Monthly Archives: October 2011

Change of Command: Summer visitors give way to natives – Monarch to Sulphur

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Greg Stone

Bren looked at the two butterflies above as they fluttered skyward near the south beach and assumed they were Monarchs – and with good reason. They do give off a significant tint of orange and black. But if you click … Continue reading →

Posted in butterflies | Tagged Alfalfa Sulphur, Clouded sukphur, Dog Face Sulphur, Monarch | 2 Comments

Now that’s a Monarchy!

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Greg Stone

Only who’s in charge? This was my favorite scene on Gooseberry this morning – eight beautiful Monarchs sharing a small area of Goldenrod as they fueled up during their long trek to Mexico.

Posted in butterflies | Tagged clouded sulphur, Monarch Butterfly, Monarch Migration | 2 Comments

Merlin magic, Flicker flights, Yellow Rumps, Monarch of the Road, and more

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Greg Stone

Great morning at Gooseberry, kicked off by a lucky grab of a flicker caught in the morning Sun and highlighted by some out-of-focus shots of a speeding Merlin who I interrupted at breakfast – his, or maybe hers. I’ve seen … Continue reading →

Posted in raptors, songbirds | Leave a comment

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. . . as reflected in the car window at the end of a walk.
Expert birding help

I feel comfortable with many of my bird identifications, but unsure about many others, so it was great when I met Paul Champlin on Gooseberry recently and he agreed to help out. He's a professional and a lifelong birder, so now I can be pretty sure that when I write "it's a Least Sandpiper" it really is a Least Sandpiper!
Paul has a BS and MS in wildlife biology from UMass Amherst and Clemson University in SC. He's currently employed at the Newport Navy Base in wildlife management. He's been birding since he was 8 and has been all over the western hemisphere. "I'm relatively new to the area (3 1/2 years in Westport)" he writes, "and look forward to discovering new people and places."
So I now can be sure of my bird identifications because I'm emailing Paul the pictures first with my best guesses. Someday I hope to reach the point where I don't need help, for the better I know the birds the more I enjoy my walks on Gooseberry. But the bottom line is this - if they're mistakes here, they're mine. I'm writing this. So Paul isn't an excuse for inaccuracy on my part - but he sure will give me a much higher degree of confidence. And he's already reviewed many posts and I've made corrections in them based on what he's reported. Fortunately, I didn't have to correct too much, but even with photos and several books open I make mistakes.
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Monthly Archives: October 2011

Change of Command: Summer visitors give way to natives – Monarch to Sulphur

Now that’s a Monarchy!

Merlin magic, Flicker flights, Yellow Rumps, Monarch of the Road, and more

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