Little things that matter

When birdwatching gets slow, I turn my attention to insects and small creatures. I previously posted photos of dragonflies, but here are some other insects and critters seen on my nature walks. The observations below took place in New York and Florida.

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly: 

Long-Tailed Skipper:

Common Buckeye:

White Peacock Butterfly:

Monarch Butterfly (I'm seeing a lot of these around NYC right now):

Fir Tussock Moth caterpillar:

Nature's way of saying Do Not Touch!

Bumblebee resting on the top of a flower stem:

Another Bumblebee taking a nap while hanging on to some blades of grass.

Japanese Beetles:

They're pretty, but an invasive species in North America.

 

Warning for arachnophobes: spiders ahead!

 

 

 

A cute female Bold Jumping Spider: 

 

She looks lost in thought...

Spiny-Backed Orb Weaver:

A beautiful female Golden Orb Weaver:

A Mabel Orchard Orb Weaver:

This photo was taken in low light, which doesn't really show the spider's wonderful neon turquoise, yellow and orange colors.

 

Dragonflies

Dragonflies are my favorite insect and I eagerly await their final form each summer. Below are a few highlights.

Variegated Meadowhawk (female): 

Eastern Pondhawk (female):

Eastern Pondhawks mating (male on left):

I think this is a female Saffron-Winged Meadowhawk:

Roseate Skimmer (male):

Eastern Amberwing (female):

Autumn Meadowhawk (male):

Blue Dasher (male):

Blue Dashers are the most common dragonfly I see in the NYC area, and they are the most cooperative for photos, so I always come away with more photos of them than any other.

Female:

Female with two different colored eyes:

Male:

Mating (male on left):

Seeing the dragonflies mate and lay their eggs in water is bittersweet as I know that's the end of the life cycle. It's also a sign of the changing seasons and fall is not too far away.

 

At least one fledgling red-tailed hawk still hanging out in Tompkins Square

Heading into Labor Day Weekend, here are the latest photos I have of one of the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledglings. As kids go off to school, the young hawks also embark on their own learning journeys as they leave the area and explore the world. I'm never sure when a fledgling hawk sighting in the park could be the last for the season, so each encounter is special.

This fledgling seems to really like the southwest quadrant of the park as I've been seeing it there regularly. There are plenty of pigeons and squirrels to chase in that area.

Here, the hawk perches near the remains of a pigeon left behind on a branch. 

This pile of brambles on the lawn east of the chess tables has been a popular perching spot.

Later, the same hawk flew up to a fire escape on 7th Street.

And then took off to go roost for the night as it started getting dark.

 

Catching up with some other fledgling red-tailed hawks around the city, I found one perched on an ornate tower in Queens (below, right).

Here is one flying along the A subway line.

This is the same hawk heading for Jamaica Bay with the JFK air traffic control tower in the background.

Hawk migration will be picking up now for the next several weeks, so we should start to see more red-tails, Cooper's, and other types of hawks moving through the city.