15-MAY-2014
Northern green frog (Rana clamitans)
Quite a few green frogs at the pond, though I didn't hear any calling while I was at the garden today. They have a distinctive sound, described variously as sounding like a banjo being plucked, or as a "gunk" sound.
15-MAY-2014
American toad (Bufo americanus)
Robert sent us some photos of mating toads a few days ago, and today the toads are still mating, still trilling, but probably not quite as actively as previously. This one was on a mat of dried cattails in the pond, while nearby a couple more were sticking their heads out of the water.
14-MAY-2014
Northern green frog (Rana clamitans)
This Green Frog, photographed by Robert, doesn't look very green. But the large tympanum (that circle behind its eye that acts as an eardrum) makes it easy to identify. It was enjoying the sunshine in our Backyard Garden along with four others.
Green frogs vary in colouration from a rich vivid green, to almost brown, often with speckles or splotches (so scientific my description!) as here to none at all. Their size varies greatly and some of the very large ones, almost entirely green, look strikingly similar to bullfrogs at first.
14-MAY-2014
Red-tailed Hawk
This hawk, photographed by Robert, can be identified by the band of darker feathers across its chest. This one is a juvenile, so lacks the distinctive reddish tail feathers that give this species its name.
14-MAY-2014
White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
White Trilliums are finally appearing - in our Backyard Garden and in the Ash Woodlot.
This is Ontario's provincial flower.
11-MAY-2014
Pair of cardinals
It is nesting time for cardinals. The males often bring food to their chosen female, as part of the courtship ritual.
11-MAY-2014
Bumblebee on tulip
A very pretty little tulip, one of the smaller ones used often in rockeries, has attracted a bumble bee.
11-MAY-2014
Forget-me-not
A pretty cluster of forget-me-not flowers. Although not native, these beautiful little flowers do attract various native pollinating insects.
10-MAY-2014
American Toads
According to Robert, "The pond was active and loud today" as American Toads gathered in the water for their annual mating days.
Some years, the toads are so active in their breeding frenzy that the water is in constant motion. As the toads mate, the females lay their long string of eggs. Once the mating is over, the toads will head back to their upland habitat.
07-MAY-2014
Tree Swallows
Tree swallows have moved into one of the boxes in our Old Field and are busily building a nest inside.
Swallows get busy with staking a claim to a nest box and beginning the process of nest-building soon after arriving back in our area. By early July they have left the garden. Once the young have fledged they're off, no lingering as many other species do. They give real meaning to the phrase "Post-breeding dispersal"! Swallows soon congregate with other swallows and by mid-summer you can see them lining up along hydro wires, or fence posts, swooping after insects, getting ready for the journey south.
10-MAY-2014
Tree Swallow
Another photo from Robert, capturing a tree swallow in acrobatic flight. No wonder they can swoop within centimetres of the pond surface to pluck an insect from the water or air.
