Birds
The equinox hasn’t brought much avian diversity to my yard. There was the Common Yellowthroat yesterday morning, and early last evening a Gray Catbird was in the front yard. (The front yard doesn’t get much of my attention—I no doubt miss a lot there).
This morning a robin and a House Finch stood out amongst the House Sparrows and pigeons. The grackles left weeks ago to join winter flocks. I haven’t seen a goldfinch in days, and the mockingbird has been absent. Even starlings have become rather rare.
Butterflies
Today’s butterflies include Red Admiral, Monarch, Cabbage White, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Gray Hairstreak, and a new one for the backyard: Dainty Sulphur.
Spiders
I’ve found that the garden spider belongs to the genus Argiope and that it’s a female (the males of the genus are slender and smaller). The web’s zipper is called the “stabilimentum”, which, as the name suggests, lends the web stability. I also found some fantastic footage of an argiope spinning her web at Dawn’s Dream.
The yard argiope’s web is looking very ragged. There are few strands left and the zipper is nearly gone. I hope to be up before first light tomorrow to see if I can catch her repairing her web.