Carolina Wren. One of my favorite birds. They are aways hanging around the house and so curious, going into every nook and cranny looking for insects. This one was a typical, heard before seeing, making a whir-whirring noise in the distance and working closer until it came into view. In the short time he was visible, I saw him pickup one fly and catch another one out of the air.

Northern lights, night landscape, and comet photos from 10/12/24 & 10/16&17/24 (comet).

Close ups of some insects out during the nice weather a couple days ago. Fall is the last chance for these insects to gather food before it all disappears for the winter. Each day of autumn the selection of flowers gets less and less and drives more competition for the last nectar sources available.

Photos taken on our way to and at East Creek & Lake Champlain at the end of August & September 2024. Lots of young eagles flying and playing on the first day. One was fascinated by an empty Gatorade bottle that had washed up on the shore. A couple of nicely busy days with lots of young birds out learning to hunt.

Birds and Butterflies from the Green Mountain National Forest in Granville, VT. From August 2024.

Photos taken in Granville, VT. I found a large patch of Jewel Weed along a dirt road in the National Forest Area. All the immature birds there seemed to be out and chasing each other around until tired and then feeding on the Jewel Weed to get their energy back. Then right back to chasing again.. Seemed to be around 6-8 birds total partaking in the aerial battles. The one adult male I saw didn't seem to be playful, he was feeding a little, but I didn't see him participate in the flight games. This is only species of hummingbird that is common in Vermont. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Very entertaining! I spent a few hours there watching and photographing them.

Taken on trails along the White River near Rochester in summer of 2024. In late June and July birds are focused on feeding chicks and fledglings. So insects everywhere beware! Mid to late July some adults are readying for a second brood by feeding up and gathering more nest building material.

I ran into a small flock of Black-throated Green Warblers this week. They were in the National Forest in Rochester, feeding on some green caterpillars on young yellow birch trees. I managed to get on a side hill and was able to photograph them pretty close to eye level. I think the trees enjoyed have these visitors remove so many parasites.

This Red-eyed Vireo found a huge caterpillar. It decided to field dress it on the spot before bringing it back to the nest. Photos taken on a trail near Charles D Owen Park in Asheville, NC.

The weather is getting better and birds are returning to Vermont. It was time to change the camera settings out of eclipse mode and back into bird mode. I went out to photograph woodpeckers, but ran into some other birds as well.

Eclipse Photos taken in Hinesburg, VT on 4/8/24. Some of totality photos are taken at higher exposures to highlight the corona. I do wonder what our ancestors thought when they had this happen. It's easy to see how this would cause awe as well as concern.