I couldn’t make it into Estabrook Park this morning because we’re off to Connecticut to see my folks, and I doubt very much that I’ll have a chance to get any pictures there today, so here are a few leftovers from the amazing August we’ve been having so far.
If not top of the list, then surely on the podium at least, has got to be the river otter who came to eat our crayfish back on August 8th. As I mentioned that day, I got to watch it catch and eat crayfish for a full ten minutes, and in that time, I did manage to capture one more image in which you can tell the subject is a river otter. Plus, look how white its teeth are.
I wish I also had a leftover cormorant image from the 7th, but I used them all up that same day. Instead, here’s another look at the cute little house wren by the beer garden I saw afterwards.
Here’s an interesting glimpse at the ruby-throated hummingbird on the 11th as it turned to check for threats just before taking off to go sip some more nectar from the cup plants.
Of the two magnificent garden spiders we saw on Thursday, I could only find the one in the meadow at the north end yesterday, and it somehow avoided collecting any dew this time.
As I was searching for butterflies at the pollinator garden yesterday, something shot up and perched in a tree above. I hoped it might be a butterfly, but it took me a while to find it, and when I eventually did, here’s what I got for my efforts. In case you don’t recognize it, that’s one of the hundreds of northern dog-day cicadas that have been filling the air with their melodic call all month.
Finally, the spectacular black swallowtail yesterday was very particular about which flowers it would visit, and besides the purple cone flower in yesterday’s picture, the only other one it liked was this bright orange Mexican sunflower, aka tithonia, which I read is of the “torch” variety. Either way, it sure makes for a nice picture, eh?
With any luck, I’ll have some new, east coast content for you on Sunday. Wish me luck!
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 