24-Feb-2020
Northern cardinal, male
Of course, the red male cardinal is always a standout, especially in winter when they add such colour to an otherwise fairly monotone landscape.
24-Feb-2020
American goldfinch
Another photo of one of the goldfinches eating seeds of the tamarack cones.
24-Feb-2020
Willow catkins
This is a small willow tree in the Arboretum, not far from FWG, which always produces catkins long, long before any other willows do. I think this one is a Korean species.
24-Feb-2020
Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Much of the wild fruit and seeds has vanished, but this grey squirrel was finding enough crabapples in a small tree to satisfy him/her.
24-Feb-2020
Mallards
Not technically in the FWG, but in the adjacent Arboretum, in a small sliver of open water.
24-Feb-2020
American goldfinch
The tamarack trees at the garden were a magnet for a flock of about 12 to 14 goldfinches this morning. They were very busy digging into the small cones for seeds.
24-Feb-2020
American goldfinch
Another view of a goldfinch feeding on the tamarack cones.
24-Feb-2020
Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
A lot of the natural fruits and seeds at the garden have been eaten. What is left is food that is edible but less interesting to many critters. Staghorn sumac cones are eaten by a number of species and you can see evidence of feeding throughout winter, though not as often as now.
24-Feb-2020
American robin
Several robins were making themselves heard, and occasionally seen, today, part of a larger flock that has been hanging around the garden and arboretum.
24-Feb-2020
Viburnum fruit (Viburnum trilobum)
The fruit of this shrub never seems to be eaten by anything, yet it is often listed as a food source for birds. Whether this is a native V. trilobum or a cultivar, I'm not sure. I would guess the latter, however, and perhaps the edibility has been bred out of the cultivar so that the fruit remains all winter.
24-Feb-2020
Red cedar
One of several upright junipers also known as red cedar, at the garden. Probably Juniperus virginiana. In the years when bohemian waxwings are around, they will often feed on this fruit. Cedar waxwings also eat it, but it doesn't seem to be a favourite of many species.
24-Feb-2020
The pond in winter
Still snow-covered and wintry looking, despite the spring-like warmth of the day.