Thursday, May 5, 2022

Crops & Clips: Flashback to May, 2019

Each month I enjoy looking back over my archived photos, taken three years previously, to remember how things were then and what I now am missing this month in our new Connecticut  home.  As usual, I search for images which reflect favorite memes: critters of all kinds (especially birds), skies and clouds, reflections, flowers and butterflies, as well as scenes which speak for themselves. 

We spent the first week of May, 2019 in Florida, then 2 weeks visiting our daughter's home in NE Illinois, ending the month back home in Florida. The timing happened to be the ideal way to see the highest counts of spring migrants as they moved north. However, our local Wounded Wetlands yielded only a few banner days.

My first photo of the month was this capture of a White-eyed Vireo. This species breeds all over the eastern half of the US, but retreats in winter to the southernmost states, northern Mexico and the Caribbean islands. In Florida its population is augmented by returning migrants.

White-eyed Vireo on May 3:

The next day, a much less common vireo made its appearance. The breeding range of the Black-whiskered Vireo includes sparse coastal areas of southern Florida, the Bahamas, and most of Cuba. It winters far to the south into central South America.  



The Black-whiskered Vireo below, its throat markings obscured, resembles the Red-eyed Vireo, a much more common migrant:

The Red-eyed Vireos arrive later in Florida and are much more numerous in autumn than during spring migration. I photographed this Red-eyed Vireo, in a strikingly similar pose, on September 11, 2021:

I photographed another vireo species a week later (on May 9) in Batavia, Illinois, the smaller Blue-headed Vireo:

In the Wounded Wetlands on May 5, a male Bobcat sauntered out into the path and then stopped to stare at me:


A White Peacock butterfly  bathed in sunlight:

In Illinois, migration was well underway. Eastern Kingbirds had arrived:

Other migrant songbirds included Baltimore Oriole...

...a male Bobolink...

...Yellow Warbler...

...Nashville Warbler...

...Black-throated Green Warbler...

...and American Redstart:

Mallards in Flight:

A pair of Sandhill Cranes browsed with their two colts in a field festooned with yellow blooms:

The Twin Oaks at Nelson Lake preserve in Batavia, Illinois were beginning to leaf out:

Back home in Florida, the mangoes were ripening:

Along the path, a female Common Nighthawk warned me not to approach its hidden nest or chicks:

Before carefully stepping back, I found its two eggs, laid on bare gravel

Nearly a half mile across the lake, a deer reflected on the calm surface:

I practiced taking flight shots, of Tricolored Heron...

...Red-shouldered Hawk...

...and Mottled Duck:

Out on the Wounded Wetlands, I stirred up a White-tail buck:

A scrawny female Coyote stared at me before running off:

The south shore of the lake at sunrise on May 31:

= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to:



Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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14 comments:

  1. So many great photos but I really like the birds in flight.

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  2. Great photos! Love that photo of the cranes with young.

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  3. All lovely nature photos, I love the different birds perched on a branch... they're awesome!

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  4. You are quite the wildlife photographer, especially the birds.

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  5. What a wonderful series, Ken! Each one of these images is stunning!
    Makes me miss Florida and I'm still here.

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  6. Elke, the Bobcats are normally quite fearful of humans. This one stopped only briefly before running off. A sick or rabid Bobcat can be very aggressive and dangerous despite the fact that they are only about twice the size of a house cat. A female with small kits can attack if threatened.

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  7. Greetings and Salutations! Each photograph you take are so special. I like that you explain each image where, what, when, even the time.

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  8. Hello Ken,
    What a wonderful post and beautiful photos. Great sightings of the various Vireo's and the beautiful Warblers. Love the Bobolink and the Sandhill Crane family. The Bobcat is an awesome capture. Pretty butterfly, your birds in flight are awesome captures. The last sunrise is beautiful. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your day and happy weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  9. I love seeing your Florida photos. I've learned the ID of so many animals and birds from you! And we see some of the same ones here but many are rare sightings. It's been a long time since we've seen a bobcat! Enjoy your weekend! Happy Mother's day to your wife and daughter!

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  10. Wonderful photos..quite a selection of birds and wild life..Great in flight shots too..Thanks for sharing..Enjoy the rest of your weekend..

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  11. Great shots! I’d love to see some vireos and those colorful warblers.

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  12. Your archives are filled with treasures! I haven't seen a bobolink in eons...that image was a splendid photo!!
    Than you for taking the time to share by linking in!

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  13. Excellent photos! In fact I scrolled through them a few times.

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  14. Gorgeous pictures! Cannot pick a favorite.

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