8 July 2023
This week on Fourth of July morning, the birds were pretty good at Frick Park but the flowers, insects and an amazing mushroom were even better.
Humidity beaded the edge of a leaf while a great spangled fritillary* (Speyeria cybele) fed on butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). (* see the comments. This might be a different fritillary than what I wrote.)
A spider hid among the wingstem leaves.
A Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) had woven itself through a chainlink fence. Despite its invasive nature, American goldfinches love its seeds.
This mushroom certainly caught our attention along the Nine Mile Run Trail. I think it’s a wood ear mushroom, Auricularia species, whose “ears” look like they are made of jelly.
If you know what mushroom this is — or if I’ve misidentified anything — please leave a comment with the answer.
(photos by Kate St. John)
Thank you for your beautiful photographs, Kate! Summer is my most difficult season, due to the heat and often a lack of things to photograph. This morning, I heard a bird singing its “prettybird, prettybird” song — I have often wondered what this bird is when I have heard it. Can you tell from my description of its song?
The song might be a Carolina wren.
Hi Kate,
The butterfly looks like a Meadow Fritillary to me. It’s dark in the center of the wings. Was it small? They are smaller than Great Spangled.
Thanks for the ID help, Mike. The butterfly was about the size of a monarch butterfly. Let me know if that changes your ID of it.