Odds and ends from Henderson....

We drove up and down 2-3 different gravel roads in the slough area (also known as the river bottoms) Later in the year these roads will be gated closed and become a refuge for the migrating water fowl. It's a mixed area....meadows, small wet areas, larger wet areas, fields that have been planted, part private, part conservation area, etc. This spot in one field usually has water in it during the spring, fall and winter (and shore birds and water fowl), and is surrounded by planted fields. It was dry right now due to our extreme heat and lack of rain. The "water plants" look like aliens sticking up in the dryness. This Killdeer was roaming around, so maybe there was still some dampness. There must be one wet area still...we spooked a heron into flight further back in the field.
Along the gravel roads are areas of trees and vegetation. Butterflies were very busy in and out of these and hard to photograph without lots of distractions. A Black Swallowtail.....I've been seeing this a lot the last week or two. Migration?

This was a nice little surprise area....the road ended there! Nice view and I would like to have had a chair and just sit there for awhile enjoying it. We spooked another heron....we're good at that....as we drove up!

There were some yellow lily buds, but not very photogenic, so I just enjoyed the leaves.

An Eastern Tailed Blue along the rocks.

A couple of Pearl Crescents on a leaf.

A big swampy area....we never see much there, but I'm sure the geese and ducks will be there later in the year.

One gravel road had Monarch butterflies flitting in and out of the vegetation along the side. We saw dozens of them....often spiraling together in pairs. They all looked really new and perfect like this one. I wonder if they are recently hatched. Certainly not tattered like so many butterflies I am seeing.

I have trouble catching them open. They like to sit closed most of the time.

Something is sure chewing up the leaves :-)

At one stop, Mike said, "Give me the camera". This very large fly was on his (dirty) window and he wanted to try to photograph it. Interesting eye and details! I really must wash the car windows :-)

When I shot this photo of the Trumpet flowers and pods, I didn't even notice the little butterfly on it. Not sure what kind it is.

I just liked the white flowers against the water.

Anyone know what these are? Nice white berries of some sort.

This water area is pretty constant, but usually much larger. A lot of it is dry right now. A farmer has planted several rows of corn between it and the road, so I had to get out of the car and sneak around the end of the corn to get this heron shot. He immediately saw me and flew away. Some sort of blackbird behind him.....

Not a great photo, but in the foreground there are some sort of sandpipers, then the heron in the water, a killdeer on the other shore and the blackbird in the field...what a combination!

I found a white moth! I'm always seeing photos of these in other blogs, but this was the first one I found. I love their fuzzy heads! I actually picked the piece of grass it is on and am holding it with one hand while trying to take the photo with the other. It showed no inclination to move, which was very nice of it :-)

A Question Mark......I used this photo to show the comma and dot making up the mark. This was on the "butterfly road" where we saw all the butterflies in the ditch.

From this side it is much prettier, but I seldom get very close to one. The mark to look for here is the dot with a dash over it near the top of the wing. This is what makes it different from an Eastern Comma. (according to Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America

These "flies"? were swarming all over our windows and mirrors as we were leaving this road. We were afraid we were taking them home with us, but Mike finally did some starting and stopping that made them go away!

OK...that's all of Henderson! I love going down there, but it is too far to go every day :-(