Near the final phase of my walk yesterday morning as I came back to the edge of the pond, a female-type Ruby-throated Hummingbird came buzzing almost into my face. This is the third such sighting this season (the other two were from the deck in front of the house -- not too far away). There's a good chance that this bird is breeding somewhere in the vicinity but I can't prove it.
Also seen: an Eastern Phoebe by the pond and a grayish vireo with yellow flanks. I never got a look at the head of this latter bird but it was, I suspect, a Warbling Vireo rather than the somewhat more common Red-eyed Vireo (which is more greenish or olive on the back).
A very handsome blue butterfly was what I would call a Summer Azure. It was a good-sized insect, sky-blue above and a rather unmarked white below.
The big thistle, mentioned previously, is starting to flower and it looks like the flowers are going to be yellow. Yellow Thistle or Cirsium horridulum (where did it get that name?) is a native yellow thistle that grows in sandy soil near coastal salt marshes. Another gift of Hurricane Sandy?
Lorna points out that the Latin name for Nightshade must be Solanum dulcamara (I wrote 'ducamara'; dulcamara means 'bittersweet', an alternate name for the plant). Although the family is famous for its poisons, Solanum dulcamara is in the same genus as the potato and the tomato. Still, I don't recommend munching on the little tomato-like berries that will come along in July.
Eric Salzman
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