Today was our first real taste of summer. It was hot and very humid, too hot and too humid to be out long or go too far so I kept close to home this morning. I was only out for about an hour but it turned out very productive with a couple first of year butterflies for me including this Little Wood Satyr (above), a Northern Crescent (first below), Hobomok Skipper and a number of other butterflies that I only saw for the first time within the past few days including Arctic Skipper (second below), Common Ringlet, Viceroy, American Lady, Canadian Tiger Swallowtail and Eastern Tailed Blue. The butterfly season is moving right along.

As I was walking along the trail, I glanced at something ahead in the distance that at first looked like a branch poking out of the grass, not something I was going to think twice about, but it looked odd enough that I did a double take. On my second look I realized it was a Ruffed Grouse hidden in the grass (third below), it's true form and details only visible when I zoomed my camera lens in on him. There were lots of Eastern Kingbirds around this morning flycatching from high perches (fourth below). Aside from them and a couple of Yellow Warblers singing and American Goldfinches chattering, it was very quiet for birds and most other wildlife.