Yellow-striped Armyworm Moth
This looks like the Yellow-striped Armyworm (Spodoptera ornithogalli) moth featuring a delightfully intricate and attractive pattern on those wings. There are shapes, lines, blurry patches and designs within designs. This late August sighting knew how to show off its subtle beauty.
Read MoreSpot-winged Glider
Today was the best day that I have experienced so far this year for migratory insects! Red Admiral and Monarch butterflies were on the wing, and dozens of dozens of dragonflies were zipping by including Common Green Darners, Black Saddlebags, Carolina Saddlebags, Swamp Darners, Wandering Gliders and Spot-winged Gliders (Pantala hymenaea) like this one. You can see the spots of this very difficult to catch species here. Keep an eye out for Sean’s Meet Your Neighbour photo of it sometime soon. So much more life is emerging every day now that we have entered the summer, and it is so...
Read MoreWhite-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus luctuosus)
Here we have a male White-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus luctuosus) a common tanager in forested and open habitat areas such as plantations. They have a very similar coloration to the White-lined Tanager and are difficult to distinguish quickly, but with some practice and a little time one can note their size differences and the varying amount of white in the wing. Like most tanagers they can be found in mixed feeding flocks with a large variety of species. Sean often finds them mixed in with our friends the Tennessee and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser...
Read MoreDark-eyed Junco variation
The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) is a favorite of mine from years of feeder watching. Staring at dozens of them at a time through the glass and thousands upon thousands over the years certainly taught me that they are such a variable species in terms of appearance. Not only do the browns, grays, and tans take on different hues, the birds sometimes appear to have distinct features that are not “right” for the species with streaking on the belly or flanks, eye-rings, and even wing bars! On a dark and dreary autumn day it can be a lot of fun to find a flock of birds to examine...
Read MoreHunting Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
This Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is on the hunt and you can tell this is the case by seeing where its head and eyes are pointed – straight down. It is also holding its wings and tail in positions for a lazy, floating flight. While it is not hovering it is using the wind to slowly comb over the landscape in search of small mammals. Even if you are far from the bird, like I was in this photo, you can often still see the distinctive “belly band” of dark splotches across the white undersides. We are about to hit the peak of their migration in the Northeast so be on the...
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