Cedar Waxwing
I took today off. It was a bit difficult getting up early this morning after swimming last night but I managed to get over to the Portage a little after 8:00 a.m. and took note of how deserted the place was on a weekday. No dog-walkers or cyclists. Only one runner, who was probably as amazed to see me as I was him.
A long shot of the duckweedy water above and just below it, an untrimmed path I decided not to take.
The robins are back, and the waxwings are still numerous. Literally nobody in the mucky water. I was treated to American Redstarts and a couple Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds early on, which gave me hope to find a few more migrants.
American Redstart (First Year Male)
Ruby-Throated Hummers above, an adult male American Redstart below.
The only other warblers I could barely photograph were the Chestnut-Sided below left and the Black-Throated Green on the right. I missed the Ovenbird that landed briefly in the tree I later found them in.
In the beginning with the immature male Redstarts was a chattering young House Wren.
Butterflies were out for the sunshine today. Red Admiral, Pearl Crescent and Monarch butterflies.
I saw a few White-Breasted Nuthatches too.
I heard the Eastern Wood-Pewee long before I saw the one below.
This time of year I expect to see lots of Indigo Bunting children and I did, but they were playing hard to get with the camera.
Yellow is the predominant color this time of year and I found a bumblebee and a goldfinch taking advantage of it.
One Eastern Kingbird…
There was a lot of chatter from catbirds but I only barely saw the youngster below.
A couple more Cedar Waxwings. The one on the left is an immature.
The last photograph I took was of this stunning little Silvery Checkerspot.
My walk tomorrow will take place if we are not totally rained out. Scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast. We shall see… This evening as I write this I have just heard the rumble of thunder. And now it is starting to pour.
By the way it feels nice to have the time to do a same-day blog post. Perhaps if I – no, let’s say when I retire – I will be up to the task more often.
Wow! You had a productive vacation day! You also had a bright, blue sky day. I’m sure that you’d be pleased by it. Quite a variety of birds…good shots too! I hope you have an even better day tomorrow. 🙂
Thanks, H.J.! It was really nice to decide to do what I wanted for 1 Day and not stress out about Everything Else. Best of all it started out cool and I got only two mosquito bites. 🙂
I hope that you do get your walk in. I enjoyed your day off and was interested to see that you have a red admiral exactly like ours.
Well the walk was not to happen. Thunder and lightning, even, won the morning. I’ve noticed the sharing of Red Admiral too and apparently it came over here from your part of the world, but nobody disparages it like the Cabbage Whites. A colorful butterfly gets admiration anywhere. 🙂
That first picture is amazing! I wonder how pokeweed would work out as a garden plant.
Really? I’ve been pulling it out for years. It will take over. I like the look of the berries but the plant itself is monstrous.