brewster’s linnet . com

So we have some interesting looking insect. It’s got a very round body with some black on light brown, long legs, and wings with lots of black along the front. It’s on an oak leaf, so we can see that it’s fairly small but not a tiny insect. Although there’s quite a few insects that [...]

Finally something other than birds. For #6, it’s a mostly black thing with a creamy yellow border. It appears to be flying. With triangular wings like that, it’s got to be some type of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). The obvious candidate is the Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), which is exactly what it is. Mourning Cloaks [...]

Yeah, I’ve been neglecting this. Clearly a black bird. It has a thin, pointed bill, a dark eye, and is a smooth black without any glossy color. Of the blackbirds, Rusty (and the very unlikely Brewer’s) has a pale eye, Common Grackle is much bulkier, glossier, and with a bigger bill, and Brown-headed Cowbird would [...]

We have a perching bird that appears to be brown above, whitish below with some spots. The head is blocked by a branch, as is most of the tail. There’s still plenty to see. Among the brown birds, we have sparrows, wrens, thrushes, Brown Creeper, a flycatcher or two, Horned Lark, some swallows, Brown Thrasher, [...]

As I said, this one wasn’t really fair. Here’s a more typical example: (Found with creativecommons search) It’s one of the invasive honeysuckles (Lonicera sp). It had grown completely out of control in the yard and ended up taking over the entire back yard before we finally had it cut down. The birds did like [...]