14-APRIL-2016
Red squirrel
Barry photographed this red looking contemplative as it sits on the bench in the Backyard Garden.
14-APR-2016
Black-capped chickadee
A sunflower seed may seem tiny to us, but for a chickadee it is quite a snack. The chickadees dart on to the feeder, take a seed, and fly to a nearby perch to remove the husk and then peck away at the seed.
14-APR-2016
Black walnut (Juglans nigra)
Everything is starting to bud out, including this black walnut. We have many, many walnuts at the garden, thanks to the squirrels who bury the nuts in the autumn and don't manage to retrieve them all.
14-APR-2016
American goldfinches
Lots of these pretty finches mixing in with the other finches - siskins, purple finch, house finch, redpolls, not to mention many other species around too. Two red-tailed hawks, a turkey vulture, cardinals, chickadees, juncos, song sparrows, red-winged blackbirds, robins, and best of all, three tree swallows.
14-APR-2016
Common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
A dog-walker pointed out this beauty. For years we never saw a snake at the FWG, and then a few years ago they began to be seen and now we receive a few reports every year.
14-APR-2016
Purple finch, female
A few days back, Gordon sent us a photo of a beautiful raspberry red male purple finch, posted on this blog. Here is the female, often mistaken for a sparrow, not surprisingly.
14-APR-2016
Black-capped chickadee nest building
Busy excavating in an old birch snag.
14-APR-2016
Cluster fly (Pollenia)
Overwintering as adults, these flies are one of the first to emerge in spring sun. They belong to the Blow Fly family, Calliphoridae.
14-APR-2016
Black-capped chickadee nest building
A pair of industrious chickadees busily excavating the soft wood of a standing dead birch. One has just flown off with a bill full of wood shavings, while this one is taking a break.
14-APR-2016
Andrenid bee (Andrena)
It was great to see the first bees of the season, a few Andrenids. This one was on a small patch of sap.
14-APR-2016
Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)
Spring is coming... here an elderberry shrub is showing signs of flowering. While it is still early days, there were crocuses and aconites out (non-native bulbs that attract bees), and a mourning cloak butterfly floated around the old woods area.
14-APR-2016
Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)
A cluster of pretty aconites, a non-native bulb whose early flowers attract bees and other early emerging insects.
