... and things with Wings

.. other things with wings often don't become obvious until morning birding has finished. I have had even less time to shorten focus onto the insects than I have had for morning birding. But there have been some.

(Caveat - please jump in if you think butterflies or dragonflies have been mis-ID'd.

From Putney Wetlands on May 30 - Eastern Least Clubtail and Common Baskettail ...

Eastern Least Clubtail

Common Baskettail

From Somerset June 30 -  White Admiral and Red-spotted Purple look distinctly different, but are actually the same species - Limenitis Arthemis. White Admirals were common. The second photo below is an intergrade between the two forms of the species ...

White Admiral

Intergrade between White Admiral and Red-spotted Purple

Red-spotted Purple - Philadelphia, 8/29/12

Additional photos from Somerset, June 30 ...

Chalf-fronted Corporal - male

Chalk-fronted Corporal - female

Elegant Spreadwing (?)

Common Whitetail - female

Enjoy the Outdoors!

Beaver Pond along Forest Route 71, Somerset, VT

Cape May Things with Wings

We did a day trip to Cape May yesterday. This premier birding destination is on the transition edge between summer and fall. There were only a hand full of shorebirds about. Mockingbirds were still feeding young. Several Osprey nests still had young calling for food and being watched over by parents, but the hawk migration count began its first day on Sep 1 with 145 migrating Osprey.

Many songbirds were calling quietly. Most young birds were on their own, but clearly not quite sure how to fend for themselves. Waterfowl numbers lie in the future.

In the hot, steamy shore weather, butterflies and dragonflies were in the air.

Here's a sample of the day ...

A few Monarch Butterflies were about, plus the occasional Viceroy which disguises itself as the foul-tasting Monarch ...

Viceroy

Twelve-spotted Skimmer (somewhat the worse for wear judging by the left hind wing)

Eastern Pondhawk

Black Saddlebags (female)

Green Heron (probably juvenile)

Common Whitetail

House Wren (juvenile)

Blue Dasher

Tricolored Heron (juvenile)

Chestnut-sided Warbler (juvenile)

Delaware Skipper

Good flying to all!

Siskin, Racket-tail, Checkerspot, et al

Pine Siskins are usually seen Spring, Winter, and Fall, as they wander to and from northern breeding grounds, but with the late spring, this year, they have been around sporadically. Possibly a few pairs are or have been breeding. This one visited me on July 3 ...

Pine Siskin

Earlier on the 3rd, I saw my first Common Whitetail of the year ...

Common Whitetail

"Leftover" dragonflies from recent excursions include the Racket-tailed Emerald and the Dot-tailed Whiteface (Essex Co, Vt.)

Racket-tailed Emerald

Dot-tailed Whiteface

 "New" butterflies in my photo achives are the Little Wood-Satyr, the Atlantis Fritillary   (Dummerston, VT) and the Baltimore Checkerspot (Putney, VT), a beauty deserving more than one photo ...

Little Wood-Satyr

Atlantis Fritillary

Baltimore Checkerspot

Baltimore Checkerspot

Finally, a walk through the butterfly garden in my backyard has provided regular sightings of the Great Spangled Fritillary ...

Great Spangled Fritillary

Great Spangled Fritillary

Whatever you encounter, take time to appreciate it.

Dragonflies

I continue my interest in dragonflies and the combined challenges of finding them, photographing them, and identifying them.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer and Widow Skimmer, photographed July 29 at Wilson Wetlands, Putney, VT

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Widow Skimmer

The Cape May day trip on August 28 provided quite a variety of dragonflies

Blue Dasher ...

Blue Dasher

Blue Dasher

Eastern Amberwing ...

Eastern Amberwing

Eastern Pondhawk ...

Eastern Pondhawk (female)

Great Blue Skimmer ...

Great Blue Skimmer (female)

Great Blue Skimmer (female)

Swamp Darner ...

Swamp Darner

Common Whitetail ...

Common Whitetail

Things with Wings - 1

With the avian breeding season coming to a close, I have turned some of my attention to other things with wings - butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies. The dragons and damsels are new quests for me, and the learning curve has been steep. They also require a very different kind of alertness. There is no audio with these insects, and the sight distance is relatively close by, unlike birds which are often seen at a distance. The use of my camera helps tremendously, since I can study and identify with resources at hand.

The Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies has been invaluable in these early stages of learning. With a tentative ID, I then try to confirm with Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East, Dennis Paulson (Princeton Field Guides).

Even so, I am not always certain, and many species are closely related and difficult to distinguish. If you think an ID is incorrect, please let me know.

In this post, I begin with some of the larger and more conspicuous dragonflies, all in the Skimmer family.

Common Whitetail (Libellula lydia 1.7")

Common Whitetail

Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella 2.0")

Twelve-spotted Skimmer - male

Twelve-spotted Skimmer - female

Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa 1.8")

Widow Skimmer

Chalk-fronted Corporal (Libellula julia 1.6")

Chalk-fronted Corporal - female

Chalk-fronted Corporal - male

Spangled Skimmer (Libellula eyanea 1.8")

Spangled Skimmer

Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta 2.0")

Slaty Skimmer

More soon ...

Cape May - Terns, Butterflies, and Dragonflies

While visiting family in Philadelphia, I managed a day trip to Cape May. I was about a week early for warbler, song bird, and hawk migration. But in places I felt like I was in the middle of a butterfly garden. And ... in a continuing expansion of subject and interest, dragonflies captured my focus. Here is a sampling of images from the day ...

Terns, oystercatchers, and skimmers were gathered along the beaches near the conservancy. A particular delight were the Royal Terns ...

Royal Tern

American Oystercatcher

A dozen species of butterflies were tallied. The most stunning was this Red-spotted Purple ...

Red-spotted Purple

I am a novice with dragonflies, so please let me know if you disagree with the IDs on the following ...

Common Whitetail

Twelve-Spotted Skimmer

Swamp Darner

Swamp Darner

Good everything!!