Crimson Patch eggathon orgy at NBC, 5/12/16

The spring bird migration has been much better than recent years so I have not spent much time lately with leps.  But things are slowing down a bit and I thought maybe I'll check out the National Butterfly Center for bugs and maybe some birds.  Lots of flowers blooming but not much in the way of interesting butterflies. When I finally got down to the old gardens I noticed a few Crimson Patches in the shaded area with the Dicliptera.  I used to think this was flame acanthus but John Rosford got me straightened out on that.  I then noticed a couple were depositing eggs.

I then noticed a couple of others and scanned the area trying to come up with the total number of Crimson Patches.  Then I saw this blob of several more of them.

More ovipositing was occurring.

And looking a little closer it was clear that in all the excitement they were getting a little sloppy about where they were placing their eggs.

With the weight of the eggs all on one wing her flight was pretty labored.  I imagine a bird or a lizard will probably get her.

It was quite a show.

And I topped it off with a calling Willow Flycatcher which is hard to find down here.