08-DEC-2010
Black-capped chickadee
I realized today that the red and green feeder was seasonally appropriate! It is well stocked and coming to it were many chickadees, some more house finches, about 20 goldfinches, and both a hairy and a downy woodpecker.
08-DEC-2010
House finch, male
This was taken near the Ash woods feeder, where there was constant activity of house finches (about 10), chickadees (about 5), and a couple of cardinals. Below, on the ground, 4 grey squirrels were busy gleaning some of the seed spilled from the feeder. Elsewhere, a fox was seen, and several red squirrels, but no sign of the beaver.
08-DEC-2010
The pond with snow
There is a light dusting of snow on the garden, including the pond, and some of the water is frozen, just. But there are still open areas, most notably near the dam, and several small spots near the shore.
08-DEC-2010
Black squirrel eating Manitoba maple keys
The Manitoba maple, a much reviled tree, considered an aggressive invasive by some (though it is, as the name suggests, native to the prairies), does have some redeeming values, one of which is that it provides an abundance of food for squirrels and birds in lean times, particularly when many other shrubs and trees may have already had their fruit or seeds eaten, or may be having an off-year, when production is low. The black squirrel is, of course, a grey squirrel but the melanistic version of.
04-DEC-2010
Red squirrel/�cureuil roux
A beautiful little red squirrel sitting amidst a cornucopia of seeds, taken by Diane.
04-DEC-2010
American robin/Merle d'am�rique
Diane got a gorgeous photo of this robin in perfect lighting, showing off his red breast to perfection!
04-DEC-2010
American robin/Merle d'am�rique
Diane was at the FWG and found several of the robins that have been hanging around the garden for over a week.
02-DEC-2010
Sumac stored by a red squirrel
Looking rather like a pretty red Christmas ornament, this is one of many sumac seedheads stored by red squirrels in multiple places around each sumac stand. The pale seedpods are those of Dog-strangling vine (pale swallowwort).
02-DEC-2010
Praying mantis egg cases
A few of the torn apart egg cases that the crow was feeding on. There are many eggs contained within each case. If you look at a Praying mantis egg case closely, you will see how intricate it is. The surface is grooved, each groove representing an internal corridor leading to a central chamber where the eggs are, and that is what the crow was extracting.
02-DEC-2010
American crow eating Praying mantis egg cases
I watched this crow fly to one of our wooden fences and busily peck away at something that looked vaguely brownish. A couple more crows came along to see what he was up to. When they flew off, I went over to check out what he'd been eating. It turned out there was quite a cache of the hard egg cases of praying mantis! The crow had pecked open the surprisingly hard case, and extracted the tasty bits!
02-DEC-2010
View from bridge
Our bridge is now open for use, though there is still a bit more work to do on it yet. It is the first time I've been on the bridge, and it is a relief to have it open as it saves me grumbling every time I see people bypassing our orange fence and blithely heading across the bridge - even when it was just being constructed -. Grrrrr! Anyway, nice to stand on it and look across the pond which looks quite impressive from this perspective. The heavy rain from yesterday has increased the water level, although it is flowing quickly through the beaver dam and heading down the ravine.
02-DEC-2010
Panellus stipticus
These beautiful little fungi are abundant on the birch logs which litter the Birch Grove and other parts of the garden. These species glow in the dark, though the luminescence is pretty slight. Still, a very neat thing for a fungi to do! If you check out our Mushroom gallery, you'll see many more photos of this species, including the delicately beautiful underside.
