Spring Signs - 1

There have been lots of Spring Signs around the Philadelphia area during the last week.

At Heinz NWR the Rusty Blackbirds were back and the boys were singing there thin little blackbird song, while in the air the Tree Swallows were twittering their love songs and looking for territory to claim as their own.

Rusty Blackbird

American Tree Swallow

Not quite so quiet were the Red-winged Blackbirds, the Song Sparrows, and the chickadees (who provided photo ops), along with robins, cardinals, and wrens.

Red-winged Blackbird

Song Sparrow

Carolina Chickadee

Turtles were soaking up the sun, and the first butterfly of the season flittered through the woods, and toads were croaking their love song.

Eastern Comma

Waterfowl are decked in their finest (I never tire of the handsome shovelers or pintails).

Northern Shovelers

Along the Wissachickon Creek Wood Ducks (I counted at least 30) were resplendent.

Wood Duck (drake)

Wood Ducks

Wood Duck (hen)

 Good Birding!! and Happy Spring!

November birding - sunny, 70s, beautiful

November - sunny, 70s, beautiful. Seems like an oxymoron, but that was yesterday. I made a late morning trip to Heinz NWR. Songbirds were quiet and resting. Most waterfowl were sleeping or preening. Only the Greater Yellowlegs were noisy and busy (next post will be GRYE).

But a very pleasant day for a walk. A sampling of the morning.

Ducks in the impoundment were all dabblers. The numbers were modest, but a few were fairly close to the pond edges.

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler

Green-winged Teal

Green-winged Teal

Autumn Meadowhawks were flying all along the trails. They are so small that often they seem like a figment of the imagination, especially the females whose orange-brown color camouflages them among the brown and yellow leaves. The occasional male perched for me, and a pair flew locked in the copulatory circle.

Autumn Meadowhawk (male)

Autumn Meadowhawk (male and female)

 Only a few butterflies were still about. This Eastern Comma was a particular treat.

 

Eastern Comma

 Most sparrows were deep in the thickets, while robins were moving about, but rarely pausing for more than a few moments.

White-throated Sparrow

American Robin

 Good Birding!!

Potpouri of Things with Wings

From the last few weeks, a miscellany of winged things that have crossed my path here and there.

The Common Loons on Sunset Lake seem to be on the way to successfully raising a chick, the first in a couple of years of failures (mainly from predators and competing loons).

Common Loon - Sunset Lake, Vermont

Young Wood Duck on the Wissahickon River, Philadelphia ...

Wood Duck - Wissahickon River, Philadelphia

Wood Duck - Wissahickon River, Philadelphia

Young Hooded Merganser, Wilson Wetlands, Putney, VT

Hooded Merganser, Wilson Wetlands, Putney, VT

From various places in Windham County, Vermont

Eastern Comma

Meadowhawk species

One of the smallest dragonflies, Eastern Amberwing, barely an inch in length - easily missed except for the golden glister of the wings  ...

Eastern Amberwing

Finally, from my backyard ...

Great Spangled Fritillary

Blue Jay- youngster who has figured out how to feed himself

Pearl Crescent

American Lady

Butterfly Catch-up

Several butterfly photos have been been preempted by the Fall Hawk Watch on Putney Mountain. Other activities during the past week have prevented me from getting up to the ridge, so this seems a good time to catch up on some butterflies seen in the Philadelphia area and in southeastern Vermont mostly during September ...

Common Wood-Nymph - South Newfane, Vermont

Hackberry Emperor - Philadelphia, PA

Red-spotted Purple - Philadelphia, PA

Spicebush Swallowtail - Philadelphia, PA

Variegated Fritillary - Cape May, NJ

Eastern Comma - Philadelphia, PA

Question Mark - Putney, VT

Alas, most butterflies will be "disappearing" soon - one reason to look forward to Spring.