24-APR-2012
White-breasted Nuthatch
Another suet seeker. I wish I lived closer, for I'd have gone home and picked up one of the suet packages I have, and brought it back for these guys.
24-APR-2012
White-throated sparrow
One of about 6 white-throated sparrows in the BYG. They were mostly under the cedars, jumping on the leaves that had accumulated there over the fall and winter, to turn them over in their search for seeds.
24-APR-2012
Prairie smoke (Geum triflorum)
One of the prettiest flowers in the rockery in the Backyard Garden section of the FWG. They are a native species, but not to this part of Ontario. However, they seem to be thriving in our garden, so the climate must be conducive to them.
24-APR-2012
Red-winged blackbird
Not sure what he was doing, but he was making a bit of a ruckus. Perhaps directed to the red squirrel directly below him.
24-APR-2012
Brown-headed cowbird, female
This is the second female cowbird, and it may just be my imagination, but she looks as if she has a slight problem with her bill.
24-APR-2012
Brown-headed cowbird, female
One male and two female cowbirds were in the Backyard Garden this morning. All three were happily bathing in the upper pond, along with a couple of white-throated sparrows and robins. There was almost a traffic jam as birds lined up to use this shallow and secluded enough pond.
24-APR-2012
Hairy woodpecker, male
With great fanfare, this male hairy woodpecker came flying in, straight for the suet feeder, which was empty, unfortunately. After what seemed a momentary shock, he reached over and plucked some seeds from the feeder.
24-APR-2012
Magnolia
With the sun, a few insects came out, including some flies on the magnolia flowers.
24-APR-2012
Magnolia
This photo proves we had a brief bout of sun today! And how welcome it was, as I can't really recall when we last saw sunshine. There are two magnolia trees at the FWG, neither planted by us, but stemming from the time, pre-FWG, when a number of ornamental trees were planted in the area.
24-APR-2012
Bee bundles
The same AAFC researchers who put up some bee boxes around the garden, also put up a couple of bee bundles made of different lengths of bamboo, bound together, and placed in this plastic bucket to give some protection from the weather.
24-APR-2012
Red in tamarack
This red squirrel looked quite pretty sitting in the midst of the just-beginning-to-green tamarack needles.
24-APR-2012
Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
This is a sad photo. Most of you probably remember that last week, before it turned cold (and snowy!), red admirals were migrating into this area by the hundreds of thousands. There is probably not a soul in the city who didn't have at least a few of these butterflies flutter past, even if they didn't see them. But once the rain, winds, cold temperatures, and snow arrived, the butterflies were, not surprisingly, nowhere to be seen. In today's Ottawa Citizen, there was speculation that as many as 90% of the red admirals could have died. I was therefore happy to see two red admirals today. One in the Arboretum, and this one at FWG. As you see, it is in a spruce tree. It appeared in a brief sunny break but some rain was starting to fall and as it did, this butterfly flew straight into a spruce and began walking delicately along the branches until it got quite far in and after some moving around, folded its wings and sat still. Just at that moment, the skied opened again. So perhaps some have survived by just this sort of protective behaviour. This one was very tattered and torn, however.
24-APR-2012
Red trillium (Trillium erectum)
The small patch of red trilliums in the Ash Woods, were in full bloom, while the white trilliums were in the almost-there stage.
24-APR-2012
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Most of the bloodroot petals have fallen, and the large, eye-catching swathes of last week are a thing of the past, not to be seen until next spring. Such brief and fleeting beauty! Those flowers still left, are furled tight against the cold and gray weather.
24-APR-2012
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
This is a native member of the Heath Family (Ericaceae). It forms large low-growing clumps with glossy evergreen leaves, pink bell-shaped flowers typical of members of this family, and in fall, shiny red berries. It makes a stellar ground cover and grows well in the rockery at the Backyard Garden. However, I've been told that it doesn't always grow well in all garden settings.
18-APR-2012
Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) on cherry blossoms
This was taken in the adjacent Arboretum, but I put it in to show what a spectacle is made by combining this pretty butterfly with the glorious blossoms. There were scores and scores of red admirals all over the tree, so many that people were stopping to take in this spectacle. Well worth checking out in the next few days.
