Two (or maybe more) confusing fall warblers showed up on Thursday. This one looks sort of like the pictures of a drab first-year female Nashville Warbler...except the book says its wings are "green" and this one's wings look gray with yellow wash, to me. Also, the shape of the bill doesn't match...I don't think. But maybe it does. Certainly the Nashville is supposed to migrate through here.	In some poses, this bird showed a narrow "whisker-wide" dark mark before and after the eye, dividing a white eye-ring into arcs. A first-year female American Redstart might look much like this bird, But I'm not sure.
The colors of fall flowers around here are predominantly the purple of gayfeather (or blazing star) and eryngo, and the strong yellow of Maximilian sunflower, spiced with the white of snow-on-the-mountain. Minor accents include the sky blue of pitcher sage, the red of turks' cap and autumn sage.
Blue Dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis, males are common at the lily pond all summer, but not as common in October. This one flew out and then back to the same perch repeatedly, making it easy to photograph.	A male Roseate Skimmer, Orthemis ferruginea, glowing in the sun against a background of green is almost too beautiful to be true. But it is....
This female Common Green Darner, Anax junius, is laying eggs in the tub at the foot of Owl Water...I think the little white specks are her eggs. She shares this nursery with other species: I've seen a female Neon Skimmer and a Twelve-spotted Skimmer laying eggs here.

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