Day 146: May 25th – Shades of Blue

Cloudy, high 60s and calm

       Another dreary day, but at least it is not raining.  Our forecast is for possible heavy thunder showers this afternoon, so I have to fit in my birding outing between lawn mowing, lock fixing, errands over in Monroe and a wedding this afternoon.  That being said, I head over to our most reliable site as of late….Mine Road.

       I stopped at the location where for the past two weeks we have been hearing though not seeing the Kentucky warbler.  I was somewhat surprised, although I really should not have been, that the warbler was silent.  In fact, the warbler more than likely is not silent but rather is singing his song elsewhere.  I was surprised that he stayed here in one place as long as he did.  Still, there was chatter from other birds across the street, so I grabbed the Nikon and walked across.

       One of the most prevalent birds along Mine Road in summer is the Indigo bunting.  I know….never say “always”, but this bird can really be counted on.  If you drive the several miles of Mine Road in summer, you will see several Indigos at least.  Sure enough, there perched right above my head as if to say, “Sure, the Kentucky is gone, but take a look at this!”, the gorgeous cobalt blue bunting sat in clear view and sang its melody for as long as I chose to shoot.  When I felt I had my fair share of images, I walked away and the bunting took off in a different direction.  Such cooperation.

       As I drove on, I couldn’t help but notice that one of the most spectacular wildflowers, the Blue flag iris, was in bloom all along the roadside.  I started to see a theme for the day developing…..deep blue bird, radiant blue flowers…. What was going to emerge for the lens next? 

       I pulled into the dirt parking area where I have had Cliff swallows gathering mud for their nests in years past.  So far this year, I have yet to see them.  I’ll keep checking the area because I just know they will show up sooner or later.  In the meantime, however, I noticed several butterflies at the mud puddles’ edges. 

       Through my binoculars, I could see that they were similar to Red-spotted purples, but I will update this entry when I get a definitive ID.  In the meantime, check out the trailing edge…..blue.  Blue is definitely the hue of the day!