Month: June 2020

Saturday (06-June-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Brown-headed Cowbird, Blue Jay, Black Vulture, and Eastern Phoebe. One chick in the Eastern Phoebe nest fledged. I think it is an Eastern Phoebe rather than a Brown-headed Cowbird. The beak is sharper, and the breast is yellow rather stripped brown and white. Hope this one survives after all the trouble its parents went through feeding the previous two Brown-headed Cowbird chicks.


Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Lots of Poppies. Even after the thunderstorm last night again knocked the old flowers down, many new ones opened this morning. Spring flowers of the day — Red, Pink, and Oriental Poppies. Foxglove, Spiderwort, Evening Primrose, Daisy, Sweet William, Lance-leaf Coreopsis, and Tulip Tree.


Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Poppies — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Spring Wildflowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (55.2 kWh) from meter reading. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (72.8 kWh) from meter reading. Much more sun. A surplus of 17.6 kWh.


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Friday (05-June-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Blue Jay, and Eastern Phoebe. One chick remains in the Eastern Phoebe nest. Waiting to see if it is an Eastern Phoebe or Brown-headed Cowbird.


Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Lots of Poppies. Even after the thunderstorm last night knocked the old flowers down, new ones opened this morning. Spring flowers of the day — Red, Pink, Icelandic, Oriental, and California Poppies. Foxglove, Spiderwort, Evening Primrose, Daisy, Sweet William, Lance-leaf Coreopsis, and Tulip Tree.


Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Poppies — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Spring Wildflowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (44.7 kWh) from meter reading. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (38.7 kWh) from meter reading. Clouds and rain. A surplus of 6.0 kWh. Two days in a row with power outage.



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Thursday (04-June-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker, and Eastern Phoebe. One chick remains in the Eastern Phoebe nest. Waiting to see if it is an Eastern Phoebe or Brown-headed Cowbird.


Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Lots of frogs in the pond. Pretty noisy late at night and early in the morning.


Kermit. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Spring flowers of the day — Red, Pink, Icelandic, Oriental, and California Poppies. Foxglove, Spiderwort, Love-in-a-Mist, Evening Primrose, Daisy, Sweet William, Lance-leaf Coreopsis, Rhododendron, and Tulip Tree.


Pink, Frilly, and Icelandic Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Poppies — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Spring Flowers — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Spring Flowers — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (47.3 kWh) from meter reading. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (67.1 kWh) from meter reading. More sun during the day. A surplus of 19.8 kWh. Two days in a row with power outage.


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Wednesday (03-June-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, Mourning Dove, and Eastern Phoebe.


Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Spring flowers of the day — Red, Pink, Icelandic, Oriental, and California Poppies. Foxglove, Spiderwort, Love-in-a-Mist, Evening Primrose, Daisy, Sweet William, Lance-leaf Coreopsis, Rhododendron, and Tulip Tree.


Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Poppies — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Spring Flowers — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Spring Flowers — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (42.2 kWh) from meter reading. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (53.4 kWh) from meter reading. Lots of clouds during the day. A surplus of 11.2 kWh. Power glitch and outage during the day.


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Tuesday (02-June-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

First Butterfly of the season — an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail feeding on the Rhododendron flowers.

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Rhododendron flowers. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 70-300 mm lens (ISO 500, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Rhododendron flowers. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 70-300 mm lens (ISO 500, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Birds of the Day — Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, and Eastern Phoebe. The large nestling, in the Eastern Phoebe nest was finally convinced to jump out of the nest. The now fledgling spent the night on a cardboard box just under the nest. I suspect the fledgling is a Brown-headed Cowbird (later confirmed by the reviewers from eBird).


cBirds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Eastern Phoebe Nest with a Brown-headed Cowbird chick. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Spring flowers of the day — Red, Pink, Icelandic, Oriental, and California Poppies. White Allium, Foxglove, Bachelor Button, Cornflower, Baby Blue Eyes, Spiderwort, Johnny Jump Up, Love-in-a-Mist, Evening Primrose, Daisy, Sweet William, Lance-leaf Coreopsis, Beard Tongue, Baby’s Breath, Rhododendron, and Tulip Tree.


Poppies — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Poppies — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Spring Flowers — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Spring Flowers — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (40.5 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (48.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of clouds during the day. A surplus of 8.1 kWh.


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