Nettle knees

Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias

Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes

Old Orchard

Apple Blossoms

Lovely bit of scrubby forest edge

Stinging Nettles

'Quiet Place' in NDG, May 18, 2024

-Hot and sunny (but pleasantly so), with some interesting birds spotted in shady wooded areas in my local patch

-24 species in 2 hours

-I wore my thin Korean hiking pants, which let the breeze blow through when the weather heats up…apparently the material lets nettles blow through too…my knees still tickle…

-A Tennessee Warbler was singing without cease, but remained invisible against the greenery

-The Hermit Thrushes have finally arrived, right where I expected them to be (in the deep dark woods)

-An Eastern Phoebe still in the area where it looked like a pair was attempting to nest

-A small group of Cedar Waxwings moving through the treetops

-Two each of singing Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos (both new for the patch list)

-Also new for the patch list (#61) was a Great Blue Heron floating northwest

-A restless Black Swallowtail, along with plentiful Red Admirals and Cabbage Whites, were out and about

-Trees are fully leafed out, birds are getting hard to spot 

Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus

White-striped Black Moth Trichodezia albovittata

Triliums

Westmount Summit, May 17, 2024

-Insanely quiet at the Westmount Summit, on a lazy evening go-around with Dan

-Two singing American Redstarts and a pair of noisy Merlins near the lookout, and not much else

-Eleven species in an hour