Butterflies, etc - 13 July 2009

I decided to venture out in search of butterflies this afternoon. First I went to Brookside Park in Ames. Instead of finding butterflies (I only saw ONE the whole time), I was surprised to find a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER singing away along the creek. The only other singing birds were Red-eyed Vireos! At this point, I'm not sure if YTWA's nested there this summer? Pretty cool to have in town!

I later went to Ada Hayden Park in north Ames to continue my search for butterflies. In addition to a few birds like Sedge Wren and Orchard Orioles, butterflies were definitely out-and-about. Below is a BRONZE COPPER:

Another species that finally perched for me included a BLACK SWALLOWTAIL:

Also, I found another GRAY COPPER, albeit a rather dinged up individual:

Switching gears slightly to dragonflies, I also snapped a picture of a RED SADDLEBAGS:

And yes, lets not forget birds! Here is a male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD waiting to feed its chicks: