May 30 - Inwood Hill Park - Mainly insects

I went for a short walk in Inwood, Saturday morning. The bird migration has really wound down. The only definite migrant I came across was a Northern Parula heard singing from a distance up on the ridge. This did not mean there were not other natural history things to take note of on a lovely, warm late-spring morning. Among resident birds, Wood Thrushes were singing in the Clove and both Baltimore and Orchard orioles were singing around the soccer fields and up on the ridge, as were Warbling Vireos around the bay on the north side of the soccer fields.

There is now a variety of butterflies in evidence around the park. Along with the usual Cabbage Whites, there were what appeared to be a few Orange Sulphurs flitting about the soccer fields. there were also a few duskywings which i believe were Juvenal's Duskywings, though the duskywings are notoriously difficult to pin down to id.

Juvenal's Duskywing ? 05/30/2015 Inwood Hill Park.

Up on the ridge there were lots more Cabbage Whites and a number of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. In the overlook meadow Silver-spotted Skippers were chasing each other around with some landing for their portraits.

Silver-spotted Skipper 05/30/2015 Inwood Hill Park

I have set up a separate page for pictures of Inwood Hill Park butterflies here.

In the meadow i also came across a number of frothy secretions on plants that I believe are the productions of the Meadow Spittlebug (family Cercopidae).

"Spittle" of the Meadow Spittlebug 05/30/2015 Inwood Hill Park

To end with a note on wildflowers, I came across a number of patches of Herb-Robert in bloom on the ridge.

Herb-Robert 05/30/2015 Inwood Hill Park

My page of some Inwood Park flowers can be found here.