Every week when I visit Silver Sands State Park, I get a little more attached to the place. I love getting to check in with familiar creatures, and there's always something new to see! Here are a few sights (mostly birds) from this morning's visit.
The Piping Plover chicks east of the park are getting even closer to adulthood (including the chick with the injured leg, who's still running around and foraging with its siblings as of this morning). It looks like they just need some longer wing and tail feathers, and then they should be good to go!
While the four chicks foraged in the sand, Dad kept careful watch; he even chased a House Sparrow away at one point. A folded mat makes a convenient lookout perch:
The plovers aren't the only bird family with growing babies around here, of course. I was very happy to see a gangly Clapper Rail chick wander out of the marsh grass; such a cute little dinosaur-like creature:
The Barn Swallows are nesting under the boardwalk, and this adult perched on the railing for a rest between hunting flights:
There were actually dozens of swallows hunting in the air over the marsh, more than I think I've ever seen here at once. The swirling (and chittering) cloud of birds was mostly made of Barn Swallows, but there were also several Tree Swallows in the mix, as well as a few Chimney Swifts, which I've definitely never seen hunting in this spot before. This picture may not look like much, but its quite a busy scene for this airspace:
On the beach, a pair of Great Black-backed Gulls made an imposing sight:
I'm surprised to notice that I've actually never posted about Great Black-backed Gulls before. They show up around here pretty frequently, and they have the distinction of being the largest gull in the world. These two were quite noisy, and they kept striking these odd tilted postures and tossing their heads; I can only think this is some sort of courtship display, but it seems kind of late in the season to be thinking about making a nest:
A Common Loon was floating close to shore. This bird was looking a little less than pristine (it was presumably molting out of its breeding plumage), but it was still such a handsome creature:
A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was hunting at the water's edge (not quite as elegant as the Black-crowned Night-Heron I saw last week, and I always think that dark mask looks strange):
Although I often see many species of egrets and herons in this park, I don't usually see Great Blue Herons here. It was quite a treat, then, when this huge creature soared by:
I love those wings, and those big legs! This bird circled overhead a few times, so here's another view:
As I was leaving the park, I checked out some Common Milkweed plants to see what sorts of bugs might have been hanging out there. A few of the flower clusters were looking pretty well decimated.... Someone was hungry!
A closer inspection revealed that the orange pollen-like dusting on the plants' stems and leaves was actually tons of tiny bright aphids (probably the species Aphis nerii). These guys were everywhere and they were having a feast:
Fortunately, there were many more milkweed plants without aphids, so there's still plenty of this apparently delicious (for bugs) plant to go around.
Here's to another great day at the beach!
At Silver Sands State Park this morning, I walked past a long stretch of Common Milkweed in full bloom, and I could not believe the variety of butterflies visiting the flowers! (Not to mention bees, and beetles, and more....) Here's a sampling of some of these fancy winged creatures I encountered, all within a few minutes and in a big patch of gorgeously fragrant milkweed blossoms!
Monarchs are always linked to milkweed in my mind, and these big butterflies were around in force:
Are those some gorgeous velvety wings or what? And how about those spots!
A Black Swallowtail was showing off its large wings from above:
And below:
I'm not exactly sure what species of Sulphur this is (genus Colias, either a Clouded or Orange Sulphur), but either way, it's very pretty:
This Common Buckeye was quite dazzling, flashing those big eyespots:
But it became much more demure when it closed its wings:
This Painted Lady, on the other hand, was pretty enough with its wings open:
But my goodness, I cannot get over the fantastic intricacy of this creature's wings when they're closed:
So now I know that when I have a house someday, I will have to make sure there's milkweed all around!
Well, it's officially summer! The days are getting consistently hot and humid, and the plants and animals are taking full advantage of the sun.
While I was walking in the Naugatuck State Forest today, I nearly stepped on this little fellow, sunning him/herself in the path (I say that, but this was actually a rather shady spot):
This is the first Eastern Garter Snake I've seen this year, and it sure was a gorgeous creature. It didn't seem inclined to run away from me, even when I got right in its face:
I encouraged this little guy to move off the path, and it finally took the hint (after sticking its red-black tongue out at me a couple of times). With all the people- and dog-feet passing by, I didn't want it to accidentally get hurt.
Here's another sign of summer -- Black Raspberries covering a bank along the path (yum... I might have eaten a berry or two after taking this picture, even though they could've done with another day or so of ripening):
The dragonflies were as active as ever, and I even managed to identify a couple. This Common Whitetail was basking in the sun, and its bright blue/white abdomen was pulsating, like a person's chest when they're breathing heavily (I'm not entirely sure what was going on here, but it's possible it could have had to do with respiration):
I think this is an Eastern Pondhawk, and it's the most beautiful shade of green:
And speaking of beautiful colors, a couple of these fritillary butterflies (possibly Great Spangled Fritillaries, but I'm not certain about that) were taking advantage of the Common Milkweed blooms. I like this picture even more for the random photobombing bumblebee:
Here are the Spotted Jewelweed flowers that I've been waiting to see on these plants, even though some of the jewelweeds in these woods have seed pods already:
And I learned some new flowers today as well. This is Tall Meadow Rue, a flower that's all stamens and no petals -- and yes, the plant is quite tall:
Finally, looking at the leaves of this last plant, I was expecting it to be a kind of milkweed, but it's actually something called Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum):
Hooray for new things. :)
I guess I've been feeling a little adventuresome lately, enough so that I decided to explore my second new park for the week today. The part of Osbornedale State Park where I went this morning was just the right amount of change for me -- there were broad fields overflowing with tall grasses and wildflowers, small ponds and wetlands, and forest trails like those that I'm used to.
The Red-winged Blackbirds were definitely the most prominent creatures there. This male was very clearly trying to tell me something -- probably that I was encroaching on his territory, and maybe I was a little too close to a nest:
In the fields, the Common Milkweed was just starting to open its blooms:
And with the milkweed come the Red Milkweed Beetles -- this guy was really chowing down on those thick milky leaves:
I did see a few Monarch butterflies visiting the milkweed as well, but none came close enough for a picture.
Another butterfly was kind enough to set up a really nice photo-op for me, though -- here's a Silver-spotted Skipper posing prettily on some Cow Vetch blooms (that color almost doesn't look real, but I swear I didn't alter the picture at all):
There was more cool stuff in the woods as well, like these bizarre orange roots showing through the trail path at one point:
This is Wood Nettle (I think) -- teeny tiny flowers on a plant that will apparently sting you if you touch it:
And here's one more flower I found in the woods, a mysterious shrub-sized plant that I haven't been able to identify -- does anyone have any ideas?
I think the next time I take a trip to the woods, it will have to be back to the Naugatuck State Forest -- I'm starting to miss it already, and I'm very curious to see what's been going on since I was last there. All this adventuring this week has been fun, though, and now I know of some other nice places to go when I feel like I need a change. :)
