Wild Nantucket: Monarch Butterfly-land

One of my Nantucket delights is seeing Monarch butterflies almost every day. These monarchs have escaped the paper wasps and yellowjackets which favor monarch caterpillars, or the ants and tachinid flies. Birds in the northeast steer clear because of toxic compounds in milkweed which they have absorbed. From July 12 to 21, they were all about.

July 17: At Esther's island
July 18: Eel Point
July 19: home
July 20: the Creeks and the Life Saving Museum
July 21: home

Eastern Wild Indigo,
Baptisia Tinctoria

July continued with Yarrow and St. Johnswort along the verges. Sickle-leaved silk grass appeared in the moor roads along with the yellow bushes of Eastern Wild Indigo, baptisia tinctoria. By late in the month the hints of August were showing themselves. On July 24, there were early Sea lavender blooming and samphire at Masquetuck. There was the immanence of Sweet Pepper, clethra alnifolnia. But I haven't yet seen a Wood Lily this year.

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Pectoral Sandpiper

Sanderling and Ruddy Turnstone

Semipalmated Plover

Hudsonian whimbrels were active in the tall grasses across Polpis Harbor from Masquetuck. I saw a solitary and pectoral sandpiper at Sesachacha, as well as 5 immature black-crowned night herons at Cain's Pond. There seem to be many more laughing gulls this year cruising the Bluff. I have been constrained from kayaking to Quaise Pointand Pocomo Meadow because of my back injury. I did walk from Wauwinet to Coskata Pond along the Harbor, with a dozen or more semipalmated plovers, 9 piping plover, 3 spotted sandpiper and a passel of least terns. Kingbirds, barn swallows and song sparrows also love that area. The road to Coskata Woods is cut off to jeeps now.

On July 29, at Norwood Farm, I had another near-disaster while searching for Cranes-fly orchids near the Norwood Oak. I had entered a low area near the pearly everlasting and got turned around. Luckily I was able to get myself out and find the path again. My last white-fringed orchid hunt wound up with my calling for help when I got lost in high bush and had trouble getting out!

So many mushrooms with the July Rain, now up to 2.7 inches. When I post to iNaturalist, there are fewer reviewers than for butterflies or flowers.