Action-packed day

More birder action than bird action, however. Maybe tomorrow will be a fall-out day. When I arrived yesterday evening my internet didn't work. Turned out neither did anyone else's in the range from the tower we get our feed from (Pardon me if I'm not using the right terminology for all this) After multiple calls to the provider, and not knowing if they were even working on it, my frustration mounted. I basically got the run-around. Finally, around noon, I drove to Terlingua Ranch Lodge with my laptop to use their wifi. I readily admit I can't survive without the internet. Wouldn't want to either. After doing without for 21 hours, at 3 PM they got it fixed. Lightning was the culprit. Seems like they would have lightning rods or something. I don't know, maybe lightning messed it up without actually striking it. Just relieved I don't have to go back to the lodge again tonight.

The last birders left at 7 PM. Lucifer Hummingbirds aren't plentiful, but with a little patience everyone gets to see one. Tons of agaves are blooming in the park and I think that lures the hummers there. Perhaps they don't know how replenishing my feeders are. To them a dozen feeders might represent a dozen sips of nectar, whereas, a thousand agaves might represent a thousand sips of nectar. Or maybe it just tastes better. Or maybe they've just evolved to crave agave nectar. I was more interested in butterflies since Lucifers aren't a novelty to me anymore.

I've photographed Western Giant Swallowtails countless times, but they're so beautiful that my trigger finger goes into an adrenalin-fueled shooting spree whenever I encounter one.

I swear I saw a strange green bug fly into a cypress tree. I snapped a couple of shots before the green bug flew away and disappeared. After downloading my photos, I'm thinking it was a regular bug carrying a leaf. Any opinions? It landed pretty high up in the tree so good photos weren't an option. All that seemed to be propelling the bug was the movement of the leaf. I didn't see any other wings.

And here's another bug I don't recall ever seeing before but it could be that I just haven't paid close attention to insects that look like black wasps. Brian tells me it's a Soldier Fly.

Tomorrow morning I'm going up the mountain with my sister. My goal is to see a lifer Sandia Hairstreak. There's lots of Beargrass up there that attracts them, but I don't know if it's blooming yet. Only one way to find out. Even though I still have the sinus infection, I'm going to lug my Canon with me. Can't stand the thought of not getting the best shots I'm able to. I'm sure I'll be in survival mode by the time I get back down.