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July 19th. Berries of Carrion Flower (Smilax herbacea) before they ripen and turn black.
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I think this is an abberant Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). Only a foot or so tall with just a few flowers. Will check the plant again the next time I'm on the trail: I'm guessing it was mowed and put up a second shot at a flower spike in response.
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Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis).
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The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius) in its usual spot.
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Fall Webworm caterpillar (Hyphantria cunea). Earlier instars make messy silk nests that persist long after older caterpillars like this one disperse.
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Another Harvestman (Leiobunum vittatum).
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July 20th. I went back for a closer look at what I thought was an abberant Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus).
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Although only a foot tall, it can't be anything else; the fuzzy leaves are definitive. Not in a spot that had been mown this year at least, so I'll speculate no more on a reason it is so small.
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Most of the invasive Showy Tick-trefoil (Desmodium canadense) was mowed but a few plants escaped and are flowering now. (The mown plants will sprout again and flower late summer before spreading their "sticktight" seeds.)
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Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) covered in dew.
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Morrow's Honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii) berries are ripening fast now, especially where the sun catches them.
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July 21st. Mostly Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in their favorite tree.
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I count roughly 70 birds in this view.
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A Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) flying in from the right.
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I've seen very few Pearl Crescents (Phyciodes tharos) this year. Normally they're abundant.
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Highbush Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) continue to ripen, a few every day.
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Two of four or five Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) ducklings racing away from me towards cover.
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"Mom" was several hundred feet away, calling.
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Spotted Joe-Pye-weed (Eupatorium purpureum) buds are opening now.
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July 22nd. Green-striped Mapleworm, caterpillar of the Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda), resting along a vein of a leaf it had been eating.
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A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius) grooming on a diffeerent perch than usual.
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After 4.5 hours at UConn rearranging weevils in their collection, I walked east from Cook Hill Road in Lebanon and found this female Common Whitetail dragonfly (Plathelmis lydia) resting on a boulder, flying off and returning repeatedly, a behavior called hawking.
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The male Common Whitetail looks very different.
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A male Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma)...
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...approaching a dog turd...
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...from which it attempted to extract nutrients important for egg development, to be passed to a female during mating.
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A fresh male Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) taking minerals from the trail surface, also to be passed along to a female during mating.
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July 24th. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius), looking like a lawn ornament.
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Look at those feet!
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New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis).
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July 25th. At Cranberry Bog, a Little Glassywing skipper (Family Hesperididae, Pompeius verna) on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), its favorite nectar source.
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Indian Tobacco (Lobelia inflata).
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A male Slaty Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula incesta).
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A male Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis).
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Complex flower of a Bullhead-lily (Nuphar vareigatum).
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