So I walked outside this morning and went, wow! What a glorious spring day.
I spent a couple hours sitting in the woods letting spring unfold around me.
At one point I watched a towhee flying very erratically and after a bit I
noticed the Mourning cloak butterfly it was chasing. The towhee was flying
up and down and then swooping in a circle after the butterfly. At one point
the towhee seemed like it would reach its flitting target, and just a second
before it could close the gap and strike, the butterfly just casually hopped
up over it. After another minute of futile chase the towhee dropped back
down into the brush and the butterfly went bouncing along its way. Perhaps
it was just all a game of follow the leader.

While focusing on some dance flies, a Rufus hummingbird zipped up, and
hovered almost in my face, then like magic, disappeared without a trace.
There was not even 3 seconds of quiet in the woods this morning, the birds
owned the airwaves and were broadcasting continually on all channels..

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer,
The Environmental Science School, Monroe