Dense Fog + Butterflies

I love a good soggy, foggy morning sometimes. It's like a blanket against the world. Saturday I did my usual drive over to Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge to do a little light birding and see which little ones were left for the season, and who might be passing through on the way to wintering grounds.

Trees disappearing into the fog

A trio of giants barely visible

I'm sure there's a leaning tower joke here somewhere

This just felt ominous

Twins

The dense fog hung around for a couple of hours, which was about 90/10 relaxing and eerie. Once it finally burned off, I spotted a little squad of double-breasted cormorants which were new to me. I get so excited when I see a new bird, and I geek out even more when I can get a good picture! And yes, I keep a list of all the ones I've spotted.

Squad of double-breasted cormorants

Cormorants singing to the sky

Birding prospects were minimal, but butterflies were plentiful! I managed to catch up with a few. For whatever reason, they always seem to land on the gravel road around O'Neal Lake and hang out there. So these beauties aren't dead, they're chilling! Also, I'm terrible at identifying butterflies. I try, but I always feel like it could be one of so many choices. Feel free to tell me what the blue one is! Here are my favorites from Saturday:

And I'm told by the super helpful folks at the Caterpillar Identification page on Facebook that this little guy will someday be Acronicta Oblinita, or the Smeared Dagger Moth, which sounds ghoulish, but for now he's cute!

And finally, because I'm a huge fan of bald cypress trees I took this photo because the water lines are amazing!

And hey! Want to check out some of the other birds I've caught on camera? Just CLICK HERE for pics of some really cool ones!