Birds and Butterflies!
A few days ago I watched the first flight of a gulf fritillary butterfly (shown above) after it emerged from the chrysalis; I was babysitting it for Nancy and had the fun of watching it emerge. The butterfly took a little while to fly off, flapping and drying its wings before it was ready to fly. Then off it went high up into an oak tree.
The next day, I watched a small bird (maybe a finch?) bobbing back and forth wildly as it rode on an anise hyssop wand, eating the seeds from the dried flower pod. The bird was too heavy for the branch so the branch kept falling over to the ground and then popping back up, but the bird held on and kept eating.
It had a pretty yellow breast. We have house finches with red breasts and also these small birds with yellow breasts (not sure what they are). My pictures aren’t great because it was hard to focus while it was in motion and I couldn’t get very close, but it was still fun to get a few photos. Maybe someone can identify it for me.
I’m still working on the gardenia, and getting some medical appointments done while on my time off. My side injury seems healed, and we have family coming this Friday through Sunday.
Hope your summer is going well!
I think that bird might be a goldfinch. I have some that just love to hang out at the birdbath. It looks like the same type of bird but I could be completely wrong.
Thanks, poodle. When I googled, it looked like some of the goldfinch pictures that came up, so I was wondering if that could be it. They are pretty little birds!
How lovely! Your story just adds to the pictures, I can almost imagine the bird gobbling away.
Thanks, Nemo! I was at the kitchen window so it was a bit comical watching the bird and branch bob in and out of my view. Cute though! 🙂
Such beautiful photos. How amazing to watch the butterfly emerge and take its first flight! I would love to see something like that.
Thanks, BJ! I’ve never seen a newly emerged butterfly before so it has been a treat that Nancy shared this with me!
Hi, Laurie.
Such great photos! You and Poodle are correct. He is a Goldfinch. I think he’s the Lesser, rather than Amercain Goldfinch. I found a great site for looking up local birds.
http://www.colintalcroft.com/Sonoma_County_Bird_Watching_Spots/Lesser_Goldfinch.html
Thanks, Nancy! That’s a really good photo at that link, and it does look like the one I saw (this one did have the black cap on the head). I need to explore that site some more. 🙂
I am really excited to hear that you’re working on a gardenia scent. I have a tiny vial of a white floral that you made a decade or so ago, and it’s lovely beyond words. I have wished for a long time that you would make a gardenia scent. Keep us posted.
That’s so nice to hear! Thanks, FeralJasmine! 🙂 I’d love it if you wanted to be a tester for me on the gardenia when I get back to it. Right now I’m working on finishing the natural version of Forest Walk (will post more about that when it’s ready).
Please do keep me in mind as a tester. I’m obsessed with gardenia scents.