a funny noise and a flutterby

A funny noise right outside the kitchen window caught my attention yesterday afternoon. A fat, snow-white Guinea Hen was standing in the open right outside the window and its odd calls shortly attracted a second bird before the two of them scooted off into the woods. Does it count? Can I add it to my bird list?

As we get later into May, more flowers are springing up. The dunes are covered with a blizzard of Beach Plums and the tiny, precious little Starflower is suddenly in bloom both in the back woods (we saw it in Maple Swamp yesterday) and under the pines at our place. But the weather seems to be going in the wrong direction and getting cooler, not warmer (actually daytime temperatures in the 50s and nighttimes falling into the 30s, is probably just traditionally 'normal' for Eastern LI in early May). Nevertheless, in spite of the return of cool, the first local Common Yellowthroat of the season has started calling -- or should I say singing -- at the marsh edge for the past two days along with a jolly Yellow Warbler. And a Great Crested Flycatcher made its first local appearance of the season and has been 'weep-ing' all day. And every evening, between the unlikely hours of 6 and 7 pm, a Red Admiral makes a darting looping flutterby flight, round and round in the semi-enclosed, shaded area between the old barn, the kitchen and the porch. This is undoubtedly a territorial flight and, on occasion, a second butterfly accompanies it -- whether a rival male or an interested female, I cannot say. It does seem odd that a creature we normally associate with warmth and bright sunlight, should fly so vigorously in the cool dusky shade of evening. Perhaps it helps to avoid predation to fly so late in the day and yet, at the same time, it somehow must manage to attract the notice of other butterflies.

Eric Salzman