26-Apr-2021
Northern cardinal, female
A really nice shot of the female cardinal who sometimes gets overlooked and ignored in favour of her strikingly red male counterpart, but I think the females are every bit as pretty.
26-Apr-2021
Red-winged blackbird, male
With the return of the females, these male blackbirds are busy defending territory and engaging in standoffs with other males!
26-Apr-2021
Red-winged blackbird, female
The females are so different from the males it is little wonder that people find it hard to believe they are the same species. The females are very sparrow like in their colouration, which offers protective colouration to blend in with the dry cattails where they'll be sitting on eggs.
26-April-2021
White-throated sparrow
In spring these birds return to their breeding grounds, both locally and further north, and we generally see them in small flocks as they feed awhile before pushing further north. In auturmn, the whole process takes place again, but in reverse as they head south. Koby said she saw about 4 which is more than I have seen anywhere this spring so far.
23-Apr-2021
Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
These animals are engaging and cute, no doubt about that, and Koby caught some of that adorable cuteness in these shots.
14-Apr-2021
House finch pair
A pair of house finches at the feeder, always nice to see these birds which for a while were much more common.
Birds at FWG
Koby photographed these birds in the Backyard Garden area. From top left, cardinal, top right, female downy woodpecker. bottom left, male downy woodpecker, bottom right, mourning dove.
23-Apr-2021
Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
Red squirrels are either universally adored or universally disliked, but I find them adorable. This is pretty, soft shot of one at the garden by Koby.
19-Apr-2021
Eastern Phoebe
Very present around the ravine the day I was at the garden. One year a pair nested on top of one of the security lights!
19-Apr-2021
Song sparrow
An early bird, so to speak, as these birds come back long before most other migrants return, and now they are heard all over the garden, and the region.
19-Apr-2021
Northern cardinal, male
This gorgeous male has been well photographed by Koby, showing the brilliant scarlet plumage that is so attractive. No wonder these birds feature on Christmas cards, and no wonder they are a 'must-see' bird when birders from overseas, or from the west, come here.
19-Apr-2021
Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
The same chipmunk in the next photo. I think his, or her, motto must be, if at first you don't succeed.... Because this one is determined to reach that feeder!
19-Apr-2021
Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
These animals, long out of their semi-hibernation, are extremely busy and not all that shy, in the Backyard Garden section of the wildlife garden. This one seems determined to reach Nirvana, the bounty of seeds in the feeder on top of the post.
19-Apr-2021
Dark-eyed junco
These birds are still around the region, but soon will disperse, though they nest in the Ottawa area, but not at the garden.
19-Apr-2021
Manitoba maple (Acer negundo)
14-Apr-2021
House finch, male
The male house finch is in full rich breeding plumage. We used to see many of these birds around the region as well as at the garden, but over time, they have become less common.
19-Apr-2021
Fletcher Wildlife Garden
Although the colours are autumnal, this was taken today. Looking across the ravine toward the Resource Centre.
19-Apr-2021
Red-winged blackbird, male
When this bird calls, his whole body is involved! I love the way his red epaulets puff up when he vocalizes.
19-Apr-2021
Amphibian pond
As often happens at this time of year, a layer of algae covers the surface. Red-winged blackbirds are pretty busy now, and of course, are mostly around the pond where the females will be soon be sitting on eggs.
19-Apr-2021
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
This European native is well-established throughout the region including at the garden, and is another of the earliest flowers to appear, often along roadsides or trails. It attracts numerous bees and beeflies as well as other insects.
19-Apr-2021
Red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa)
An early flowering native shrub, the red-berried elders at the garden have big fat flowerheads, which will soon mature, producing large white pyramidal clusters of flowers.
19-Apr-2021
Red trillium (Trillium erectum)
The red trillium blooms earlier than the more familiar and more abundant white one.
19-Apr-2021
Eastern red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
I watched this female consuming a number of maple flowers, grabbing one, biting it off, and then holding it between her paws to eat. It took no time at all the consume and she was off to the next one.
19-Apr-2021
Eastern red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
I watched this female consuming a number of maple flowers, grabbing one, biting it off, and then holding it between her paws to eat. It took no time at all the consume and she was off to the next one.
