Just beginning to open. One of the early native spring ephemerals.

This bee, which is likely Andrena dunningi, was, said Barry who took this shot, hanging around these conifers with many other bees. It is not certain, but it may be that they are gathering resin. Honey bees use conifer resin to help make propolis and there are varying theories as to what qualities may be attractive in it. (CH)

The bloodroot plants in our Old Woodlot are in full bloom right now and attracting a number of small bees.

A tiny bee gathering pollen and a larger, fuzzier bee near the top of this photo.

The flowers are quickly forming and it won't be long before they burst forth in a froth of white.

The old woodlot is the place to see this beautiful early spring native wildflower.

Barry photographed this red looking contemplative as it sits on the bench in the Backyard Garden.

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.

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.

Busy excavating in an old birch snag.

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.

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.

Lots of bird activity around the FWG today (9 April 2016), according to Gordon Robertson, who took this photo of a Killdeer "walking on water" - actually, debris floating in the pond.

Many people are reporting Common Redpolls in our area this week and they've turned up at the FWG as well.

And a House Finch for comparison with the Purple in the previous photo. Nice to be able to compare these sometimes confused species.

Siskins were everywhere in the area for some weeks, but now most have left, only a few lingerers remain. It was a treat to hear them calling all day long and see such large numbers. They were often found in flocks mixed with redpolls and purple finches. Barry took this image a few weeks ago, when the siskin numbers were at their peak.

They were sharing the peanut feeder while a third one watched for a chance to come in for a snack.

Cheeks bulging with seeds, this little chippie is waiting until I walk past the feeder so he can continue getting more seeds.

I am fairly certain that this is the cocoon of an Ichneumonid wasp in the subfamily Campopleginae. Wasps in this group are endoparasitoids, usually on moth caterpillars. This is an interesting and complex form of parasitism. I have found similar, or most likely the same cocoons all over the region on a variety of plants. Sometimes the cocoons hang by a slender but strong thread, other times they are attached like this one, along their length.

Soon, soon, there will be leaves! Well, it may be another month yet, but they are coming.

Bursting out now and soon will be attracting bees, flies and other pollinators.

The feeder is a popular spot to see a variety of birds, such as here: northern cardinal, house finch, black-capped chickadee, downy woodpecker.

Always the first flycatcher to return, this species has been back for a week or two already, even while there was still snow on the ground. There were two today at the garden, but very active, swooping down to pick up or investigate something on the ground then flying to a perch further off. I couldn't get near enough to get a non-fuzzy photo, so this is just a 'for-the-record' shot.

This is a common migrant which breeds in the region and at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. We usually have around 4 pairs nesting at the garden, sometimes more, sometimes fewer. They nest either on the ground in thickets of dog-strangling vines, or low in shrubs, particularly red osier dogwoods.

Pine siskins are all over the region these days and can be heard giving their distinctive call, including at the FWG where there were several flocks today.