The spring and summer of 2011 remembered...(part 2)

The snow in Connecticut is the inspiration today.  (After last winter, I really don't miss the snow, and if I change my mind, I can always head up to the Sierras.) While we had year round residents (Tufted Titmice, Cardinals, Woodpeckers), the butterflies, dragonflies, and other insects were only around in the spring and summer.  The summer before was a spectacular one for butterflies with Eastern Tiger Swallowtails everywhere, but this year was no slouch either.  

Eastern Tailed Blue

In the woods behind the house, I found tiny Eastern Tailed Blues and American Coppers.  A Question Mark stopped long enough for me to get a nice shot with its wings spread.  The summer before I had never heard of a Pearl Crescent, but this was just one of many I saw around Connecticut.

American Copper

Question Mark(?)

Pearl Crescent

Closer to home, we had the ever popular Monarch along with a Great Spangled Fritillary and a Spicebush Swallowtail.  

Now that I am starting to feel comfortable with my butterflies, I started to look at the prehistoric-looking dragonflies.  (I swear ID'ing dragonflies is tougher than ID'ing birds, but more on that later.  To any Odonata specialists, any helpful feedback is welcome.)  Each is prefaced with..."I think", not "This is"...

Arrowhead Spiketail

Eastern Amberwing

Halloween Pennant (kind of appropriate)

I will start fresh next spring, trying to learn the species of dragonflies in California, but I now have a better idea of how to take pictures of them, which angles, etc.

The spring and summer remembered...(part 1)

The spring and summer of 2011 were spent in Connecticut and North Carolina with a detour in Arkansas on the way to California, definitely not a straight path.  I saw some old friends and got to meet some new ones while walking in the woods and along the shoreline.  We would see White-breasted Nuthatches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and Downy Woodpeckers all year long in Connecticut.  They got to be familiar friends, but I tried not to take them for granted when I was looking for the spring's migrants.

Our typical nomads were Gray Catbirds (and its their fault after all that I got into birdwatching) and Eastern Towhees.  Whereas the Towhees would at least pose for the occasional picture, the Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Common Yellowthroat would fly away if I even dared to touch my camera.  All in all, the woods around East Haddam could spoil a person (we saw or heard more than 20 species around our house).

Getting started...

Seeing other blogs while "Birding the Net" gave me the solution to my constant dilemma.  I take a lot of pictures of birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and other things, but I don't really have an avenue to share them.  It's not that I take them for other's benefit, it is mostly for my own gratification, but it would be nice to share my hobby.