07-MAY-2013
Mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
Two mourning cloaks (or camberwell beauties as they are called in Britain), one in the ash woods, one near the birch grove. Compared to most of the tattered overwintering ones I have seen, this one is in almost perfect condition.
07-MAY-2013
Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon)
Two spring azures, both male, flitting around the edge of the ash woods. These are our earliest 'blue' butterfly to appear. And they are blue... when they open their wings, the males show a brilliant flash of their very blue wings.
07-MAY-2013
Green frog (Rana clamitans)
This happy looking frog was in the BYG pond. I didn't spend much time looking, and though I saw only one, there are doubtless others there, if they survived our long cold winter in that small pond.
07-MAY-2013
Snail on wild plum
Even this snail seemed to enjoy the wild plum, oozing along the branch, while various bee species nectared on the flowers
07-MAY-2013
Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)
The early morning sun backlights the fresh green leaves and the old 'cones' on this sumac shrub. Fresh leaves are delicate and beautiful and now is the time to see them on many of our trees and shrubs. With the warm weather (+27c today), everything is growing fast, right in front of our eyes.
07-MAY-2013
Red oak leaves and pollen flowers (Quercus rubra)
The oak leaves look so bright and soft here, unlike the tougher leaves they soon become.
07-MAY-2013
wild plum (Prunus)
Abundant in the garden, these thicket forming shrubs or small trees are at their best right now. Bees find their nectar a magnet and on one tree swarms of nomada, small carpenter, and sweat bees, as well as bumble bees, were found.
07-MAY-2013
Black maple (Acer nigrum) new growth
Lime green against the sky, these lovely maple leaves with their flowers, make a vivid image. Black maple leaves are very soft and 'fuzzy' underneath, a good way to check whether or not the tree is a black maple or sugar maple.
07-MAY-2013
Bleeding heart (Dicentra)
A gorgeous pink garden plant, not our native species, but still lovely. This is growing in the Backyard Garden of the Fletcher Wildlife Garden.
01-MAY-2013
Magnolia
There are two magnolia trees at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden, both planted there long before we took over the site. The flowers have just opened and were a magnet for bees and flies, but particularly bees. Sweat bees, nomada bees, andrenids, others I couldn't ID, all swarming around the flowers, landing and crawling into the centre, back out and on to the next...
The warm weather also brought out more than insects. Gray treefrogs were calling from various locations in the garden, and toads were trilling in the ravine. I expect in a day or two they will also be calling from the pond.
01-MAY-2013
White-throated sparrow
Sitting on the compost bin, this white-throated sparrow was one of several at the garden today. Last week there were many, but now there are only lingering birds. They nest in the region, but not at the garden.
01-MAY-2013
Eastern phoebe
A tiny bit of plant matter can be seen in the bill of this phoebe. It is one of a pair building a nest at the garden. If they nest successfully, it will be the first nesting of the species at the Fletcher garden!
Speaking of nesting, the red-breasted nuthatch pair have seemingly abandoned their attempts to nest in a maple snag. Perhaps this is for the best, because the location was very public, and very easily interfered with.
