Cinnamon Hummingbird
This is a Cinnamon Hummingbird, a dry forest specialist, as photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser who has now returned to Costa Rica for tropical research and more of his absolutely stunning photography. We will certainly keep sharing much of his gorgeous work there with you this month to keep any winter doldrums at bay.
Read MoreYellow-rumped Warbler Portrait
The Yellow-rumped Warblers have now mostly departed, but this recent individual allowed for a close portrait while doing some midday dining.
Read MoreGray Hairstreak Butterfly
Looks at a Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) don’t get much better than this as recently photographed on this Cardinal Climber flower.
Read MoreSwarthy Skipper (Nastra lherminier)
Thanks so much to everyone who joined us for the butterfly walk at Stratford Point today! Thankfully the Swarthy Skipper (Nastra lherminier) made an appearance several times with several individuals around. Plenty of Monarchs and the uncommon Cloudless Sulphurs plus Gray Hairstreaks and much more delighted over 45 attendees. With such a large group it was hard to all follow the discussion or every butterfly but we hope everyone enjoyed some of the great sightings. Come back soon! You never know what you might find, like the rare Long-tailed Skipper I enjoyed a couple days ago for a brief few...
Read MoreUnknown Eggs
I found these eggs last month on Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) and Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) leaves. This macro view lets you see they are mostly white, not quite spherical, and feature two gold bands. They are certainly tiny, and they are almost certainly moth eggs…but what species? I have enough of a difficult time sorting through the hundreds and hundreds of adult moths we see, let alone eggs! The closest match that I could find were those of the Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus) which would be exceptional. I saw some caterpillars had emerged with broken eggs and some snacked...
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