So, to get things started, here's a short video of one of our old friends and our friend's friend.
My hummingbird feeder has been a hotspot this summer. Unfortunately, I can't help but to post too many pictures of these little cuties. When I come back, I want to come back as a hummingbird. They are like little helicopters!
These are some of the females that have been visiting (some are probably repeats, of course).
But, from what I hear---and it fits with what I observe---the males can be pretty nasty to the females, so maybe I'd be better off coming back as one of these guys:
The feeder has gotten other visitors as well, here's one of the now!
I'll diverge from my feathered friends to look at another winged visitor. Robert and I were out doing yard work one Saturday, clearing trees that were blocking the view of the lake, trimming limbs, etc., when I found an injured Luna Moth.
She had lost her hindwing tails. I feared that our yard work might have had something to do with that. :-/
A friend of mine from the park, one of the Teacher-Ranger-Teachers, is a science teacher, and she had talked about having raised Luna Moth eggs with one of her classes in the past, and I knew she would want this one. They only live for about a week, and their sole purpose is to mate and lay eggs. I figured we could keep her safe long enough to fulfill her destiny, and some kids could get a kick out science in the process.
You can tell that she is, in fact, a she by her antennae, the males' being bushier.
How exquisite is this furry little creature! The markings on a Luna Moth have to be one of the most beautiful things.
I didn't want to leave her tractionless in the plastic critter carrier that I had her in, so I gently lifted her out to put in some natural bedding. The don't have mouth parts, so at least I didn't have to worry about what to feed her.
When I picked her up, the strangest thing happened! She started vibrating like crazy in my hand! I was astonished. I carried her over to Robert to discuss this weird phenomenon, while she continued her queer quivering. She didn't seem overly stressed out (not that I would be able to tell), but when on for about a minute. She then abruptly stopped, and a second later we had lift off! She flew high into the trees on the other side of an adjacent yard. I knew my teacher friend would be disappointed, but if she had the strength to make it on her own, more power to her!
In my curiousity, I did a little research and learned the follwing:
"Moths heat up their flight muscles by vibrating their wings, since they do not have the radiant energy of the sun (being nocturnal) at their disposal to serve that purpose."
Now that's cool!
Here's one more critter before I get back to the birds. Yeah, I might be a little odd, but this Dengue mosquito is too pretty not to share!
Now that I've identified it, perhaps I should not have let it bite me. But it was worth it for the picture.
On with the birds...
One of my favs, you know I've got Green Heron pictures!
The good ol' Osprey has been making his rounds and keeping me entertained (i.e., distracted) as I work outside on my new patio set:
And this precocious young Red-bellied Woodpecker is always thrilled when I fill up the feeder:
The Belted Kingfishers have been fishing.
And finally, I've had some new visitors out at the lake. There have been a few Eastern Kingbirds hanging out in the bushes by the dock.
And last, but far from least, a Brown-headed Nuthatch, my first ever!
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