Sunday was Red Spotted Purple day. I was thinking this butterfly was late, but they were here in profusion on Sunday. We also noted the mating displays of the Red Admiral in the yard. It seems to me that we’re seeing more butterflies now that we haven’t been spraying for several years.
Yesterday, we saw both the male and female Scarlet Tanager, along with a Great Crested Flycatcher, which is a first for our location.
We sat on the porch until dark last night and noted our first bat of the season.
The Maple Leaf Viburnum has started to bloom in the backyard. The dogwoods are mostly gone here, and the native Rhododendron is beginning to look near to flowering. I’ve seen some cultivated ones in bloom, but non out in the woods yet.
The native azalea – the orange ones – are beginning to bloom.