Big Skipper

June is a slow month for central Texas birding. There are a lot of summer and year-round resident species out there, but the rising temperature makes the period of high activity in the morning shorter. Plus it's hot and humid out there! I got out for about an hour this morning in the flood plain property. I found 33 bird species, including a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, White-eyed Vireo, and 3 species of flycatcher (Great Crested, Eastern Phoebe, and Scissor-tailed). But I was most interested in this butterfly. I can tell it's some kind of "skipper" from the way its wings don't meet each other when they're folded up. But it's at least twice as big as any skipper I've ever seen before. And notice the big white patches on its wings. I like the subtle browns and tans also on its wings.