Hehehe!! That's so funny, Sandy!
I've noticed that little sleepy oranges chase giant swallowtails out of my garden, so size doesn't make that much difference to the critters.
Sherry

I have also seen mockingbirds "run" from monarch butterflies. I assumed it had something to do with the mockingbird having tried to eat a monarch and it remembered getting sick.

Mechelle

Great read Sandy. Unfortunately the bugs (and us) don't always win though. Nothing like chasing say a Papilio headlong through a tropical rain forest (a fairly dangerous thing to do) only to have it picked off by a Bubul just as you get in net range. Or maybe trying to cut off a Phoebis rocketing down wind and having it scooped up just before you swing by a Jay. Or how about the time a house cat beat me to a White Monarch in HI and munched it right down? Heck, I've even had Robins beat me out. The leps may win sometimes, but the odds are not in their favor.

Well, the (insert nasty epithet here) starlings are on my Get Rid Of Quick list...they are very skilled at nailing BF for their nestlings. :( Saw an Admiral, a Ca Tortoiseshell, a Buckeye and a Western ST go that way. Why don't I have any Monarchs to give these stupid birds some NASTY indigestion? :( :(

Sandy,

Mockingbirds are quite the entertainers. They like to dive bomb me or my dog. When are backs are turned. :-)

A pair of Phoebes have nested over our garage door for about 5 years now. They are on their second batch of young this year. I see a lot of moths and butterflies in beaks going to the nest.

I love having moths and butterflies, but I love a healthy, thriving, as close to natural setting just as much.

randy

I agree with having the healthy habitat. I love all the critters I see, and those that I don't see whose scat I find in the morning!

Today the Mockingbird is coaxing babies out of the nest and into making their first flight. I always love to watch the bird couple lead their young out away from the nest. I'll try to get a photo of one of the babies without getting my eyes put out!

Sandy

Sandy,

That sounds fun.

On three different occasions over the years I've got our short 5" step ladder out and had Amber or a grandchild get to spook the ready to fly Phoebe youngsters out of their nest. That is ways a blast to see up close. They are noisy as a covey of quail when they all take off at the same time. :-)

I took this photo a couple years ago about a minute before they scattered.

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And a couple of them a few minutes later together in the catalpa tree.

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randy

Randy,

That was a full nest. I counted 5 babies. Thanks for sharing your photos. I didn't see the little ones after I went back out.

Sandy