Birds and butterflies
May. 3rd, 2012 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoFirst orioles and a hummingbird sighted this afternoon. Heard grosbeaks singing, especially in the pasture, but couldn't find them. We wondered why we weren't seeing goldfinches at the feeders and today I found that they are all out in the pasture, apparently feasting on dandelion seeds.
When I arrived at the library this morning at 8:30, there were two large geese standing on the peak of the roof, necks stretched as high as they could reach and staring into the distance. One was facing south, the other north.
I've mentioned the large numbers of red admiral butterflies. Last year we had very few, this year they are flying in clouds all over and perching in roadside bushes or even on the roadbeds. Today I also saw large numbers of mourning cloaks, and some particularly large and handsome specimens. I did not have the camera with me, alas. For those who don't know this butterfly, it makes me think of a noble character in a Shakespeare play. The insect basks in sun on low plants or shrubs, with its wings spread to show a symmetrical half circle. Most of the wing surface is a deep velvet black, but the outer edges are like ermine trim, white with flecks of black, and there is also a scattering of blue flecks in the black just adjacent to the white trim. the diameter of the circle along the upper straight edge is about 6 cm.
Also noted monarch butterflies, fresh large examples with perfect intact wings and strong smooth flight patterns. These must be the first hatch of eggs laid by a new wave of migrants from farther south. Monarchs migrate from Canada to Mexico in the fall. In the spring, the survivors start north again, breeding along the way so that it takes several generations to reach the northernmost part of their territory. They are particularly graceful fliers, gliding in long arcs on outspread wings rather than fluttering erratically about the way many butterflies do.
When I arrived at the library this morning at 8:30, there were two large geese standing on the peak of the roof, necks stretched as high as they could reach and staring into the distance. One was facing south, the other north.
I've mentioned the large numbers of red admiral butterflies. Last year we had very few, this year they are flying in clouds all over and perching in roadside bushes or even on the roadbeds. Today I also saw large numbers of mourning cloaks, and some particularly large and handsome specimens. I did not have the camera with me, alas. For those who don't know this butterfly, it makes me think of a noble character in a Shakespeare play. The insect basks in sun on low plants or shrubs, with its wings spread to show a symmetrical half circle. Most of the wing surface is a deep velvet black, but the outer edges are like ermine trim, white with flecks of black, and there is also a scattering of blue flecks in the black just adjacent to the white trim. the diameter of the circle along the upper straight edge is about 6 cm.
Also noted monarch butterflies, fresh large examples with perfect intact wings and strong smooth flight patterns. These must be the first hatch of eggs laid by a new wave of migrants from farther south. Monarchs migrate from Canada to Mexico in the fall. In the spring, the survivors start north again, breeding along the way so that it takes several generations to reach the northernmost part of their territory. They are particularly graceful fliers, gliding in long arcs on outspread wings rather than fluttering erratically about the way many butterflies do.
