28 March 2009
Woolly bear caterpillar
Diane Lepage was at the FWG recently and took a series of photos of the various things found, including this little woolly bear, the caterpillar of the Isabella tiger moth. Insects are becoming very active now and wasps, bees, flies, leafhoppers, beetles, are all beginning to be seen.
28 March 2009
Crocus blooming
Always a welcome sign of spring. Crocus are also very, very attractive to early emerging bees.
28 March 2009
Red-winged Blackbird
A beautiful shot of this blackbird.
28 March 2009
Mallard, male
Diane took a great photo of this handsome male in his fresh spring plumage, down at the Amphibian Pond.
Long-eared owl
Photographed some weeks ago at FWG. The owl is no longer around.
Long-eared owl
Photographed at the FWG some weeks ago. The owls have long since departed.
27 March 2009
Red with nest material
This little red squirrel had a quantity of peeled bark in his mouth, heading to a nest box. The females will be giving birth soon, but we won't see the young until they are well furred and able to move around on their own, looking like miniature adults.
27 March 2009
Red with nest material
Another view of the red squirrel.
28 March 2009
Wasp Polistes fuscatus
Things are also happening in the insect world too. Earlier today, before going to Billings Bridge for the Wildlife Festival, I saw this Polistes fuscatus wasp seeking warmth on the sunny side of a building on the farm. There were dozens of Muscid flies around as well. A week ago, in Larose Forest, I saw a Ctenucha moth caterpillar, some leafhoppers and Colletes bees. Today, driving to the Festival, I saw a Mourning Cloak butterfly pass in front of the car. Each day, particularly each warm day, brings forth more new observations. Unfortunately, if we get the cooler, wetter weather forecast for the coming week, things will slow right down.
27 March 2009
Meadow vole nest
As you know, the vole population is healthy around FWG and the farm! I found this cosy winter vole nest in the snow...
27 March 2009
Vole tunnels
...and not far away, some very well-constructed and intact tunnels, revealed by the melting snow. A very fat vole was running through some nearby vegetation, although waddling would be a better descriptor than "running".
24-MAR-2009
Red-tailed hawk
Bryan got a good flight shot of this adult red-tailed hawk, showing the distinctive red tail to great advantage.
25 March 2009
Robin ballet
Couldn't resist posting this image (which I have also posted on my Larose PBase galleries too). This robin was preening vigorously and I took a number of shots, of which this one was the most interesting. Taken just below the FWG in the Arboretum.
23 March 2009
American robin
There were no new migrants that I was aware of. Birds were fairly active, however, with pine siskins, goldfinches, house finches, cardinals, chickadees and red-winged blackbirds, etc. all calling and singing. There were also song sparrows, a tree sparrow, robins, starlings, etc.
23 March 2009
Pileated woodpecker, female
Down in the Arboretum a female pileated woodpecker was working away on a big basswood tree (you can tell the female pileateds because they don't have the red moustache on the face that the males have).
23 March 2009
Pileated Woodpecker
A closer look at the Pileated.
23 March 2009
Grey squirrels
Also in the Arboretum, I stopped by one of the best used squirrel trees. This is a large maple that for years has hosted families of grey squirrels. Last year, one of its branches was cut off, and I was worried that the entire tree would be taken down. But so far, it is still standing. As you can see, it is still being well used by squirrels. In one photo, you can see both the grey and the black phase squirrels peering out.
23 March 2009
Grey squirrels, black phase
In this photo, one of the black squirrels is lying such that its head is sticking out upside down, while another black one, which had just left the cavity, is clinging to the trunk. There was a lot of activity around this cavity and it was quite amusing to see one or another squirrel enter by putting a paw on the head of whomever had their head sticking out, and pushing down firmly in order to make room to dive in as well.
23 March 2009
Walnut hoard stashed by red squirrel
Speaking of squirrels, I noticed this walnut hoard that had been unearthed by a red squirrel at FWG.
19 March 2009
Red-winged blackbird
Yesterday, there were 5 red-winged blackbirds in the garden, several sitting on cattails in the pond, some nearby, their calls ringing through the garden.
19 March 2009
Song sparrow
Three common grackles were also new for this season, and a killdeer calling from the muddy fields adjacent to the New Woods, was another new spring arrival. Today, a song sparrow, yet another new arrival, was near the Ash woods.
19 March 2009
Song sparrow
Other birds from the last couple of days include American robin, starlings, dark-eyed juncos, cardinals (singing away), mourning doves, house finches (already pairing up), pine siskins giving their wheezy calls from various places around the garden, a pair of mallards in the pond, several American goldfinches, a couple of white-breasted nuthatches, a downy woodpecker, house sparrows, crows, a cooper's hawk calling as it circled above the pond chased by one crow giving its creaky door cry, and a red-tailed hawk being mobbed by crows over in the Arboretum.
The feeders are less busy these days for a variety of reasons, but make no mistake, they are still an important source of food for those birds who have come to rely on them. And when the weather gets colder again, they will be doubly important. Meantime, birds like chickadees and nuthatches are gleaning insects, mostly larvae, from leaves, twigs and the bark of trees. They are remarkably efficient at finding these often minute insects.
