Butterflies, Warblers, and Cormorants

Continuing my walk form the previous post, I took my leave of the Loggerhead Shrike and spent a few minutes trying to get some butterfly pictures as I continued home. Small wings fluttered all of the side of the road in the short-cut grass leading to the airport property. I just had to wait for them to rest from their zig-zag flights near me. The first critter to stop for a couple seconds was a Fiery Skipper.



One of the more common butterflies I could make out were loads of Ceraunus Blues. It has been a while since I have taken butterfly shots. I need to get back to that. One fun thing to notice is the differences in the inner- and outer-wing patterns. When open, a Ceraunus Blue can be seen as blue.



When the wings are closed, as is often the case, they take on a gray appearance like many other small butterflies.



The other copious species in the area were Dainty Sulphers. These guys seem to never stop flying but for only a split second.



I couldn't pick out any other species (except for the White Peacocks which I am kind of bored of right now) so I continued on to Colonel Joe Kittenger Park. This park was opened a few years ago and has a little playground, a couple benches and a pavilion that has speakers under the roof that plays sounds from the control tower at the airport just across the way. There is a fence that surrounds a retention pond (which I have never seen filled with water) that sits in the middle of the park property. Today, everywhere I looked near the fence I saw Western Palm Warblers.



They love to feed in the grasses and zip into the chain-link fences. Some of my first ever photos of Palm Warblers is of them in fences. I love it. Makes them visible in various poses.



I could have taken Palm Warbler photos all afternoon if I had the time. Heading back toward home, I finally could see downtown Orlando come into view. Almost there.



I decided to cut through Greenwood Cemetery and check for ducks. Instead, I heard a Belted Kingfisher flying by, saw an Osprey chase off a Red-tailed Hawk, but the roadside pond held no ducks. Resting on an unseen perch in the water were Double-crested Cormorants.



These guys had very crisp feather patterns but I also love their bright faces so I provide a closer crop for you. I also dig that dotted circle around their bright blue eyes.



Here are the other two birds. Notice the darker adult on the left.



Soon, my walk home was complete and it was time to find out if the car was ready. Turns out it was just the battery, after all. Now I can do the lake checks later.