We had another cool start to the day at the Retzer Nature Center, out here in Waukesha County, but the winds were light, the sky was clear, and the smoke was still gone, so it was a very nice morning.
This hairy woodpecker is a familiar face, of course, but he posed so nicely in the sun in front of a clean and dark background that I figured one more look can’t hurt. Right?
When I first saw this butterfly, I figured it was a black swallowtail, which we’ve already seen this summer, but once I gave the picture a closer look, I can see that it is instead our first tiger swallowtail of the summer and a dark morph, to boot. Note how it has a much planer pattern of dots at the trailing edge of its top wing than the black swallowtail.
As with the hairy woodpecker above, this black-capped chickadee gave me a pose I just couldn’t refuse.
As with the swallowtail above, I figured this shy butterfly was one we’d seen before, perhaps a wood-nymph or wood satyr, but I was mistaken once again. This one turns out to be our very first northern pearly-eye (Lethe anthedon). What a beauty, eh?
Finally, I’ve shown you plenty of eastern cottontails already, but I’ve never seen one quite so comfortable as this lazy bones.
We’re having a little group birding tomorrow morning before class, so hopefully more sets of eyes will turn up something as cool as the yellow-billed cuckoo from yesterday. Wish us luck!
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 