I went birding!!!

Swami and Swamette took the girls for the night, presumably to give us a break, but Swamette just wants to go shopping for school clothes. Hell hath no fury like Swamette with a credit card.

And look at Swami's new pet:

This is Stanley. He enjoys music and shedding skin.

A cute-burrito...with an extra helping of girliness.

I went to Kelley's Nature Preserve, and I saw more bugs than birds, but I was just happy to be out in 75 degree weather, so it was okay.

I like praying mantis's. Is that right? Mantis's?
This one checked me out while upside down...

And this one was giving me the evil eye right side up.

I jumped up and down with this one: A Viceroy!
The difference between monarchs and viceroys...the black line on the hindwings and smaller size. A life bug for me.

The Little Miami is so low, I was able to walk out to the middle of it. I stood there so long, soaking up the WARM sun and cool breeze and bird song, some neighbors poked their heads up and went about their business:

Some killdeer...

And let me say it now...give me a million ambiguous hawks ID's, but you can keep the sandpipers! I am lost on this one. Fairly clean grayish back, dark eye line, yellow legs and mostly white underparts with just a bit of gray/brown wash on the throat.
I need the Birdchick! She's the expert sandpiperess now!

I think this is a juvenile wood duck. That whitish chin strap is all I can see every time I look at this picture.

It's a bird! It's a plane!




I added a few new caterpillars to our habitat. I found these guys on some milkweed...milkweed caterpillars, soon to grow into milkweed tussock moths!

1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Who goes there?
King Arthur: It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot. King of the Britons, defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of all England!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Pull the other one!
King Arthur: I am, and this is my trusty servant Patsy. We have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who will join me in my court at Camelot. I must speak with your lord and master.
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: What? Ridden on a horse?
King Arthur: Yes!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: You're using coconuts!
King Arthur: What?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: You've got two empty halves of coconut and you're bangin' 'em together.
King Arthur: So? We have ridden since the snows of winter covered this land, through the kingdom of Mercia, through...
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Where'd you get the coconuts?
King Arthur: We found them.
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Found them? In Mercia? The coconut's tropical!
King Arthur: What do you mean?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Well, this is a temperate zone
King Arthur: The swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?
King Arthur: Not at all. They could be carried.
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: What? A swallow carrying a coconut?
King Arthur: It could grip it by the husk!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: It's not a question of where he grips it! It's a simple question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.
King Arthur: Well, it doesn't matter. Will you go and tell your master that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Listen. In order to maintain air-speed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second, right?
King Arthur: Please!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Am I right?

Suey, whaddya see? The greatest duck in history!

What would a weekend be without frenzied activity? Damn lonely, that's for sure.
Geoff had another book signing today, this time at a marathon (when I told my Mom this, she said, "What? At a gas station?") and I took the girls to RAPTOR with me and when Geoff was done, he came and got the girls. We do a lot of car/kid swapping and it wears me out.
As the girls and I were about to leave the neighborhood, we saw this:

Ducks on Parade!
When I saw them, I thought of the song near the end of Charlotte's Web...

My land, isn't he grand?
Zuckerman's famous pig
Golly, you gotta agree he's a real celebrity
Fine, swine wish he was mine
What if he's not so big?
He's some terrific, radiant, humble thig-a-majig of a pig
The terrific, radiant, humble
Zuckerman
Zuckerman
Zuckerman
Zuckerman
Zuckerman's
Zuckerman's famous pig!
Sorry, went on a little long there...
But don't they look like they are in a parade? And the one in front looked like he was sporting a tuxedo.
When I got out of my car, they ran at me.
Like I was a loaf of bread and just flashed them the goods.

These ducks have been seen around the subdivision for awhile now. And no one knows who they belong to. They are way too friendly for their own good. One bit me, and one bit Isabelle. I shooed them off the street and we went on. Geoff, can we have some ducks? We can let them noodle around in the back yard, and it will give Nellie and Hooper something to do. They can practice their herding.

Research is ongoing as to what kind of bug this is. It moved like a Garthim.

I had gone out to pick some fresh milkweed, and found a monarch cat I obviously had missed for the past week or so:

He is a biggin. Probably in his 5th and last instar. So I should be able to post his transformation into a jade earring soon.

And now, a bird quiz:
We have a possible new program bird at RAPTOR. She has been jessed and Jeff (Of tree-climbing fame) worked with her some today. We are giving her one more chance to make a full recovery from a broken wing, but if she stays with us, she will go out on programs with me.
I don't think Mon@rch should be allowed to guess on this one, since he has so much experience with banding and so on. But if no one gets it right, I will let him guess.

She's in a mew with Scarlet, our red-tailed hawk.
Any guesses on what kind of bird she is?
Hint: She is a juvenile. But that's not really a hint. Juvenile birds of prey all look alike.
Come on guys...make me proud.
The prize: I will make you a "Cape May First Annual Birder Blogger Conference" T-shirt.

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