpecker

There were two neat black and yellow Garden Spiders in their huge webs among the only remaining high grass along the water.  I think they are cool from a distance, but I'd hate to walk through one of their webs accidentally!

At lunchtime, I found a cute little male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird guarding my hummingbird feeder from the shepherd's hook from which it hangs.  It is almost seven hours later, and he is still out there, leaving from time to time if he sees activity in the house or to chase another hummingbird away from "his" feeder.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird