Mating Halloween Pennant Dragonflies

Cox Hall Creek WMA

Beaver Swamp Fish & Wildlife Management Area

Cape May Point State Park - American Avocet

A Walk around the Cape May Point State Park ~ Butterflies

Red Admiral Butterfly

Question Mark Butterfly

Spicebush Butterfly

Common Buckeye Butterfly

Goshen CMBO ~ Butterflies

This morning I visited the CMBO gardens in Goshen.  They have changed so much since I first started going there.  At one time all f the grounds were mowed.  Now they have overgrown grounds with a 4 ft path that meanders around the property and you can look for butterflies. I saw 15 species of butterflies including many that were nectaring on Mountain Mint including 3 Juniper Hairstreak, 3 Gray Hairstreaks, 2 Red-banded Hairstreaks, Common Buckeye, American lady, Horace's Duskywing, and many Broad-winged Skippers. Other skippers I saw were a male Zabulon Skipper, Least Skipper and Silver-spotted Skipper.  In addition I saw Eastern Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails and Spicebush Swallowtails. It was a great morning.

Juniper Hairstreak

Male Zabulon Skipper

My Yard ~ Broad-winged Skipper

Cumberland County ~ Life Butterflies

Bronze Cooper Butterfly

Checkered White Butterfly

Least Skipper

Northern Broken-dash

Peck's Skipper

Cape May County ~ Butterflies - Mr Tate's Seafood Resturant

I have stopped at this spot once before and found lots of butterflies nectaring on dogbane.  Today was no exception but I was lucky enough to spot a life butterfly for me ~ Jupiter Hairstreak (left).  This was an exciting find because I have been looking for one since butterflying started for this year.

Broad-winged Skipper

Gray Hairstreak

Orange Sulphur

My Yard ~ Monarch Caterpillar

First of the season Monarch caterpillar in the yard.  I hope it is one of many caterpillars for us this year at my house and that we have successful enclosing.

Edwin Forsythe NWR ~ Butterflies

Horace's Duskywing

Eastern-Tailed Blue

Spicebush Swallowtail

Silver-spotted Skipper

Salt Marsh Skipper

Edwin Forsythe NWR ~ Birds

Barn Swallow

Common Yellow-throat

American Oystercatcher

Clapper Rail

Edwin Forsythe NWR ~ Red-necked Phalarope ~ Life Bird #385

Red-necked Phalarope flying by Laughing Gulls

Red-necked Phalarope staying cool by the American Skimmer

Red-necked Phalarope flying

My Yard ~ Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Yesterday I was delighted to see that the Ruby-throated Hummingbird were returning.  This is probably an immature hummer.  I would love to see the male again but it have probably left the area.

Thinking of Dad on his Birthday

My father would have been 99 today.  He has been gone for 18 years but my family talks of him often along with the trips we took camping while we were growing up.  We went every summer for 2-3 weeks and saw a lot of the USA.  On Sunday's we always went to church and so we always took dressy clothes on our trips to wear.  Here's a picture from 1967.  It's the Morgan's (us) and friends we traveled with the Hess's.

My Yard ~ Rotten Fruit

Each year for the past 4-5 years I have put out rotten fruit for the butterflies.   This can be very effective to draw them into your yard as not every butterfly nectars' on plants. This year I have had another visitor to the rotten fruit - a catbird.  So I watch the as catbird chases away the butterflies and then the butterflies chase away the catbirds.  I think the catbird is feeding youngsters.

Question Mark Butterfly

Red Admiral Butterfly

Catbird