Crops & Clips: Flashback to October, 2019

As I do each month, I enjoy looking back over my archived photos, taken three years previously, to remember how things were then as compared to events this year at our new home in Connecticut. As usual, I searched for images which reflected favorite memes: critters of all kinds (especially birds and butterflies), skies and clouds, reflections, flowers and scenes which speak for themselves. 

We spent the entire month at home in south Florida and I processed over 500 images from our early morning walks in the Wounded Wetlands adjacent to our home. Migration was in full swing. 

On October 1, a colorful male American Redstart caught my eye:

The more subtle plumage of the female Redstart is no less pleasing:

I had nice views of a boldly patterned male Black-throated Blue Warbler:

The inconspicuous female Black-throated Blue almost looks like a separate species. An important clue to her identity is the white spot on her wing: 

A Worm-eating Warbler hunted for insects:

A male Northern Parula warbler posed in soft shade:

Even a poor view of a male Painted Bunting was a treat:

This Ovenbird was intently watching something on the ground:

In the back yard lake, a pair of Egyptian Geese showed off their new family:

American Kestrels had returned to winter in our neighborhood:

A slightly larger falcon, the Merlin, had also arrived:

Covid-19 had not yet made an appearance and I was leading monthly interpretive walks at nearby Chapel Trail Nature preserve in Pembroke Pines. The boardwalk affords access to an extensive wet prairie and surrounding brush:

Longhorn cattle grazing in the  peaceful pasture next to the preserve attracted Cattle Egrets. Sadly, this field is being paved over and converted into a parking lot for recreational vehicles and trailers:

A Gulf Fritillary sipped nectar from the Lantana flowers:

This view shows the colorful undersides of a Giant Swallowtail:

A Florida Tree Snail climbed on a bulrush stem:

A Brown Basilisk, a species native to Mexico and Central America and introduced via the pet trade in the 1970s, watched from the safety of a tree next to the boardwalk:

The Pembroke Pines Bald Eagles were refurbishing their nest:

Hunter's Moon was settling over the lake on October 13:

A canal separates our subdivision from the Wounded Wetlands:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

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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