The alternative hummingbird

On my walk this morning, I was lucky to see not one, but both of the clearwing moths that range in this area - the hummingbird clearwing (featured here) and the Snowberry clearwing..  This beauty is in the Sphingidae (hawkmoth) family, a large diurnal moth frequently seen in flower patches. Once my phlox and bee balm start blooming in my garden I'll have loads of these lovely creatures to photograph which wasn't going to stop me blipping it today!   Frankly, I was extremely happy with the way this shot came out as I find the macro lens to be VERY difficult to use with insects in flight.  A bit of luck on this one.  It's not as sharp as I'd like, but I'll take it. 

There were quite a lot of dragons about, and hundreds of damsels.  I spent a lot of time hunkered down on the trail with my lens pointed into the foliage.  I actually walked the first section of the trail twice - once with Big Daddy and the second time (when it was a bit warmer) with the macro lens.  I ran into two birder friends so we stopped and chatted a bit, as you do.  

I also had a moment of stark fear as I was crouched by the side of the trail and suddenly heard a lot of crashing around very close by - my first thought was that I'd startled a bear and my heart was pounding.  Bit of a relief when three deer ran into the trail, took one look at me, screamed (okay, well, it was me who screamed, I confess) and ran helter-skelter down the trail away from me.  Took a few minutes for my heart to slow down to a normal level.  Sheesh.  

I watched a muskrat (a beaver-sized animal) foraging around collecting grass and toddling off into the reeds - no doubt lining a nest for her young-uns.  

I posted a selection of six photos from today that were my personal faves starting HERE on Flickr if you'd care to have a look.  And, I added one additional shot of the hummingbird moth in Extras, to the right.  

Hubs is home a bit early so we are starting the weekend - yay!  Going to try cedar-planking boneless, skinless chicken breasts tonight with steamed veggies and oven roasted potatoes.  And a hunk of roasted garlic ciabatta bread that I found at the market.  We have no plans for the weekend, which is actually kind of nice.  

Thanks for dropping by - your hearts, stars and comments are always so much appreciated.  Have a wonderful Friday!

TTFN
Deb

Tagging this #MayMacroMayhem