19 March 2009
Red peering out
I'm attaching a photo of a red squirrel not taken at FWG, but sent because it is interesting in a way. It shows a red peering out of a cavity, in an area just off Moodie Drive where red squirrels are surprisingly abundant, and greys are few. I say "surprisingly" because this is an almost entirely deciduous area. What is also notable is the lack of tree nests. There are a few here and there, but most look old and ready to fall, only a few look usable. However, there is a plethora of snags or standing dead trees and the squirrels (both red and grey) are making very good use of them.
9 March 2009
Mallard pair
Spring seems to be coming in fits and starts. The weekend was lovely and mild, today less so. Down in the Ravine, a pair of mallards were hanging out near where a pair tried to nest last year.
9 March 2009
Red-winged blackbird
At FWG this morning, the Ash woods feeder was pretty busy. One lone red-winged blackbird was there (Sandy and Marilyn saw two of these guys on the weekend at FWG), along with one pine siskin, a couple of juncos, downy woodpecker, lots of house finches and chickadees, cardinals and mourning doves.
9 March 2009
White-winged crossbill, male
Over in the Arboretum, the white-winged crossbills were back feeding on the alders, this time accompanied by 4 common redpolls.
9 March 2009
Red squirrel eating sap on walnut tree
Back at FWG, the red squirrels were continuing to feed on the remaining sumacs, as were several crows. Last Thursday, Claudia and I watched three red squirrels in a walnut tree tapping for sap. You could hear them gnawing the bark, and then lapping up the sap which in some places was hanging in great sappy globules :-) Here is a shot from Thursday. One of the squirrels looked to be in poor condition. I was reminded that a few years ago at this time of year, there was another little guy in the same area who also looked a bit rough. Julia nicknamed him "Scruffy"!
9 March 2009
Willow catkins
The buds on the willow by the pond are slowly beginning to open.
3 March 2009
White-winged crossbill.jpg
As you probably know, I'm interested in getting photos of animals feeding. Not only feeding on fruits and nuts, but on other animals (for example, I've seen mallards eating green frogs, crows eating chipmunks). But mostly I'm cataloguing the plants that feed wildlife around the garden and adjacent farm/arboretum.
Today I saw a small flock of 6 white-winged crossbills feeding on alder cones that were on the snow in the Arboretum. These are not from the native speckled alder, but from Manchurian alder. A crow was busy picking up snow that had been drenched with a brown liquid, probably coffee, but could have been another brown beverage.
3 March 2009
Irpex lacteus chewed by red squirrel
Also interesting, to me anyway, was a red squirrel feeding on Irpex lacteus.
3 March 2009
Red at nest
Still on reds (sorry), a red squirrel was sitting on and at times leaning against, its downed nest. This nest has been on the ground for a couple of weeks now and the squirrel has a cavity nearby. However, it was really touching to see this little one sitting there, eyes half closed, as if in reverie about his home. After a few minutes, he gave a very visible shake, and took off. When I passed by 40 minutes later, he was back at his downed home.
3 March 2009
Climbing out of the tunnel
And finally, a very feisty red squirrel kept popping in and out of its snow tunnel like a jack-in-the-box, completely unconcerned by my presence. I tried for a few photos, but the squirrel was moving pretty fast!
3 March 2009
Red emerging from tunnel
A little further out of the snow tunnel.
2 March 2009
Mourning dove
One of the few birds, apart from chickadees, cardinals and house finches, visible today.
2 March 2009
Manitoba maple chewed by voles
I've mentioned many times this winter, the use made by wildlife of Manitoba maple seeds. I know a lot of people dislike these trees. I'm not sure why, perhaps because they produce abundant seeds which sprout freely and grow quickly. But, they are native to Canada, as native as our purple coneflowers and other prairie plants that we seem happy to grow as natives in our gardens! At any rate, this tree has been very thoroughly girdled by voles, and like all the others also girdled in the past, will die. The voles have done a good job controlling Manitoba maples around the garden. They seem to be their tree of choice in winter.
2 March 2009
DSV in nest box
I checked a few of the nest boxes today to see if anyone had been using them since I cleaned them in the fall. This one contained a layer of dog-strangling vine (DSV) seed pods and fluff.
2 March 2009
Red burying walnut
As has often been the case this winter, the squirrels provided the most entertainment. This little red had found a walnut and running up the slope of the ravine, proceeded to very carefully bury it. He dug a hole, inserted the nut, and then very, very seriously patted the snow back into place, turning back to give a couple of extra pats just to make sure the walnut would stay buried!
2 March 2009
Grey squirrel nest.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of all the activity surrounding this nest. While on the far side of the ravine, I noticed a grey (black) squirrel in the ravine busily stripping a cattail of lengths of fibre. After several minutes he ran up the opposite side of the ravine and into a tree with this nest. Just after he disappeared into the nest with his booty, another squirrel emerged, a grey, grey squirrel this time, and ran down to the same spot. He, or she, collected more cattail strips and took these back to the nest also. I went around to get a better look at the nest from the north side of the ravine, and just as I got into viewing position, two black squirrels emerged, rushed down the trunk and dispersed. One back to the cattails, the other to pick up some leaves and other debris lying on the snow beneath the tree. These he took back up to the nest. Meanwhile the grey came back again and gathered some more leaves, also brought up to the nest. Then one of the black ones came back empty-handed. Instead of going up the tree, he picked up some black locust seed pods and stripped the seeds from them, having a nosh. It was too darn cold to continue watching further, although had it been a little warmer I'd have settled in for a long wait to see what else transpired with these three.