18-APR-2012
American lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
The red admiral migration is well underway, an astonishing one, and I had heard that another vanessa butterfly, the American lady was also flying in good numbers. I was therefore very happy to see this lovely one land on some just emerging pearly everlasting in the Backyard Garden. It hung around for a minute or so, flying from plant to plant before heading into the Arboretum. Pearly everlasting is the premier larval plant for this species.
18-APR-2012
American lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
Another shot of this migrant on pearly everlasting, its larval host plant, in the Backyard Garden.
18-APR-2012
Black-capped chickadee nest cavity
As I walked past some trees I heard a loud tapping. Thinking it was a woodpecker but with the tapping a bit "off", I was curious. For the life of me I couldn't see anything until suddenly a chickadee flew out of this cavity and perched above me as if to say "do you mind!!". Then back in it went and the tapping commenced again. He was excavating the cavity and at one point emerged with a beak full of sawdust which he deposited some distance away. Imagine the work that goes into excavating these holes? Clearing out a nest chamber one little beak full of wood scraps at a time.
18-APR-2012
Hairy woodpecker, female
This large woodpecker was hanging around the BYG, darting in to feed at the suet, then off again to perch in one of the nearby trees, then back to the suet... They nested at FWG last year, and surely will again this year.
18-APR-2012
Bee box
This attractive bee box is one of several that have been erected around the FWG, as part of a project by some bee researchers at the farm. They are looking for Osmia species, in particular they are hoping to see if a non-native Osmia is found (it has been found in upper New York State, so far). But they are also interested in other bees that would nest in such structures such as Megachilids. When I put up a bee box at the FWG a few years ago, Megachilids found it almost immediately.
16-APR-2012
Leaf-mining beetle (Baliosus sp.)
This very tiny beetle was on the edge of a daffodil flower, so small I thought it was a speck of leaf matter at first. It is a new addition to our insect list.
16-APR-2012
Daffodils
Many clusters of daffodils are blooming at the moment in the Backyard Garden. They are attractive to all sorts of insects and even crab spiders will patiently sit on them and wait because they know many insects will come by and all they have to do is be swift enough to catch one.
16-APR-2012
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
There are huge swathes of this beautiful early spring wildflower in the Ash Woods. I can't believe how quickly things have appeared. Trilliums are nearly ready to open, red elderberry shrubs are putting forth flowerheads, the willow pollen (and thus the catkins) are over and done with. It is all happening so fast! The magnolias at the garden are also in bloom!
16-APR-2012
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
A close up view of the pristine white blossom of this pretty native woodland flower.
16-APR-2012
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) with sweat bee
Tiny little dark green sweat bees (Halictidae) were common on the freshly opened blossoms of this early blooming native plant.
16-APR-2012
Sweat bee (Halictid) on dandelion
There are many tiny sweat bees around at the moment, on dandelions and exploring daffodils, as well as bloodroot and any other flowering plant present now.
16-APR-2012
Tree swallow
The swallows are back, and so are the flickers, of which I saw about 4 around the garden. White-throated sparrows were around too, as well as a big flock of juncos (about 35), and all the other regular species. Chickadees were excavating a nest hole in a birch tree, and red-winged blackbirds were chasing away all who came close to their chosen nest site.
16-APR-2012
Black ducks
One of the ducks was snoozing on the raft when the other one swam up and climbed heavily onboard. That woke of the first one who then began calling loudly. One can only guess what he was saying.
16-APR-2012
Wild ginger flower (Asarum canadense)
The rather obscure but intriguing flowers of the native wild ginger are out now. They lie close to the ground and can be overlooked as the leaves often cover them.
16-APR-2012
Wild ginger flower and leaves (Asarum canadense)
Another view of the wild ginger, showing how well hidden the flowers are under those hairy leaves.
16-APR-2012
Green frog (Rana clamitans)
Found two of these guys in the pond in the Backyard Garden. There are no doubt more as last summer we could often see 6 or 8 at a time. It was such a warm day, so summer-like, that I thought I might hear toads trilling. I know that in some areas south of us, they began mating quite awhile back, much earlier than normal. Things are topsy-turvy this year, with so much happening much, much earlier than is typical.
16-APR-2012
Nomada bee caught by crab spider
I thought this nomada bee was resting on the bloodroot flower at first, but then as I leaned in, I saw a tiny white goldenrod crab spider had caught it. There are nomadas out in force at the moment. They are kleptoparasites on andrenid bees.
