Better Ornythion Swallowtail photos

Luckily, I refound the Ornythion this morning. Maybe because it was cool and overcast, it wasn't very active. It mostly perched, and since I now knew it was a rarer butterfly than a Giant Swallowtail that I originally thought it was (9/11 post), I succeeded in getting better photos of it. It has lost one of its tails though, so not quite as pretty.

UPDATE: OMG, my lepidopterist friend (Brian) just brought to my attention that this individual lacks the black spot on the yellow rectangle that the one I photographed on Sep 11 had. I can't believe I have two of them. That is too cool! Brian informed me that this one is a female. They only lay eggs in citrus, so not likely to be breeding here. The 9/11 photos weren't good enough to determine the sex of that individual.

Swallowtail-mania

I sat and watched for the Ornythion for a while this morning. Thought I might have glimpsed it, but while I was watching I got photos of a Black Swallowtail and a Two-tailed Swallowtail. The latter I had only seen here once before, years ago, before I had a digital camera. So I was thrilled to get a decent photo of it.

As you can see, I struggled with the manual camera setting on these.

The Two-tailed didn't hang around long. It got mobbed and harrassed by Pipevine Swallowtails.

And here is the Black Swallowtail.

Pipevine Swallowtail

This is the prettiest Pipevine I've ever seen I think.

After I finally finished pumping water I sat and watched butterflies. I saw either a Giant Swallowtail or the Ornythion (see yesterday's post), but it would not land and without a photo I can't ID it. I'll try for a while in the morning. Otherwise, not much activity. Here's a close look at a tarantula.

The oasis downside

Besides the obvious anxiety over rain and water, tanks leaking, being tied down and can't ever go visit loved ones, there's the unwanted wildlife the oasis attracts. I'm referring to javelina that root around under everything, digging out the mulch and moisture I'm struggling to retain. And the jackrabbit that consumes all the Red Yucca. I've totally given up on growing any of that. The deer were originally a problem, but not so much anymore. Right now, as I write this, some caterpillars are consuming a huge swath of my precious Chinese Pistachio tree.

Even birds can be a problem. Remember the devastation the sapsuckers wreaked on some of my trees? But no one appreciates a good rain like I do. Some people even get depressed on rainy days. And after I started this post I was treated to a good rain that filled my one dirt tank with water. So I'm busy transferring that to another dirt tank and from there to the stucco tank. I'll be up all night pumping, but I never complain about that. This will give me a couple months more water in the spring when I'll need it the worst (if the stucco tank doesn't leak too bad).

On top of that, I photographed a rare butterfly at the oasis today. It's a funny story. There's this sweet lepidopterist that I send my butterfly photos to ID when I can't. So I sent him some today. I included a photo, of what I believed was a Giant Swallowtail, not to ID, but because I thought it was such an impressive looking butterfly. In my email I said I need help with the others, but I know the swallowtail (meaning "Giant" of course). Immediately I got an email back saying, "Whoa!" And he explained that it was an Ornythion Swallowtail, and why. He wanted me to take more photos to see if he could tell if it's a male or female, but it started raining about then, I lost my internet signal, and had to run to Study Butte for gas for the pumps. Maybe I can relocate it tomorrow.

And when yet another visitor tells me visiting here was the highlight of their trip to the Big Bend, you can bet I've long forgotten the downside.

Photography practice

Even though the sun never made an appearance today (AND NO RAIN EITHER) I did my best to practice using manual mode. Whenever something appeared that I really wanted a photo of, and didn't want to chance missing out, I switched to Av. But I'm getting more comfortable with manual and don't expect to continue reverting back to my Av comfort zone much longer. Here are a few I took today with manual. I look forward to seeing what it'll do with sunny conditions, and better birds. It seemed like Black-chinneds were all I could get to cooperate today.

I like the size perspective the butterfly in the background gives the above photo. Below is an Eastern Phoebe that showed up today.

Cooler weather

It seems to have cooled off a few degrees, but no rain here yet. Maybe tomorrow.

I'm practicing shooting photos in MANUAL mode, using autofocus, and I think I'm going to like that better than AV mode. May need to take practice shots with each photographic subject for a while, but it'll be worth it if my photography improve.

Here's one I took while practicing. It's a juvenile male Calliope, maybe the same one I shot the other day. Can't wait for morning so I can practice some more. Gotta learn how to stop that wing action.

I bet these Scaled Quail found some Pigeonberries (rivina humilis) that made them so red in the face. In early days the plant was used for red dye and is commonly called  Rouge-plant. 

Pigeonberry

Rain in the forecast

Rain is forecast for all week basically. Today I got a mere sprinkle while my sister a mile away got nearly a quarter of an inch. But even that wouldn't have topped off my tanks that so desperately need it. So here's hoping any day now. These clouds late this afternoon looked promising.

Not much of interest bird-wise. Some migrants moving through and some flycatchers hanging around. I've given up trying to ID empidinax flycatchers.

Bordered Patch

Mornings

Mornings are the best time for birding, but early morning light sure doesn't do good for bird photos. It can give scenery a special beauty, I suppose, but I don't like it for what I like to photograph.

Good hummer banding day

We caught and banded 6 hummingbird species (Allen's, Lucifer, Rufous, Calliope, Ruby-throated, & Black-chinned) today at  the oasis. At another banding site 3 miles south of the oasis Kelly banded this juvenile male Lucifer. It surely fledged early in the season, like April or May. Even though Kelly has banded more Lucifers than any other bander, we had never seen a hatch year Lucifer with more than about six gorget feathers, so this one was a real treat. (Photos courtesy of Kelly Bryan)

Splendid September morning

Now, if it would just rain and fill my tanks, it would be a perfect day.

Lot of early morning activity at what's left of the water in this wildlife pond. Another waterthrush; this time I think, a Northern. But I'm usually wrong.

Speaking of wrong, I'm totally giving up on odonate identification. Here's one I photographed this morning that doesn't look like any in the book. Yesterday I consulted an expert on a different damselfly ID, and he said they're so variable and complicated that sometimes you have to have them in your hand. So, I'll stick to birds, which I'll never master either, of course. But they sing.

As the water recedes there's quite a bit of mud left. And some patches of mud are better than other patches of mud. Luckily, I don't feel a need to understand why.

UPDATE: Waterthrush later confirmed as a Northern Waterthrush.