One disadvantage to birding on San Juan Island is that a lot of migrant species pass over the islands for some reason. For instance, while I've been hearing orange-crowned warblers singing around every bend in the trail, I have yet to spot any other type of warbler here, including the newly re-split yellow-rumped warbler (more on that in a future post). The same goes for species that are otherwise residents of the region; chestnut-backed chickadees are abundant on the island but black-capped species are absent. Still, there are birds out there to be found, and while Dave has temporarily crept ahead in the year bird race I picked up two more for my list in the last two days. Yesterday I saw violet-green swallows (137) - a good three weeks behind most people but there the first ones I've found! Then today, a pair of northern rough-winged swallows (138).
There are two types of butterflies that I've noticed flying about. One is a little black and white speckled job that has yet to settle down for me to get a close look at it, let alone a photo. The other is this spring azure (Celastrina argiolus), shown here perched on a western red cedar branch:
There are two types of butterflies that I've noticed flying about. One is a little black and white speckled job that has yet to settle down for me to get a close look at it, let alone a photo. The other is this spring azure (Celastrina argiolus), shown here perched on a western red cedar branch:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nOXo-ce-2E0s_m8IInDtGpfZDHoVk8XVJBCX1YUR1ZOytKTtuv_DWxSOrGmu3nDoM49-lupwixeRfr-nfAlFPYb-AwCqW-ErqXo3OkmkAY7OizcdyHEkysdeX78SM-sUmWltH1iiRP8/s400/SpringAzureButterfly.jpg)
I also have quite a few wildflower shots to share, so I thought I would do them a few at a time. Last year was the first spring I really got into identifying wildflowers. This year, spotting a now-familiar flower species is just as exciting as seeing the summer bird species return. Here are three such species that I learned last year:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vRqRazC8zJsfmXXw4JiMWc9woEWu4880yyx078mr-36UVSF89cNQggh1tfQpwwS6q3nBb1jnIYeNS-8sOzWC4vGA4wlwBhiJ7FtQhckGgca7d5_4tEactSy8LlaADrBMaOlRqTOY_g8/s400/Fairyslippers.jpg)
3 comments:
Birds, Butterflies and Wildflowers is a neat post, I particularly liked the images of the Wildflowers...Thomas
No blues out here yet. There are coralroot orchids on the periphery of Safariland but they are a horribly rare thing wot we have never seen. can't find any records since 1999.
Cheers
Dave (142)
I like the Blue Butterflies Monika, I hope to find some on my patch this year.
I see you've got dave worried with the bird list :-)
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