19-Apr-2021
Nomad bee (Nomada sp.)
There are many, many species of these wasp-like bees and difficult to tell apart. They are another that appears early on in spring, in wooded areas, scooting busily across the surface of the ground. They are Kleptoparasites on ground nesting bees such as Andrenids.
19-Apr-2021
Trout lily (em> Erythronium americanum)
Another beautiful native wildflower whose blooms are just beginning to appear.
19-Apr-2021
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
One of the first spring ephemerals to bloom, though not the very first, these beautiful creamy white flowers are spreading through the Old Woods.
19-Apr-2021
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
19-Apr-2021
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
Another shot of the mayapples, showing how they have spread.
19-Apr-2021
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
In the shelter of the Old Woods, the mayapples are slower to open, but in the BYG, they are open wide. Soon, the flowers which hang underneath, will appear.
19-Apr-2021
Eastern red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
I watched this red squirrel with her walnut running back and forth on a plant stand outside the Resource Centre. She kept trying to shove it into various corners where the shelves met the posts and finally succeeded, whereupon she spun around and raced off.
19-Apr-2021
Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
Three of these little guys racing around the BYG!
19-Apr-2021
Northern cardinal
A couple of cardinals in the Backyard Garden (BYG) feasting on leaf buds.
19-Apr-2021
Eastern grey squirrel (Sciuris carolinensis)
Squirrels were busy running around the garden, including two grey squirrels chewing on this stump.
19-Apr-2021
American robin
Robins were seen and heard all over the garden today. Other birds heard and/or seen included tree swallows, blue jay, ruby-crowned kinglets, cardinal, black-capped chickadees, american goldfinches, song sparrows, downy woodpecker, pileated woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, mourning doves, eastern phoebe, red-winged blackbirds, and above, turkey vulture, ring-billed gulls and canada goose were flying across the garden.
19-Apr-2021
Pasque flower (Anemone patens)
This very pretty plant is already in full flower in the Backyard Garden section of the FWG, one of the earlier bloomers.
19-Apr-2021
Prairie smoke (Geum triflorum)
This pretty plant was beginning to bloom, but I think what really distinguishes this plant are the seedheads, feathery and graceful, which gave rise to the common name.
19-Apr-2021
Prairie smoke (Geum triflorum)
Another photo of the pretty Prairie smoke, showing the leaves.
19-Apr-2021
Backyard Garden of the Fletcher Wildlife Garden
Early spring in the BYG, and things are greening up nicely. Today, this is where much of the activity was in terms of birds and small mammals.
13-Apr-2021
Late day overlooking the old field habitat
Late in the day, as the sun sets, the wildlife garden takes on a different character. This looks more like a rural scene outside the city rather than in the heart of it.
13-Apr-2021
The old field at sunset
Another shot showing the sun setting across the old field.
14-Apr-2021
Dark-eyed junco
One of many birds attracted by the sunflower seeds in the well-stocked Backyard Garden feeder.
13-Apr-2021
Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
A healthy looking rabbit who seems to have survived the winter well.
13-Apr-2021
Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
Late in the day, rabbits come out to feed.
Both species of nuthatch
Koby found and photographed both species of our local nuthatches, in the Backyard Garden area of the Fletcher Wildlife Garden.
13-Apr-2021
A view across the garden at sunset
A gorgeous dreamy shot taken at the end of one of the warm days we had in April.
14-Apr-2021
White-breasted nuthatch
It is a treat to see and photograph both species of our local nuthatches. Here, the very familiar white-breasted nuthatch, next photo, the much less common red-breasted.
14-Apr-2021
Red-breasted nuthatch
The little red-breasted nuthatch was beautifully photographed in the Backyard Garden.
14-Apr-2021
Brown-headed cowbird, female
Almost blending in with spilled sunflower seeds, a returning cowbirds is feeding. The males look quite different.
13-Apr-2021
Red-winged blackbird, male
One of many blackbirds now settled into the region and the garden for the summer.
13-Apr-2021
Red-winged blackbird, female
The males always arrive first, this year earlier than ever, by early March they were reported in the region and were definitely at the garden a little later. The females take longer to arrive, by which time mating season gets underway.
