More on Insects and nectar eaters

I mentioned the wetness being good for bugs. Well it's also been a boon to spiders. They are everywhere and so I took a photo of our most abundant, the spiny orbweaver,



This one is a boring white, but I've seen red, yellow and orange too. And they eat a ton of mosquitos, which are everywhere at dawn and dusk this year.

Not pictured are the toads that are also abundant this year.

And of course, it's been a good year for butterflies.

Here's a gallery of what I've seen.

Giant Swallowtail


Eastern Tiger Swallowtail


Monarch










Unclouded Sulfur

Wet Year means bonus for nectar and bug eaters

After 9 months here, where we average 34 to 36 inches of rain for the year, I've recorded 57.3 inches.

The grasses never died back in the summer like they normally do in July and August. Plants that should be done flowering aren't. Nectar, bugs and the birds that eat them are having a really good year.

Lately, I've seen swarms of hummingbirds and Wrens so abundant that they are fighting, nastily over territory.

Here's an immature ruby-throated hummer I saw today at the Turks Cap.




And every day, I hear nasty fights between 2 to 3 to 5 Carolina Wrens over breeding territory.

Here's a blurry image I caught of one sounding off.



Also quite abundant, Blue Jays, Inca Doves (pictured below)


and at least one hawk that has the white winged doves very nervous. It was Dark headed and backed, white from the throat to the tail and reddish-brown in between. Swainson's Hawk? Don't know. I know I've seen red tails around, but this was not one. I only saw it in flight, but it might have been a falcon or kite due to more pointed wing tips than round. But I'm just not sure.