My Nemesis Bird!

Some of you have been out shooting with me and know about my nemesis bird, the Common Yellowthroat.  This small warbler is abundant throughout most of the United States and has a recognizable and very loud song.  One that it sings often and with great gusto.  It tends to stay in dense, low shrubby habitat, near water.  And while I hear it nearly wherever I travel (and certainly here in New Jersey), I have only gotten successful photos maybe a handful of times.  Mostly, I just hear the little buggers singing, singing, singing.  Taunting me.

So, imagine my surprise and delight when I came across a male, female and several fledglings while out on my morning hike!  The female was much more cooperative than this little male - she spent a considerable amount of time out in the open, letting me shoot to my heart's content.  The male was much more covert and the resulting photos had to be severely cropped and fiddled with a bit.  Still, worth a blip.

Other things seen on the trail...
Eastern Cottontail rabbit, nose in the air
Female Common Yellowthroat, being cooperative
Willow Flycatcher, one of the empidinox flycatchers - very hard to ID unless you hear them calling, which I did.

And, in other news - I arrived home in time to see that my Black Swallowtail chrysalis had transformed into a stunning female butterfly!  She was all dry and very ready to go.  I was able to get a couple of shots of her in the enclosure before gently taking her out on my finger. She immediately took the air, landing up in the maple tree where she'll probably rest until tomorrow.  What a delight it has been raising her from a freshly-laid egg.  

And, while she was testing her new wings, the hummers were loving the bee balm.

A quick visit with MIL and then I met Hubs at the doctor for his follow up visit on the eye injury.  Doc says it is healing as hoped and he just needs to give it about 6-8 weeks to fully heal.  Lots of eye drops until it's fully healed.  

Tomorrow I will start collecting my "demo insects" for the Nature Camp on Wednesday.  Also still need to print a few photos.  

And a BIG happy birthday to my bestie, Kura, today!  She and my other two besties are coming out this weekend to celebrate properly.  Can't wait!

xo
Debbi