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Posts Tagged "hovering"

American Kestrel

Posted on Sep 30, 2016

American Kestrel

This is a terrific time of year to spot American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) heading south and making their way through the sky and farmlands of places like our own Chautauqua County. They will need place to stop and feed along the way, hunting all the songbirds also migrating through the region as well as dragonflies. There are so many birds passing over our heads right now – don’t forget to look up!

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Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

Posted on Sep 7, 2016

Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

There are still clearwing moths on the wing, and in the last couple of weeks I have actually seen a number of Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis) like this one. When there are so many individual flowers to feed on they are all the more difficult to photograph with fast movement back and forth…here, there and everywhere! I thought the reflection of the sun being visible here in those rapidly beating wings was especially cool. Sightings like this underline the importance of having pollinator plants that are blooming and full of nectar during all parts of the warm season. Spring,...

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Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe)

Posted on Jul 23, 2016

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe)

Here we have the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) to kick off National Moth Week (July 23-31), appropriately photographed yesterday in a gratifying yet frustrating experience. I found it feeding on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) while watering in the morning, and because I was watering I did not have my camera (always a great tactic to ensure a good sighting). After running back inside and all the way around…yep, still there. Great. As usual with wildlife I approached it with caution, slowly, shooting while closing in on the moth. The species moves quickly while...

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Female Blue Dasher Ovipositing

Posted on Jul 1, 2016

Female Blue Dasher Ovipositing

How cool does this hovering aircraft look? This female Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) is ovipositing, laying eggs, into aquatic vegetation in a pond as photographed last week. As you can see they are quite skilled at keeping their head still while their wings are whipping and the abdomen is being pressed into the water.

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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)

Posted on May 27, 2016

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)

There is nothing like seeing the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) fly near you, turning ever so slightly to reveal a flash of light under its throat. When this bird caught the right light on its gorget it was almost a blinding beam of red. Photographed for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Connecticut while on assignment for The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. Sean Graesser RTPI Affiliate

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