Pretty Butterfly

This is a Pearl Cresent butterfly. I was surprised to find out this is the most common and widespread butterfly in the United States.

Found on a Warm Fall Day

A Common Buckeye butterfly on wildflowers.

A Black and White Warbler. These guys are fast. Guess that's how they keep up with the bugs!

The Asters are blooming. Look perfect mixed with the many yellow flowers and Goldenrods blooming.

Milkweed pods are bursting open spreading their seeds for next year.

Hope you enjoy these hummingbird photos as much as enjoyed taking them!

Hummingbird

Whenever another hummie would get too close to his food supply, he would spread his wings and tail out in a warning and start chattering at the approaching bird.  If that was not enough to scare him or her off, he would chase after them.  He had up to four other birds at one time to chase away.

Occasionally, he would let another female land near him and sometimes have a drink of nectar.

I liked this photo as it shows a few of his "ruby" feathers starting to come in. The one almost looks like a little heart. I had one adult male come near the feeder, but he chased him off before I could get a photo of his beautiful colors.

This is the stance the guy would take when another hummingbird was invading his territory. I guess it makes them look bigger by fanning out their wings and tails.

One of the young ones that he would let eat at the feeder. Notice it's tongue coming out in anticipation of the sweet nectar. I was surprised to see their tongues could come out as far as their beak is long!

I really wanted to take this little guy home! He was special! He had as many as four other hummies at a time to fight off. I was about four feet away taking these pictures. Many times I would get the other young hummies hover in front of me, about a foot away, trying to figure out what the camera was. They were so close and fast I could not get a photo.

I think he resembles Uncle Fester from the Addams Family!

A baby Snapping Turtle found crawling across the road. His back is covered with dried mud from a recent 7 inch rainfall. He looks cute now, but I won't be picking him up when he gets much bigger!

A Spicebush Swallowtail caterpiller. Normally they are a bright lime green color. They turn this yellow shade before they pupate. The "eye spots" on his back are his defense mechanism. He uses the disguise to look like a snake so the birds will not eat him.

A Spicebush Swallowtail in my backyard. This is what that yellow caterpillar turns into.

A Skipper on a thistle bloom.

Waiting for dinner......

A bit of humor.....

This was too funny of a story not to share.......... It will be especially humorous to others who enjoy watching for wildlife.

My husband and I love to watch birds at our home and as we travel by car.  Our short trip into town follows a winding creek, where we see alot of birds.

After a heavy rainstorm, we spotted a beautiful blue heron standing by the water in a flooded area.  coming home, we were shocked to see it still standing in the same place.

Later that day, we decided to take a slow drive to see if we could see the heron again and take pictures.  Upon closer inspection, we saw that the "blue heron" was actually an old gray upright vacuum cleaner that had washed up after the rain!  We laughed for hours after finally identifying our "bird."

- Brenda Angus, West Liberty, Kentucky in Birds and Blooms Apr-May 2010