Unexpected Surprise!

Nature is full of surprises and I got one as I was leaving for work this afternoon. I was about to drive off when a splash of green at the base of a pine tree caught my eye. I did a double take, jumped out of my car and ran back inside the house to get my camera. Resting at the base of the pine tree was a beautiful Luna Moth. It's only the second one I gotten a picture of and one of the few that I have ever seen. This one was especially striking!

Mourning Walk

The skies were overcast this mourning, the lingering effects of yesterday's storms that rolled though our area. Glad to say no serious damage despite pea sized hail and high winds. As I began my walk though the woods I spied my first bird of the mourning, an Inca Dove. Inca Dove populations have increased dramatically over the past ten years in our area with sightings a somewhat common occurrence. There are even a few nesting records.

I continued on trying to find the hawk nest my landlord Robert told me about. A Red-shouldered Hawk flew from the top of an old pine exposing the location of their nest. I'll have to check back often to track the nesting progress and hopefully get a few nice photos.

I heard a Barred Owl calling and spotted a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in some willows by the pond. A few Northern Cardinals, a singing Carolina Wren, a pair of Tufted Titmouse and a lone Red-bellied Woodpecker were the few birds seen in the woods.

I did see plenty of dragonflies though. Some were blue, some green, some single-winged and some double-winged and none of which, I am sad to say, I can identify. There were a number of butterflies in the woods along with the unidentified dragonflies. There were at least six Giant Swallowtails and several other dark-wing swallowtails that would not stop long enough for an I.D. Pearl Crescents were noticeable as were Cloudless Sulphurs and Falcated Orangetips which were joined by single sightings of Gulf Fritillary, Little Wood-Satyr and Horace's Duskywing.

The Hummingbirds Have Arrived

On March 24, 2007 a couple of male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds made their first appearance of the Spring. Just as Ruby-throated Hummingbirds do they began to squabble and fight over the 10 feeders I have up. I could put up 20 feeders but just like kids it would only serve to give them more to fight over. Of course their feisty nature is one of the thing I like about Ruby-throats. Something about hummingbirds just amazes me. These tiniest of creatures migrate thousands of miles twice a year, fly over two continents, not to mention the Gulf of Mexico, and arrive back in our yards almost to the day year after year! Most of us would never make the trip or get lost and bosses only wish they could find employees so dedicated and timely.

Well there is a break in the storms so I'm going outside to watch the action!