Category Archives: Frank Melville Park

A Red-winged Blackbird Staking His Claim

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Monday, April 24, 2023,

This is a Red-winged Blackbird about to burst into song. Much like many Grackles that I have observed, they puff themselves up, and then let loose with either a song or a territorial call. Both the songs, and the calls, serve to attract mates, and to let other possible rivals that this area has been claimed. In this particular case, this gentleman may be advertising to females. This is pure conjecture on my part, and only because this guy is calling out from a Crab Apple Tree, which would not be a common nesting site for a Red-winged Blackbird. They tend to prefer to build their nests in the reeds alongside waterways or ponds. However, this particular tree is only a few dozen feet from a preferred nesting area. JK.

JK

Morning Glory

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Sunday, October 2, 2022,

This is a backlit Morning Glory flower. My good friend Sue Avery helped me to identify it. Sue has been identifying flowers and other assorted plants for me for several years. She has her own blog, called The Tangled Wood. I invite all of you to check it out. Sue has a way with both prose and poetry that amazes me. She writes much better than I can. I think you’ll agree. JK.

Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower

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Sunday, September 25, 2022,

This is a female Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly alighting upon a Zinnia flower. Do you know how I know? It is solely because I know several people that are much smarter and more informed than I am. To be quite honest, most of the folks I am acquainted with tend to be much more intelligent than myself. Of course, that’s not a very high bar. 🙂 

Friends of mine were able to identify both the flower and the butterfly for me. Actually, I had correctly guessed that this was an Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly, but my friend Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, who is a scientist at Cornell University, was able to further identify this beautiful critter as female. How cool is that? I told you I knew smart people. 🙂 JK 

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