This Week at Nixon Park - June 14-21
Another week of rain and unseasonably cool temperatures topped off by a strong storm with around an inch and a quarter of rain and 50 MPH wind gusts. When they swept through the park those winds felled a few trees and many branches.
Snapping Turtle, Bullfrog, Painted Turtle side-eyeing me, Lumpy the Red-Eared Slider.
Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly, Cabbage White butterfly dwarfing a very tiny carpenter bee, Eastern Amberwing Dragonfly, Eastern Harvestman (also known as daddy longlegs), Western Honey Bee.
The Canada Geese have been going through their summer molt the past few weeks, if you look closely you can see their new feathers growing in.
Another look at the Kingbird nest, and a hunting Kingbird - a familiar sight around the ponds this time of year. See more about Kingbirds and other tyrant flycatchers found in the park.
A group of fledgling Northern Rough-winged Swallows were perching near the ponds for a acouple of mornings this week. The light brown bars on their wings indicate they are still juveniles (as does their overall appearance and behavior).
Two pictures of the same species; why does one look so gray while the other such a bright blue? The blue we see in birds caused by the reflection of light off the microscopic structure of their feathers, not because there's a blue pigment present. The rainy-day picture does not have much sunshine, so the feathers look very gray rather than the blue we perceive in brighter conditions.
