Daily Archives: Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Tyson

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Last Thursday (July 26) afternoon Jim Z. and I went to Tyson Research Center.

We saw only a few birds: Turkey Vulture, Eastern Bluebird, Indigo Bunting (only two or three individuals seen, but many heard singing), American Goldfinch, a mystery passerine that we couldn’t get our glasses on. We heard a Carolina Wren.

Butterflies were the stars of the day, 18 species in all, including 6 species of swallowtail:

  1. Black Swallowtail
  2. Pipevine Swallowtail
  3. Tiger Swallowtail
  4. Giant Swallowtail
  5. Spicebush Swallowtail
  6. Zebra Swallowtail
  7. Pearl Crescent
  8. Silvery Checkerspot
  9. Red-spotted Purple
  10. Eastern-tailed Blue
  11. Question Mark
  12. Eastern Comma
  13. Hackberry
  14. Northern Pearly Eye
  15. Little Wood Satyr
  16. Cabbage White
  17. Fiery Skipper
  18. Little Glassywing

I missed the Giant Swallowtail and the Eastern Comma.

I had forgotten what a good place Tyson is—must renew my membership.

An hour in Tower Grove Park

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I took a vacation day on Monday, July 16, and spent an hour in Tower Grove Park’s bird garden.

There wasn’t much activity. Cicada Killers drifted over the grass at the entrance to the bird garden, making me wish I hadn’t worn shorts and flip flops. After taking some photos of the wasps, I sat on the bench at the bubbler, enjoying the still summer air and waiting to see what showed up. A Carolina Wren sang from vegetation east of the bench. The sound of heavy equipment just southwest of the garden was a reminder that the park was still coping with the effects of two damaging storms within a year.

And then there was some excitement. An immature Cooper’s Hawk flew into the big sycamore by the bubbler and then into one of the trees on the north edge of the garden. It began calling, and its voice was joined by two more. I saw two of the birds, both immature, but don’t know whether the third bird was a parent or another youngster—I can’t remember how many young were in the nest before they fledged.

I took some photos of one of the birds. Someday I’ll even format them and post them here and upload them!