Saturday (01-August-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

My workhorse telephoto zoom 70-300 mm VR lens for the Nikon 1 camera has been acting up. Unfortunately, Nikon discontinued both the mirrorless Nikon 1 cameras and lenses. This lens on the Nikon 1 camera has the field of view equivalent to 189-810 mm on a full frame 35 mm camera sensor. I found a Japanese vendor online that had a 70-300 mm lens listed as practically new for sale. It was a bit more than I paid for the original 70-300 lens, but I felt that I needed the backup in case the original lens failed. The shipment got caught up in customs and I had to pay additional duty because of a tariff on Japanese goods. Thanks twitterer-in-chief for increasing the taxes I have to pay. Many folks don’t understand that it is the US consumer, not the foreign company that needs to pay these extra taxes. Vent over.

I went for an afternoon backyard walkabout with the N1V3 camera and new lens. Harvey the rabbit was out munching on the grass that needs to be cut. It appears that the recent Vultures left the skeleton of a small animal roadkill in the yard. Even though the majority of wildflowers are beginning to die off due to the excess heat, the more hearty Larkspur, Thistle, and Lance-leaf Coreopsis are providing nectar for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies and Clearwing Hummingbird moths.

Harvey the Rabbit. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Harvey the Rabbit. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Larkspur. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Larkspur. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Dark morph of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Dark morph of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Robber Fly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Robber Fly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (58.5 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (71.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of sun. A surplus of 13.1 kWh.

Thursday (23-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Wildflowers of the day: Cosmos, Teazel, and Larkspur.


Wildflowers of the day. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Butterfly of the day: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.


Butterfly of the day: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Moth of the day: Clearwing Hummingbird Moth. The Lemon-Mint/Bee-Balm are starting to dry up, and the Clearwing Hummingbird moths now favor the Thistle flowers. I know some folks consider Thistle weeds because of the spines, but I still like them because they do attract butterflies, moths, and bees. Also, deer hate them.


Clearwing Hummingbird Moths (Hemaris thysbe) captured with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Birds of the Morning: Gray Catbird, House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Chipping Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, American Crow, Carolina Wren, and Song Sparrow.

Birds of the Afternoon: Gray Catbird, House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Chipping Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, American Crow, Carolina Wren, and Song Sparrow.

Daily Electric Energy Used (59.5 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (48.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Rain, clouds, then more rain. A deficit of 10.9 kWh.

Tuesday (14-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

I admit I am not spending as much time watching the birds or wildflowers while the butterflies and clearwing moths are present. The only bird for the day was a Turkey Vulture soaring while I was working in the yard. I also found a single Tiger Lily flower. Every year I think the deer ate them all, and then one out of the 250 bulbs planted three years ago will pop up. I also noticed some different Larkspur flowers in the wildflower meadow.

Turkey Vulture. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Turkey Vulture. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)


Flowers of the Day. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

I didn’t see the Monarch or Eastern Swallowtail Butterfly today. The Clearwing moths were present in the Bee-Balm/Lemon-Mint wildflower meadow along with many Bumblebees. I think that there are two types of Clearwing Moths working the flowers. The Clearwing Hummingbird moth (Hemaris thysbe) which is the larger of the two, and has light-colored front legs; and The Clearwing Snowberry moth (Hemaris diffinis) which is smaller, and has dark/black colored front legs. I will be spending the next few days trying out different camera and lens combinations to figure out the best kit is to capture images of the Clearwing moths.


Clearwing Hummingbird Moths (Hemaris thysbe) of the Day. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Clearwing Snowberry Moths (Hemaris diffinis) of the Day. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS VIEWING THE SLIDE SHOWS PLEASE TRY A DIFFERENT BROWSER AND LET ME KNOW WHICH BROWSER YOU ARE USING. THANKS!!!

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (77.7 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and a few clouds. A surplus of 23.3 kWh.

Wednesday (08-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Brown-headed Cowbird (female), Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, and Song Sparrow.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Summer Wildflowers of the Day: Larkspur and Daisy.

Larkspur after the rain. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Larkspur after the rain. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daisy after the rain. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daisy after the rain. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (58.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (39.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of Clouds and some rain. A deficit of 18.47 kWh.


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Saturday (04-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow, and Mourning Dove.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers of the Day: Poppies (Red, Pink, Icelandic), Black-eyed Susan, Moth Mullein, Blanket Flower, Larkspur, Foxglove, Spiderwort, Bergamot, Horsemint, Lemon-Mint, Bee Balm, Monarda, Mexican Hat, Teazel


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (61.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (60.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mixed clouds and some sun. A deficit of 0.8 kWh. Power glitch in the morning stopped data collection on the Sense Monitor until it was rebooted. The daily numbers are guesstimates.


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