24 September, 2010

Back in July -- Blue Jays, Purple Flowers, and Hummingbird Moth

Way back in July, (it wasn't really that long ago was it?) all the bluejays in the neighborhood descended on the feeders at once.  There were at least 15, and can they raise a real ruckus!  Most were this year's fledglings mixed in with a few of their older sibs and, of course, their parents.  If you look carefully, you can see 8 of them in the photo below.
Too lazy to take their own seeds from the feeders, these 2 juvies were begging for food while the adult seems to throw its wings up in defeat.  I hope those 2 can manage for themselves now that the cold weather is on its way. 
 Along the river back in July were lots of wildflowers including these lovely purple ones.  I think they are a vetch of some sort, but I am not really sure. 
 Nearby in some lavendar colored flowers was this fantastic hummingbird moth (Hemaris diffinis).
 
It is also called a clearwing moth because it loses most of the scales from its wings soon after it emerges.
 
By now it has surely laid its eggs, or fertilized some eggs, as the case may be, in time for the larvae to over-winter in cocoons.  Somehow the summer went by far too quickly ...
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7 comments:

  1. Great photographs Wilma.
    Have a great weekend.
    Costas

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  2. Lovely pictures of the Blue Jays. The Jays over here in Britain are very similar to yours but are pinkish in colour with a chequerboard patch of blue, black and white on their wings.
    As you say the summers past so quickly and this morning we had our first real frost of Autumn the parked cars and house roofs were white with frost.

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  3. Those Bluejays look lovely Wilma. Their long tails remind me of our Magpies; they can be pretty noisy too lol

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  4. Hi Wilma.
    Nice shots of the Blue Jays. Also of the Hummingbird Moths. I wish we had more of those over here.

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  5. Those lovely purple flowers Wilma, they look like some kind of Vetch.

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  6. Costas - thank you.

    David - oh, frost so early! and here I was feeling melancholy that our seasons were changing so soon.

    Keith - they are somewhat like magpies in their behavior; you can always tell when they are around.

    Ken - thank you. :-) It is always a treat to see hummingbird moths. They are in the same family as the hawk moths.

    Roy - thank you. ;-)

    cheers to all,
    Wilma

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  7. I keep listening to the news speak about getting free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the best site to get one.

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