365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Vanessa Atalanta, Red Admiral
Day 365: With nighttime temperatures dipping rather close to freezing, I was surprised yesterday to see three Red Admirals in my yard, distinctly different individuals as evidenced by the bird damage (or lack of it) to their wings. This was the freshest specimen and naturally, the hardest to photograph because it was more lively. Marigolds seemed to provide the greatest draw among the plants in my garden, but the prevalent cat's-ear "dandelion" came second.
Coincidentally, I happen to be reading "Chasing Monarchs," Robert Michael Pyle's incredible story of tracking Monarch butterflies from Canada to Mexico. His writing is eloquent and presents the natural history of the species in a most entertaining and digestible manner. No dry science here! In fact, I am finding the book hard to put down as I ride along beside him (figuratively) through the deserts of eastern Washington and Oregon. Many of the places he's stopped are familiar to me; I see them in my mind with him inserted into the picture, loping across the basaltic landscape and rabbitbrush in pursuit of a Monarch for tagging, following his passion.
His Monarchs meet with all kinds of perils: birds, insecticides, bad weather. It is the latter which worries me now for the Admirals in my own little pocket ecology. We have a series of fronts moving in which are expected to bring high winds and heavy rain. But unlike the Monarchs, my black-and-orange beauties are not compelled by the urge to migrate and will winter over. In character with their common name, the Admirals will take any port in a storm.
Labels:
"Chasing Monarchs",
Red Admiral,
Vanessa atalanta,
yard
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment