Birding and Butterfly-ing in Bucks County with my Brother

I went 'home' to visit my family over the weekend.  I think when you grow up somewhere you really love, no matter how long you live somewhere else and love that place;  your childhood home will always have a special place in your heart.  This is true for me.  I love our home now, but I love the farm where I grew up, too.  Luckily, I can still go back and visit!  And even more than that, when I go visit, I can do some of the things I love; with my brother!

He's out pretty much everyday, watching birds on the farm or working... or a combination of the two.  So, he knows where to watch for special birds.  The last few years he's had rather rare Blue Grosbeaks nesting on the farm!

We patiently waited awhile for them to appear, but after a bit the male perched on this wire.

He preened and showed off his rusty wing patches.  Then the female came and sat a little closer to us.

She is the perfect color to not-be-noticed when she sits on a grassy nest.  This pair had a nest in some weeds a few feet off the ground, and we were hoping to see the babies, but a recent storm had knocked the nest sideways.  My brother thought the babies may have been old enough to survive on the ground.  Since both parents were still hanging around the area, hopefully that is true.

Maybe the Willow Flycatchers we saw also had a nest somewhere. 

You know it's a Willow Flycatcher when it says, "Fitz-bew" like this one did.

There were two adults, and one was carrying food in its bill.  There was also a lot of scolding going on as we walked by a certain tree.

Indigo Bunting showing it's not sky blue, it's indigo!

We saw Indigo Buntings galore and lots of other birds as well.  Our ebird list came to 48 species when we got back to the house after almost 4 hours of birding.

A pair of American Goldfinches

I probably would not have seen this Wood Duck mom and 3 babies in the 'back creek' if my brother had not spotted them and pointed them out to me.

Wood Duck hen on the left, 3 juveniles to her right

We walked a big loop around the farm-- luckily part of it was thru the woods.  It was nice to sit on a log in the shade for a little while, listening for a cuckoo!  (Turned out to be just crows making a funny noise once and awhile, we decided).

Then we headed on back toward the house, up thru the cornfields.  My brother said, "You can't get a photo in that direction - the light's not good".  (Oh, yes, I did, and you are in it!)

Looking back the other direction, you can tell that a farmer who loves birds lives here.

We had seen a Great Spangled Frittilary on our walk and talked about going 'butterfly-ing'.

My brother said it's good to get a photo of their underwing if you can... it can help with identification.

That butterfly co-operated for another photo, though it didn't matter too much since he had already identified it for me!

I didn't have to rush off for anything, so.... we decided even though it was really hot, we'd go to Bowman's Hill. 

It's not far away, only about a 10 minute drive.  You can see the tower from the farm (and vice-versa). Bowman's Hill also holds a special place in my heart.  My family used to have picnics there and several members of my family have volunteered or worked there (including myself).

The area we were headed for is only a small part of the wildflower preserve, and it is a part that has changed a lot since I worked there.  It's now a native meadow with a pond, which is a whole lot better than the mowed lawn it used to be!  Butterflies, bees, and dragonflies think so, too.

Tiger Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail on Wild Bergamot

Tiger Swallowtail on Button Bush

Bumblebee on Wild Bergamot

Honeybees on Mountain Mint

Besides butterflies and bees on the flowers, there were dozens of dragonflies by the pond.  

Paths wound thru the native plants in the dazzling sun but were occasionally shaded by beautiful old red cedars and other trees.

It was worth it to be a little hot, just to be with my brother and see what we could find.  One butterfly we were looking for eluded us until we were leaving.  Just a small one, but exceptionally beautiful... a Juniper Hairstreak.  Try as I might, I was not able to get a photo of it.  Well, that's a good reason to go back.  And, you know I'd love to!