daytonm1111's Identifications

The first time I had ever seen this, i videoed the entire event as well from entry to exit. It was as if this species swims all the time. I sent it to a frogmouth expert and she had never seen that before. The bird chose to swim and flew away very easily after its swim. There appeared to be no explanation for the bird swimming as it was not particularly hot or anything unusual.

A solo visit because I hadn't been here in two months. I walked the northern loop of the nature trail to the powerlines, then followed them northeast to the northern fenceline, then wound my way through the May 2023 burn to the west fenceline, then back west to Jet. The May 2023 burn was full of passionflower and other plants, which formed a dense mat above the ground -- good thing I'm not wary of snakes! I was surprised to see that the Clusterspike False Indigo plants are again blooming -- I'm guessing due to the recent burn; there was lots of insect activity on the flowers. The burn was loaded with Mocis and similar moths, various yellows and sulphurs (6 species if iNat is correct!), and Gulf Fritillaries -- I could have spent all days photographing passionflower and fritillaries. I found 5 chrysalises in the burn or attached to the barbed-wire fence to the north; I'm guessing they were all fritillaries. I again recorded Northern Flicker calls, but still have yet to see a flicker here! The best surprise was a singing male Blue Grosbeak in the northeast corner of the May 2023 burn. The weather at the start was sunny, 77 degrees ("feels like" 77), with calm winds. The weather at the end was sunny, 86 degrees ("feels like" 100), with calm winds. There was no humidity overnight; all the vegetation was dry. I left at 0957.

A solo visit because I hadn't been here in two months. I walked the northern loop of the nature trail to the powerlines, then followed them northeast to the northern fenceline, then wound my way through the May 2023 burn to the west fenceline, then back west to Jet. The May 2023 burn was full of passionflower and other plants, which formed a dense mat above the ground -- good thing I'm not wary of snakes! I was surprised to see that the Clusterspike False Indigo plants are again blooming -- I'm guessing due to the recent burn; there was lots of insect activity on the flowers. The burn was loaded with Mocis and similar moths, various yellows and sulphurs (6 species if iNat is correct!), and Gulf Fritillaries -- I could have spent all days photographing passionflower and fritillaries. I found 5 chrysalises in the burn or attached to the barbed-wire fence to the north; I'm guessing they were all fritillaries. I again recorded Northern Flicker calls, but still have yet to see a flicker here! The best surprise was a singing male Blue Grosbeak in the northeast corner of the May 2023 burn. The weather at the start was sunny, 77 degrees ("feels like" 77), with calm winds. The weather at the end was sunny, 86 degrees ("feels like" 100), with calm winds. There was no humidity overnight; all the vegetation was dry. I left at 0957.

A solo visit because I hadn't been here in two months. I walked the northern loop of the nature trail to the powerlines, then followed them northeast to the northern fenceline, then wound my way through the May 2023 burn to the west fenceline, then back west to Jet. The May 2023 burn was full of passionflower and other plants, which formed a dense mat above the ground -- good thing I'm not wary of snakes! I was surprised to see that the Clusterspike False Indigo plants are again blooming -- I'm guessing due to the recent burn; there was lots of insect activity on the flowers. The burn was loaded with Mocis and similar moths, various yellows and sulphurs (6 species if iNat is correct!), and Gulf Fritillaries -- I could have spent all days photographing passionflower and fritillaries. I found 5 chrysalises in the burn or attached to the barbed-wire fence to the north; I'm guessing they were all fritillaries. I again recorded Northern Flicker calls, but still have yet to see a flicker here! The best surprise was a singing male Blue Grosbeak in the northeast corner of the May 2023 burn. The weather at the start was sunny, 77 degrees ("feels like" 77), with calm winds. The weather at the end was sunny, 86 degrees ("feels like" 100), with calm winds. There was no humidity overnight; all the vegetation was dry. I left at 0957.

A solo visit because I hadn't been here in two months. I walked the northern loop of the nature trail to the powerlines, then followed them northeast to the northern fenceline, then wound my way through the May 2023 burn to the west fenceline, then back west to Jet. The May 2023 burn was full of passionflower and other plants, which formed a dense mat above the ground -- good thing I'm not wary of snakes! I was surprised to see that the Clusterspike False Indigo plants are again blooming -- I'm guessing due to the recent burn; there was lots of insect activity on the flowers. The burn was loaded with Mocis and similar moths, various yellows and sulphurs (6 species if iNat is correct!), and Gulf Fritillaries -- I could have spent all days photographing passionflower and fritillaries. I found 5 chrysalises in the burn or attached to the barbed-wire fence to the north; I'm guessing they were all fritillaries. I again recorded Northern Flicker calls, but still have yet to see a flicker here! The best surprise was a singing male Blue Grosbeak in the northeast corner of the May 2023 burn. The weather at the start was sunny, 77 degrees ("feels like" 77), with calm winds. The weather at the end was sunny, 86 degrees ("feels like" 100), with calm winds. There was no humidity overnight; all the vegetation was dry. I left at 0957.