16-APR-2012
Asian ladybeetle (Harmonia axyridis) on daffodil
The Backyard Garden is alive with the golden hues of masses of daffodils. Seems that there are more than I can ever recall seeing before (?). Many insects were nectaring on them including numbers of Halictids, ladybeetles, andrenid bees, nomada bees, and even a crab spider sitting and waiting....!
10-APR-2012
Lupines
The lupines are just beginning to appear around the Butterfly meadow. These are not the native lupines, but they certainly attract a variety of insects including many bees.
10-APR-2012
Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
Despite a very, very close brush with a snowmobile or some other machine during winterlude, the tulip tree seems to have survived. The encounter was so close that one branch was broken off. We'll have to make sure it is better protected this year! This marks the second winter it has survived, but of course, both winters were mild, and whether it will survive a very cold one is unknown.
10-APR-2012
Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
The most common horsetail found in the area, and at the FWG. This is the fertile stem which will soon disappear, and in its place you will see the green sterile stems. Horsetails (also called scouring rushes)are an ancient plant group, and according to the Peterson field guide to the ferns, "they are considered one of the oldest of the Pteridophytes (fern families), being closely allied to the prehistoric Calamitales,large and abundant treelike plants that flourished 300 million years ago." So think of that next time you look at these plants! It is not hard to imagine them in a prehistoric setting, particularly when you look at huge swathes of the bigger ones such as Equisetum hyemale.
10-APR-2012
European Barberry (Berberis vulgaris)
A close-up of the thorns on the one barberry that is growing at the FWG. We don't know if this was planted back in the day when the FWG site was planted with many exotic species including lilacs, magnolias, and many varieties of crabapple. The shrub is huge and looks like it has been around for quite a long time but it was not noticed until a few years ago as it is more or less hidden behind other trees. In autumn, the pendulous fruit of this shrub turns bright red. It is planted as an ornamental and can escape cultivation. In some areas it is a problem because it invades natural areas, but around here does not (yet) appear to be a big issue.
10-APR-2012
Daffodil
We have several clumps of daffodils growing in the Backyard Garden, and though not native plants, they bloom early and attract many insects seeking otherwise scarce nectar.
02-APR-2012
Willow catkins
They are at their prettiest right now, yellow and rich with pollen, attracting many insects.
03-APR-2012
Manitoba maple flowers
A tree much maligned by many, but one that is native to the prairies (hence its name), just as are some of the much-loved wildflowers planted in gardens, such as coneflowers (Echinacea). Often chewed by red squirrels in very early spring to get at the sap, the flow of the sweet sugary stuff then attracts early flying insects such as eastern commas and mourning cloaks, bees and flies. The seeds feed a wide variety of wildlife.
03-APR-2012
Andrenid bee on willow
Always one of the earliest bee species to be found in the region, along with Colletes. I have also seen a few sweat bees, a big female bumblebee, and honey bees. The Andrenid bees gather willow pollen in great quantities, and take back to their nests on warm, south facing slopes.
02-APR-2012
Crocuses
Gorgeous golden glow of these flowers on a sunny day.
02-APR-2012
Song sparrow
One of many song sparrows singing around the garden today.
02-APR-2012
Mating mallards
Several pairs of mallards and a few black ducks landed on the pond while I was looking at other things, and suddenly there was a great splashing and squawking. When I turned around there was the male on top of the female, quite vigorously pushing her under the water and seeming to hold her down. After a few seconds it was all over and they both shook their ruffled feathers and went back to feeding.
02-APR-2012
Black-capped chickadee
After some excavation, the pair flew away and I have a sneaking suspicion that they decided the snag was not quite appropriate for them, and I have to agree. It was in a poor location and is so rotten it might fall soon. The snag is only about 6 feet tall, too, so no danger to anyone, except the chickadees if they nest in it. You can see the sawdust from the strenuous explorations on this chickadee.
02-APR-2012
Black-capped chickadee
A pair of chickadees were very busy exploring a possible nest site.
02-APR-2012
Beefly (Bombylius sp.)
Beeflies were fairly common on willow catkins, which are laden with pollen. Although it was not that warm - the +10 temperature was tempered by a cool breeze - these flies were out, along with Colletes bees.