Recent Yard Things:

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been enjoying nectar from the flowers of my Scarlet Runner Beans.

.

An Eastern-tailed Blue resting on the Black-eyed Susans.

A Katydid stopped for a visit! I noticed it from a distance because one "leaf'" was pointing in the opposite direction from the others. Katydids get their name from the sound they make. Their repetitive clicks and calls sound like someone saying, "Ka-ty-did". Katydids are related to crickets and grasshoppers, with large back legs for jumping. Katydids often eat the leaves from the tops of trees and bushes, where there may be fewer predators and less competition.

www.insectidentifcation.org/insect-description.php?identification=katydid

Peck's Skipper on Purple Cone Flower

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Swamp Milkweed.

We have watched our morning visitor several times this summer, but this week was the first time the Striped Skunk visited during daylight hours. It was eating seeds that had fallen off the bird feeder.