My daughter, Caroline, was visiting for a few days and we went out each day to spend time in nature. It's the juice that flows through the blood of all of us!
We had not gone far when we came across an extraordinary, completely leucistic or albino Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica).
The bird never landed so we were unable to determine the colour of the eye, but it flew strongly and associated with the other swallows of normal colouration.
The pictures are, of course, not terrific, but you will appreciate that the bird was flying at top speed, twisting and turning to snag insects, sometimes low to the ground, sometimes soaring skyward. The best technique to get a picture was to point the camera and click when the bird flew into the field of vision.
In an entire lifetime of birding I have never seen this before. We will come back to it at the end of this post.
Not long after the exhilaration of the swallow we came across a family of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialis sialia).
The fledglings seemed less than interested in us.
There is more serious business at hand; learning how to feed oneself for a start.
A Jagged Ambush Bush (Phymata americana) is a proficient assassin of other insects, but perhaps an opportunistic bluebird might prey on it, given the chance.
We were of the firm belief that the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) we had discovered just a week earlier was on a breeding territory, and we returned to verify our conclusion and to show the bird to Caroline.
Almost without delay we found the bird again, flying back and forth into the same area of the same woodlot, bona fide evidence of a nest, and probably already feeding young.
A striking Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata pleased us greatly.
A Margined Calligrapher (Toxomerus marginatus) is attractive and endearing, and a great friend in the garden where it consumes several harmful insects bent on feeding on your flowers and vegetables.
I had promised my good friend Carola that I would let her know the reason for naming the fly calligrapher, and I confess to having forgotten until now. It refers to the fine black edging on their abdomens, evoking calligraphy to some early taxonomist I suppose. I have no doubt that Carola will forgive my lapse of memory.
The following bird is probably a Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii), but it could equally be an Alder Flycatcher (E. alnorum).
The two birds are virtually identical and it is vocalization that reliably sets them apart.
Unfortunately this individual remained silent.
A Song Sparrow (Melopsiza melodia), singing or not, leaves no doubt as to its identity.
A Hickory Tussock Moth (Lophocampa caryae) caterpillar dangled on a strand of silk, perhaps waiting to be caught on a gust of wind and transported afar.
On the way home we stopped by to see the white swallow again.
After all, this is not something you see every day!
