A busy Sunday afternoon

After Sunday chores, I took a short walk at Sonoma Valley Regional Park (in Glen Ellen).  There was a lot of breeding bird activity, and insects were visible in sunny spots.  [It reached 90°F in Cotati today!]

Here's a selection of images to represent the walk:

 

Juvenile Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) — note the shorter bill with yellowish color at the gape

 

Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) with a bright green caterpillar in its bill (it flew into a nest hole with it, likely to feed young) 

 

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) nectaring on Dichelostemma

 

Mournful Duskywing (Erynnis tristis) — look for the prominent white edges on the hind wings

 

Unidentified robber fly (Asilidae) with amazing metallic orange eyes!  Robber flies are sit-and-wait predators that feed on other insects.  (If you are familiar with this species, I'd love help with the identification.)

Although not from today, here's an older picture of a different robber fly.  It had just captured a butterfly in the Bodega Dunes (photographed 18 August 2010):

 

Checkers and streaks

 

You guessed it — tonight's post features butterflies seen at The Cedars on 25 April 2015. 

First, the checkerspot:

 

I'm pretty sure these are Edith's Checkerspots (Euphydryas editha).  However, I'm a little hampered without access to my field guides right now.  If you think this identification is wrong, just let me know and I'll correct it (I'm happy to hear about confirmations, too!).

They were actively nectaring on Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon californicum).

 

Next, the hairstreak:

 

Muir's Hairstreak (Callophrys muiri) is a serpentine endemic.  Its host plant at The Cedars is probably Sargent Cypress (Hesperocyparis sargentii).

I had trouble photographing the hairstreaks, but I'm including one more image below:

 

And for the record, I also photographed a duskywing:

 

My guess is Propertius Duskywing (Erynnis propertius).  But I'm open to other ideas, as I don't have a lot of experience with duskywings in California yet.

Here's one more picture of it — not great, but it shows the light spots in the wings that are useful for identification:

 

Although none of these butterflies are likely to be found on Bodega Head, it's fun to think about them in The Cedars, only about 20 miles away.