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.
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