MLAC Field Trip... 10-29-2022
I had the pleasure of chaperoning the Class 47 trainee field trip to Mitchell Lake Audubon Center today. It was a gorgeous morning- sunny, cool, and breezy. I saw lots of beautiful things. I like most of these photos. Some could be sharper, but the subjects were worthy of posting.
 I always love to see the pelicans at Mitchell Lake. They are the size of a Thanksgiving turkey! |
 There were beautiful white-winged doves and mockingbirds perched at the top of several trees greeting the rising sun. |
 Mockingbird |
 A little flock of doves in the trees near the feeders at the visitor's center. |
 I saw several queens with the white stripes today. |
 The monarchs and queens seem to get along. |
 This white dove was with the little flock. He didn't seem to know he was an oddball. Patsy Inglet, the host of the field trip, said they are not entirely sure what species he is. He may be a leucistic version of one of our common doves. |
 I told you the other day how pretty American snout butterflies are when their wings are open. For some reason, there were a lot of them at Mitchell Lake. Maybe they do it to warm themselves. Some were even sitting on the trail like this. |
 I am not sure what this. iNaturalist is saying yellow trumpet flower, but the leaves don't match the examples in the app. I have heard people call it an orange chicklet esperanza. I'm just not sue. |
 I couldn't get a good ID on this sexy little grasshopper. He was about the size of a nickel. |
 These pelicans were way far across one of the basins. There were about twenty of them. I got to watch them take off and fly in a line a kindergarten teacher would be proud of! |
 These are cormorants sunning themselves to dry off. I learned today that they don't have oils on their feathers like a lot of water fowl. After they dive down and grab a bite, they have to take a time out and get dry. |
 This is a beautiful spiny hackberry. The berries are edible and taste just like cantaloupe! |
 This was AMAZING! It was really huge. It is a paper nest made by Mexican honey wasps. They are one of the few wasps that make honey. They are non-aggressive and usually ignore humans. In parts of Mexico, they are considered a delicacy. |
 Mexican honey wasps. |
 Familiar Bluet Damselfly |
 These damselflies are not mating. They have already done the deed. Now, the male flies her around so she can deposit her eggs. He protects her in this position. |
 These guys are watching a bunch of other ones flying off! |
 This is the one and only specimen we saw today. It is a marsh fleabane (AKA shrubby camphorweed) and is part of the aster family. |
 I am pretty sure this is a yellow wooly bear caterpillar. It will become a Tiger Moth. |
 These are Guinea Paper Wasps. They are aggressive and hurt like hell when they sting you! |
 This is a big green grasshopper. I couldn't find the species. It doesn't match what I'm finding in iNaturalist. |
 Stilt |
 Roseate Spoonbill and some other birds across the lake. |
 American Avocet |
 Softshell turtle sunning on the bank. |
 phoebe |
 Remember those beautiful red Vermillion Flycatchers I've posted before? This is a female. She looks a lot like a Phoebe. |
 Chestnut Short-winged Katydid (female) Notice what looks like a stinger on the tail. It is actually an ovipositor she uses to lay her eggs. |
 Another Chestnut Short-winged Katydid (male) |
 Western Giant Swallowtail |
 Gray Looper Moth |
 A group of hairstreaks |
 Monarch and fritillary |
 Great Purple Hairstreak |
 Not sure what moth this is. |