Another palamedes swallowtail has emerged this morning, also a little bit smallish, but a female. For a palamedes, she has a LOT of blue on the lower edge of her hindwings - There's a late instar palamedes cat in the same cage that this one came from that I'm quite sure is NOT going to be on the small side. I've named him/her STILL Eating, because that's what I say every time I look in the cage. I thought it was going to pupate a long time ago, but no big bowel expulsion has happened yet - it seems like it's eaten nearly a whole redbay! It finally left a piece of leaf intact this morning, so maybe it'll finally happen today! Sherry

Hi Dirtgirl, I think you're an Indian. (that's a compliment). Do owls moult? Are you sure they're owl feathers?

Cathy... yup, our bird definitely seems to be using the post, but we don't know if it is pouncing on the 'dads from there of it is just returning to the post to munch on them. Could be both. I did a closer check after the first post and lo and behold...the thing has gotten so comfortable with this routine that it actually coughed up a pellet from the post this time. This is the first one I found at that location--I'd been quietly hoping for this since you can learn an awful lot from an owl pellet:)--and I got lots of surprises when I started poking around in that little goodie. Yes, lots of crawdad exoskeleton, but here's the big shocker: our bird is also eating quite a few beetles, possibly stag beetles by the look of the remains. I kept pulling out these mahogany colored wing coverlets and thinking, now wait a minute, crawdads don't have THOSE... And oddly enough, very few mammal bits. Must be better or at least easier pickings in that ditch!! Maybe I should set out some clarified butter and a twist of fresh lemon... I'm now pondering ways to get my motion camera mounted to that phone pedestal! Oh and Cathy, forgot to add...I guess owl feathers must shuck off fairly easily when they make a dive onto prey. Given the fact that there are so many out there on a regular basis, I'm thinking at least a few of this bird's attempts at food are staged at a higher location than the pedestal. But there definitely wouldn't be any need for shock and awe tactics if you are picking off crawdads lumbering about the dry ground.

Awwwwwwwwwww, I want one too! :) All I got from tonight's walk was a itty bitty possum baby that that has taken up house in a small length of pvc pipe.