Green Heron
We've had 4-1/2 inches of rain during the past three days. Late in the afternoon, I took a short hike here in Old Trail between storms, and left my camera at home because it could start raining again at any moment. Near the end of my hike, I was on the trail behind the lodge, and I saw a large bird flying in the distance. It looked like a Double-crested Cormorant to me, but I couldn't be sure. That would have been a new Old Trail avian species for me, but it was too far away to be sure. A minute or so later, I saw a small hawk. I was only about 20 feet away from it, and I'm almost certain that it was a Sharp-shinned, but it flew away before I could get a good look. I hurried home to get my camera, but by the time I got back about 10 minutes later, I couldn't re-locate the hawk.
The sun returned today, but heat and humidity also returned with a vengeance. I thought about going to higher and cooler elevations, but decided to hike here in Old Trail to see if I could re-locate that hawk. I didn't find it, and ended up with 19 avian species this morning. Most of them were very common, but I did find a few interesting birds. As I hiked on the trail behind the lodge, I spotted a distant Green Heron perched very high up on a branch near the top of a tree.
Green Heron
A bit later, I saw a female Blue Grosbeak.
Female Blue Grosbeak
As I approached Golf Drive from the north, I saw two Northern Mockingbirds chasing an American Crow. It always seems that the smaller birds do a fairly good job of chasing away larger species.
Northern Mockingbirds and American Crow
Northern Mockingbirds and American Crow
And then I saw why. The Crow was diving down and stole one of the Mockingbird's eggs from their nest.
Northern Mockingbird and American Crow
The rest of the avian species were uneventful.
Female and male American Goldfinches
Female and male House Sparrows
Male and female Red-winged Blackbirds
Barn Swallow
Eastern Bluebird
Blue Jay
Indigo Bunting
Carolina Wren
There were plenty of dragonflies and butterflies to been seen.
Tiger Swallowtail
Near the end of my hike, I spotted a Hummingbird Moth. I hadn't seen one of these for a few years, so it was neat to see it.
Hummingbird Moth
Hummingbird Moth
Hummingbird Moth
Hummingbird Moth