Walking the Beat

 Several mornings last week I ventured in and out of trails off Blackhead Road and the Cape Spear area. To change things up a little, I did the same thing in Goulds yesterday morning.

 Not surprising, I found much the same in terms of birds and butterflies.

 The one different species was this Mourning Dove on Second Pond trail. He seemed to be collecting material for a nest. Is it possible they could be nesting this late in the season? I heard several Mourning Doves calling from the woods over the first one-third of the trail.

 Once again, I came upon a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. This one was alone near the end of the trail, not another bird nearby.

 Butterflies were most common along Second Pond trail and Power's Road. During the day, I saw six species of butterflies.

 At one point on Second Pond trail, I entered a birdie daycare. There were young birds of a variety of species everywhere.

 It is so nice when there are birds flying all around. However, the challenge of these kinds of events is to focus on one to photograph.

 Included in my favorite pictures of the day is this robin having a grand time splashing away on the edge of Third Pond.

 It is like the White-throated Sparrows never disappeared all summer. They sang loudly in the spring and well into the summer. When they weren't singing, they were chipping.

 Continuing to be out in the open, their duty at this time is to watch over the fledglings.

 And watch they do! This species of sparrows seem to be really vigilant parents.

 Their frisky young were everywhere, keeping the parents on their toes to keep them fed and out of trouble.

 To close today, I have included a series of images of a White Admiral from yesterday. Each one shows an angle of this species I had not captured before.

 These pictures are included in my Butterfly Index accessible from the tab above. I also added other shots not included in this post.

Photographing butterflies is quite different from photographing birds. It takes a long time for these ballerinas of flight to settle down and stay down in a "photographable" position; not to mention the added challenge of photographing something so small. Yet, it is quite fun and adds yet another interesting dimension to being outdoors. Time flies even faster when looking at birds, butterflies, dragonflies and flowers. I have to confess my morning of birding ran well into the afternoon.