More surprises big and small.

The weather is starting to turn here, perhaps in anticipation of my departure. There was plenty of fog this morning, which delayed my start, and it’s still partly cloudy this afternoon. I did see a few birds, nevertheless, and here’s a young tufted titmouse who hasn’t grown much of a tuft yet. It appeared to be foraging with a parent and spent at least as much time begging as foraging.

At the pond where we’ve seen the black duck and the solitary sandpiper this trip, there was my first Northern waterthrush in Connecticut this season.

The big surprise, however, was finally capturing on film a bird that I have only glimpsed and dreamt about ’til now: this magnificent pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus).

That’s it for the bird pictures, so I visited the vacant lot next door again to see what butterflies were around today. Here’s another eastern tailed blue looking a lot bluer than the one did yesterday.

I did not expect to see a damselfly there, nor one this late in the season, but here’s my very first spotted spreadwing (Lestes congener).

Finally, here’s another wild indigo duskywing looking a lot more colorful than the one did yesterday, and that’s gonna be your butterfly of the day.