With just a few less clouds this would have been a perfect birding day. Low humidity and temps in the high 70s made for a great morning at Wooton. Butterflies are still feeding like mad, and a few birds posed well.

Every plant with a blossom had one or more butterflies feeding.

Yellow Breasted Chats have stopped singing, but they are still present.

This Common Yellowthroat kept a caterpillar in his beak for several minutes.

This may be a first year Common Yellowthroat .

No sooner had this Red Shouldered Hawk settled in the dead tree than he was mobbed and driven off by a flock of Crows.

Indigo Buntings are still singing loudly and often.

You can’t go far at Wooton without hearing a Catbird.

Downy Woodpeckers often let me get quite close.

Work interfered with birding again, but I made the most of it. My client had a lightning strike, and I had to replace his NIC. His wife is a gardener, and she has several active hummingbird feeders, but I wasn’t able to locate any of the birds, except for a wren who was trying to get out of the garage.
He’s quite near Sandy Point, so I headed there afterwards, and found very few birds. A Snowy Egret and a Blue Grosbeak saved the day,

This Carolina Wren found his way into the garage and was looking for the way out.

This Snowy Egret was solo, and seemed quite unafraid.

This female Blue Grosbeak was a nice find.

I was very surprised to find temps in the high 60s when I was leaving, and I quickly donned warmer clothes,
Governor Bridge was really very quiet. Yellow Breasted Chats were nearly ubiquitous two weeks ago, and I didn’t hear any at all today.
Birding was very slow in general, but butterflies were unusually active. Are they fueling up to migrate?

I saw this Blue Grosbeak singing in several places.

This Indigo Bunting was also singing frequently.

I awoke to a cloudy day, which began clearing quickly. Temps were in the high 70s with a light breeze, and it looked like an ideal birding day. I got to Greenbury before 8:00 and found some nice birds right away.
I was pleased to see my first Hummingbird at Greenbury, and a few other birds that have been scarce showed up as well.
I also vowed to stay out of the thorns, or wear long pants.

This female Ruby Throated Hummingbird is the first I’ve seen at Greenbury.

This Great Crested Flycatcher was singing softly right out in the open, but it still took me a while to locate him.

Bluebirds were definitely more plentiful last year.

This blossom must have been special, as several butterflies gathered to feed it despite the proximity of many similar flowers.

Blue Gray Gnatcatchers don’t seem to be as plentiful as they were last year.

I haven’t seen an Eastern Kingbird in a while.

This Goldfinch may be a juvenile.

I hadn’t planned a trip today, as the weather was supposed to be bad, but the rain stopped falling soon after it started, so I took my 300mm lens to Truxtun just to play around. It’s lighter and a little faster and I’ve been neglecting it.
I found a few bugs and a couple of birds, then went home to face a tough day.
We had to have Gabrielle, our 17 year old cat, put to sleep today. We’re going to miss her.

This might be the biggest Wasp I’ve ever seen.

This Western Tiger Swallowtail was enjoying the sunshine as it fed.

Ospreys have been raising chicks on the ballfield lights for many years.

Bumblebees were very active.

Cardinals continue their singing regimen.

I’ve spent many hours on the bridge observing wildlife in the waters at Truxtun Park.

I don’t know what kind of lizard this is.

The weatherman promised cooler temps today, and he got that right, but the humidity was near 100% and unpleasant. Still, I had nothing else going on, so I headed back to Wooton to see if anything had changed in the last couple of weeks.
Common Yellowthroats were common indeed, and a female Rubythroat showed up as I was looking at a butterfly.

Western Tiger Swallowtails were present in greater than usual numbers.

Green Herons at Wooton always seem to be backlit.

This is the first female Ruby Throated Hummingbird I’ve seen at Wooton.

When I saw a flash of bright red from the corner of my eye, I thought it was something more exotic than a Cardinal.

I’ve grown to like the looks of the female Red Winged Blackbird.

I saw several Common Yellowthroat Warblers today.

I’ve only gotten out a little the last few days. It’s very hot and humid, and this is the slowest period of the year for local birds, many of whom have finished nesting and are dispersing.
I’m continuing my exploration of the newly open areas of Greenbury Point, which may be excellent for migrating birds in a few weeks.

I don’t know the exact name of this Sulfur butterfly. They are common, but seldom land for a photo op.

This Chickadee was doing the usual acrobatics as he fed.

I didn’t see this sign when I first noticed the goats a few days ago.

The song of the Yellow Breasted Chat can be heard almost everywhere at Greenbury Point.

This young deer and a companion were grazing in the tree farm.

I’ve had very few opportunities for a decent Goldfinch image this year.

I’ve recently upgraded to Photoshop CS5, and I’m tweaking some old images.

I was undecided about going out at all after yesterday’s heat and humidity, but I took a chance and went to Greenbury about 7:00.
I did some exploring of the new paths, but didn’t find much in the way of birds. A few insects captured my eye, and I left after a couple of hours.

Birds were scarce, and this Eastern Phoebe seemed to be wondering what I was doing

The experts tell me this is a Cicada.

I left the house shortly after sunrise to beat the heat, and it was a good idea. It got well into the 90s today. I was home shortly after 9:00.
I was surprised to find a goat compound along the trail, and to see thata number of new paths are now open due to some land clearing. They look very promising.
I was surrounded by Yellow Breasted Chats, as is usual at Greenbury.

I was pleaded to find this Common Yellowthroat Warbler, as I haven’t seen many at Greenbury.

Although the call of the Yellow Breasted Chat is ubiquitous, it’s not always easy to see one.

The Brown Thrasher is another bird I don’t often see at Greenbury.

There were hundreds of Grackles in the bushes. This may be a juvenile.

Western Tiger Swallowtails were everywhere.

I only had a moment to snap this Great Blue Heron as he flew overhead.

I was surprised to come upon a compound housing 6-8 goats near the trail.