Name that bird -- photographed at Duke Farms earlier this month.

Local Daisy Scouts visited the CF on Saturday and learned what poison ivy looks like -- and were treated to a surprise appearance by a cooperative frog right by the entrance.

Wanted everyone to know that the contents of Stiles and Lillian Thomas' house will be on sale for another day (Saturday) at 30 Louise Court in Allendale (end of the cul de sac, on right).

Lots of memories, too, all priceless.

A link to the sale information, with photos of many of the items, is here. Scroll down to view items.

There's some great stuff, with lots of bird-related items.

Saw Stiles and Lillian this week -- they are doing well and send everyone their best wishes.

My new column is all about knitted bird nests  for orphaned and injured birds. A heart-warming story...

You can read it here.

My column in The Record today is all about the knitted nests created for orphaned and injured birds.

It's an amazing story of ingenuity and volunteerism.

Here's the beginning:

Each spring, tens of thousands of orphaned baby birds nationwide keep warm in nests knitted by compassionate volunteers.

In North Jersey, the Franklin Lakes Animal Hospital uses the homemade nests to transport everything from rescued baby flying squirrels and baby opossums to sparrows and other birds in need.

The Raptor Trust in Millington places crocheted nests on their sides to simulate cavity nests for baby wrens. And the Avian Wildlife Center in Wantage finds them especially helpful for very small nestlings or a bird in need of intensive care.

In fact, there seems to be no end to the uses for these human-made nests, created with washable yarn.

The story is on Page 3 of the Better Living section.

You can download a pdf of instructions to knit these nests by clicking here.

Wanted everyone to know that the contents of Stiles and Lillian Thomas' house go on sale tomorrow and Friday at 30 Louise Court in Allendale (end of the cul de sac, on right).

Lots of memories, too, all priceless.

Visiting them in Massachusetts today if you'd like to pass along your well-wishes. They are doing well.

A link to the sale information, with photos of many of the items, is here. Scroll down to view items.

There's some great stuff, with lots of bird-related items.

Went for a nice hike at the John Burrough Nature Preserve and attended a fund-raiser for Slabsides, John Burroughs' rustic cabin in West Park in the southern Catskills on Sunday

Weather was great, and so was the event -- which included live performances by Molly Mason and Jay Unger and by three members of the Tremperskill Boys.

More about Slabsides here. It is a treasure.

The wonderful nesting season is drawing to a close, and the eaglets are huge and flapping their wings.

You can see the transmitter on one of the young eagles if you look closely.

A big thank you to Duke Farms for the show!

Had a little time to explore near New Paltz on Saturday, so thought I'd try looking for butterflies along the Duck Pond Trail in the Mohonk Preserve. ( A bit of a trek with camera and binoculars on a waarm day.)

Saw my first of the year Monarchs, plus Red Admirals, Pearl Crescents, Painted/American Ladies, and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

Drawing a blank on the butterfly at far left below...

The Butterfly Garden has been looking great of late -- thanks to the  Butterfly Ladies and all their gardening and planting, Ken Wiegand, who built the new rustic cedar fence, and Mike Buckley for mowing. (Not to mention all the wonderful work that the other volunteers do!)

Bruce Davis (the master chipper) and I tried to do our bit this morning by transplanting two dozen Common Milkweed plants from Stiles and Lillian Thomas's yard to next to the Butterfly Garden. It only seemed fitting.

We know that the timing was not ideal but hope that some survive. (Fingers crossed.)

One of my favorite moths -- because it is so unusal -- is the Plume Moth.  Bruce Davis and I saw one at the Butterfly Garden today.

I see them only see them occasionally, and only because I happened to see them in flight.

They are tiny, with very narrow wings.

More on Plume Moths here.

This is a cellphone shot, and there was no quarter next to it to give you a sense of scale, but believe me, this is one cool insect.

Photographed about an hour away in NY State last week.

What is it?