Wednesday dawned partly sunny and windy. I had errands to run so I headed out towards Peterborough before breakfast. After a breakfast sandwich at the local bagel emporium, I spent a bit of time, with camera in hand, wandering downtown.
Here are the “keepers”.
[scrollGallery id=458 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
[scrollGallery id=459 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
Although I spent the majority of my time today with the camera pointed at the humming bird feeder, I did, occasionally, point it elsewhere.
Goldfinches and tufted titmice are the most common birds around the feeders these days. Woodpeckers (both downy and hairy) were also common; I did not see a red-bellied woodpecker today. A variety of other birds appeared in small numbers. In addition to the phoebe and the mourning dove I made photographs of, I also observed a couple of blue jays and a number of chickadees.
I think that the chickadees are a sign that autumn is coming. We have lots of chickadees at the feeder all winter and early spring. However, at some point in the spring, they disappear. I am guessing that they must not breed nearby the house. Over the past few weeks small numbers of chickadees are reappearing at the feeder. Maybe because their breeding season is over?
[scrollGallery id=457 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
I spent a good chunk of the middle of the day today watching and photographing the birds around our feeders.
The sky was overcast, the temperature and the humidity were both in the high seventies. All around the conditions were better for photography than for stacking firewood!
The hummingbirds were quite active. A mature male spent most of his time perched near the feeder. There were two juvenile birds who appeared seeming out of nowhere regularly. When the juveniles appeared they would be harassed by the male as they tried to feed. Once the juveniles had had enough (food or harassment, I am not sure) they would take off for the woods. The male would feed and then head back to his guard station. This behavior was repeated often at irregular intervals for couple of hours I watched them.
I was able to make some nice photos of the male hovering near the feeder but the juveniles were impossible, the males harassment made their movement too erratic.
[scrollGallery id=455 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
Likewise, I was able to make photos of the male perching near the feeder but the juveniles rarely perched near the feeder and if they tried the male drove them off. I did manage a single frame of a perched juvenile.
[scrollGallery id=456 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
I spent most of the past week visiting my parents in Maryland. The weather was very hot and sticky… not to to my liking at all. I braved the weather early one morning and took a walk, with camera in hand, around the “neighborhood”.
[scrollGallery id=454 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
Yesterday (18 July) afternoon I headed down back to the beaver-made wetland complex at the back of our property.
As I headed out, I got distracted by the butterflies on the flowers in the beds around the yard. I in the middle of photographing butterflies, I spent some time stalking a small orangeish dragonfly but I was not able to make a photo. After this dragonfly vanished for good, and as I was about to stand up to move on, I noticed that a small robberfly had landed on the perch last used by ode. Of course, I had to photograph it!
Eventually, I did wander down the hill to the natural habitat of the beaver pond and wet meadow.
New, since my last trip down back, was the presence of darners. I am not sure of the exact species. They were patrolling over both the pond and the wet meadow. The numbers were not large; I saw maybe half a dozen.
By far, the most common ode present were frosted whitefaces. They were mostly patrolling over the pond. However, every once in a while one would perch near me and I was able to make a photograph. The numbers were way down compared to my last visit (on 2 July, see this post).
I also observed two sprites (either sphagnum or sedge) deep down among the vegetation along the pond. Neither were able to be photographed.
Out over the meadow there were a small number of calico pennants. As with the frosted whitefaces, the number of pennants are way down from a couple of weeks ago. However the individuals present were all actively feeding. I watched (and photographed) one individual for about fifteen minutes. During that time, I watched it make dozens of hunting forays always returning to the same perch. It was successful on about half of its hunts.
[scrollGallery id=453 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
Late last Tuesday (12 July) afternoon I headed over to the Nature Conservancy’s Loveren’s Mill preserve. This property contains a rare Atlantic White Cedar swamp and is often good for finding rare odes that prefer this habitat.
Walking along the woods road near the entrance, I spotted a number of butterflies nectaring on the abundant wildflowers. However, there was a complete lack of odes.
This dearth of odes continued as I turned on to the trail and headed to the boardwalk that heads into the swamp proper. I saw two damselflies along the boardwalk and exactly zero dragonflies during the entire time I was out.
However, I did have some fun photographing the wildflowers.
[scrollGallery id=452 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
July… the peak of the day lily season.
Day lilies are one of the treats of summertime. They seem ubiquitous* in the gardens and along roadsides of New England.
I have been taking my camera with me when ever I head out in hopes of finding the perfect combination of flowers, foreground and background.
Yesterday, while returning from the “dump”**, I finally made a few photographs with which I am happy. The barn photos were a bonus.
[scrollGallery id=451 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
* In my first draft, I wrote “almost ubiquitous”, but that is like saying “almost pregnant”! 😉
** I was returning with a truck still loaded with trash. The dump closes at two on Fridays; I got there just after four somehow thinking that it closed at five (as it does on Saturdays). I am not sure which fact I was mixed up on… closing time or the day of the week!
Saturday (2 July) was warm (temperature in the low 70’s) and mostly sunny. Perfect weather for odes, except… for the strong gusty winds!!
I decided to head “down back” in spite of the wind. My instinct, which said that there would be few odes flying because of the wind, proved true.
There were a couple (one each male and female) of calico pennants still hanging around the yard (low in the grass). I watched the male calico pennant for some time. Each time the sun came out from behind a cloud, this individual assumed the classic obelisking pose with abdomen held almost perpendicular to the ground. When the sun “disappeared” it quickly lowered its abdomen and resumed the pennant pose (with the abdomen parallel to the ground) for which it is named.
Obelisking is a thermoregulation strategy where the dragonfly orients its body to minimize its exposure to the sun and thus minimize solar heat gain.
Down by the beaver pond there were frosted whitefaces and slaty skimmers patrolling territories out over the water. As I moved about in the wet meadow, I stirred up a half-dozen or so damselflies which quickly settled back down away from the wind and deep in the vegetation
Botanically, the blue-flag irises are completely done for the year, the rose pogonia are near their peak and the swamp candlesticks are just beginning to bloom.
[scrollGallery id=449 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
Yesterday afternoon I made my first trip of the season “down back”* to see what was up ode-wise.
The weather was near perfect… sunny and warm (low 70’s F). There was a gusty breeze which made the photography a bit difficult at times.
The numbers of chalk-fronted corporals and calico pennants in the yard have started to drop… the corporals are nearly absent, although the pennants are still the most abundant ode in the yard. I now know why… both species are moving back to the water.
Chalk-fronted corporals were by far the most common dragonfly “down back” yesterday; there were dozens flying over the open water of the beaver pond. There were also many calico pennants flying over the marsh. Most were yellow (females or immature males) but there were a few red ones (mature males) and couple of orange ones mixed in. Third in abundance were frosted whitefaces, including the only mating wheel I saw in the two and a half hours I was out.
I also saw small number of damselflies (bluets and sedge sprites), a couple of four-spotter skimmers and a lone lancet clubtail. The last being quite uncommon “down back” but very common at the lake (about a half mile away).
[scrollGallery id=447 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
* The back of our property contains a beaver-made wet land complex consisting of a small stream, a beaver pond and a marsh. It is a wonderful place to spend time observing and photographing.
Joan’s cousin Suzy arrived at her summer place to find an olive-sided flycatcher nest on the beams that support her deck.
I took the opportunity to make a few photos of the adults as they came and went from the nest.
I only spent ten minutes on this “stakeout” since the adults seemed to delay going to the nest even though I was twenty-five or thirty feet away from the nest and the adults.
[scrollGallery id=444 – autoscroll = false width = 600 height = 600 useCaptions = true]
Powered by WordPress