Turkey Footprint -- Idlewilde WMA. Field Pansy -- the fields are turning white with these pretty little flowers. Eastern Kingsnake -- Idlewilde WMA just plain AWESOME!
Once again I decided to hit lower Caroline County to see what was emerging and check out what migrant birds had arrived in the past week. Line Road was the first stop and I was a little disapointed with the lack of butterflies and dragonflies. Azures and a few Henry's Elfins were seen along the road. Springtime Darner numbers had dropped drastically although the Lancet Clubtail numbers seemed about the same. Surprisingly I was able to get a photograph of a Red-breasted Nuthatch which dropped down from the top of a pine tree to investigate my terrible Screech Owl impersonation. Red-breasted Nuthatches were real slim this winter in the mid-atlantic so I was pretty amazed to stir one up this Spring. With the lack of activity along Line Road I decided to head down to Smithville Lake and see if there were any dragons or damsels flying around the lake edges. There wasn't. In fact I couldn't find anything until a pair of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies landed a few feet away from the car. In my opinion Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are Delmarva's showiest butterfly. It always nice to see their large yellow wings flying by in the early Spring. Heading towards one of my favorite spots in Idlewilde WMA I caught a glimpse of a swallow sitting on a telephone wire. It turned out to be a Northern Rough-winged Swallow. It sat there and allowed me to get a couple great shots. A short time later while flipping an old piece of ply wood near an abandoned chicken house in an area that is now part of Idlewilde WMA I found one of my greatest finds so far this year -- a beautiful Eastern Kingsnake! Kingsnakes are super rare. You just don't see that many of these elusive snakes. I got some great shots, put him back underneath the plywood, and headed for home.
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