Butterflies and Birds

I've seen several more birds since I first posted my list of birds here at Parkwood.  And we've been seeing some interesting butterflies recently.

- there was a small flock of pigeons ('Rock Doves') that flew over when we were out in the garden.
- I've seen a few swallows dipping through the air outside my window (presumably Tree Swallows).
- we were sitting by the raised bed gardens when a Downy Woodpecker landed on a post 4 feet away.
- finally, I'm sure I saw a Purple Finch mingling with the sparrows one day.  It has no dark stripes on its head, unlike the more common House Finch.  And it really should be called the 'Pink Finch' rather than purple.  That's the most unusual bird here so far.

As for butterflies, there have been quite a few Cabbage White and Monarchs around all along.  It's the best year for Monarchs I've seen in some time.  We must have seen 40 or 50  - or half a dozen that fly around a lot!  Lasr year I only saw 1 or 2.

We've also found a big caterpiller of the Black Swallowtail.  It's bright green and black, with yellow dots, very similar to a Monarch caterpiller.  Then the other day I saw a Red-spotted Purple on the Butterfly Bush.  The red spot on each forewing is very inconspicuous, but it has a bright row of blue spots along the back margin of each wing.  And the 'purple' looks almost black to me.  It should be called the 'Blue-spotted'.

I got some shots of a Hummingbird Moth on the same plant, and today there was an Eastern Swallowtail when we went out.  Quite a spate of interesting butterflies in only 4 days.

I know you're asking 'Where are the pictures?' , but you'll have to wait yet.  Once I get home where I can download them, I'll start sharing photos.  I have over 400 so far; they'll keep the blog going for some time!