June 15th, afternoon. East of Depot Hill Road in Cobalt. Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele).

 

Note the "velcro" seeds in the background. See below for ID.

 

The bright silver hindwing markings really stand out.

 

 

 

 

 

Birdfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) in the Pea Family.

 

 

 

Rough-fruited Cinquefoil (Potentilla recta) with paler flowers than other cinquefoils.

 

 

 

White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba), another pea family flower.

 

 

 

Cow or Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca), yet another pea Family flower.

 

Crown Vetch (Securigera varia), another Pea. Crown Vetch is often used to secure embankments from erosion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria).

 

Check out the red mite on this Deptford Pink flower.

 

 

 

Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) in the same family (Solanaceae) as Tomato and Tobacco.

 

Cleavers (Galium aparine) or a similar Bedstraw. Note the "velcro" seeds and the recurved prickles on the stems.

 

Blue Toadflax (Nuttallanthus canadensis).

 

 

 

Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare).

 

A Mason Wasp (Family Vespidae. Subfamily Eumeninae, perhaps Ancistrocerus sp.) on Fleabane (Erigeron sp.).

 

 

 

A mated pair of Scentless Plant Bugs (Harmostes reflexulus).

 

 

 

A mated pair of Clover Stem Borers (Family Erotylidae; Languria mozardi). Common, but new to me.

 

Tough to photograph because as I got close the beetles would hide behind the stem until I wiggled my fingers back there and they "fled" back to my side.

 

June 16th. Work has begun in earnest on the safety systems where the main trail crosses Route 85.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best I can do is Sparrow. Sorry.

 

Hover Flies (Family Syrphidae, probably Eupeodes sp.) hang out in sunny patches of the wooded sections of the trail.

 

Happy to get even this awful picture from above.

 

No change at the Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) nest.

 

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus).

 

I've long wanted to get to the Route 66 bridge over the Air Line Trail. Today I parked beside Route 16 and found easy access to the trail via a short path. Heading west, after a short walk I first saw the bridge.

 

The trail leading up to the bridge is in good shape...

 

...though it gets kinda sketchy at the entrance and through the tunnel.

 

At the western end, a stream is a barrier to continuing. This is to be dealt with soon with a walkway to be built over the stream until it meets up with the finished trail leading to Depot Hill Road and on into Portland. Funding has been approved.

 

Definitely some remediation to be done there. But...

 

...I saw Green Frogs (Rana clamitans)...

 

...a Water Stider (Family Gerridae) at lower right...

 

...and lots of Speedwell (Veronica sp.)...

 

 

 

...not to mention a Katydid (Family Tettigoniidae) nymph hanging out in this flower cluster.

 

On my way back west, I took some flash pictures in the tunnel. By the way, there's a great reverb echo in there.

 

Looking west.

 

Looking east.

 

On the walk out, I noticed a Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) shrub.