Staghorn sumac
These vivid red cones are yet another winter brightener. They are also an important food source for birds and squirrels. Not only do birds eat the seeds, but some, such as chickadees, probe the flowerheads for insect eggs and cocoons. Squirrels often chew off the 'cones' and stash them in forks of trees.
Dark-eyed junco
A fluffed-up junco is sitting in just the right spot to catch the warming rays of the sun.
Crabapples
Another way to add colour to a winter day... seek out the remaining crabapples for your photo, as Barry did. The ornamental crabapples at FWG are of many varieties, and have been there, for the most part, since the 1960's. SOme are now dying off, others are still thriving. Most provide food for wildlife, but there are some, evidently bred to be unpalatable to birds and others, that retain their fruit all winter long, not a one eaten by a bird or a squirrel.
26-NOV-2012
Queen anne's lace
Barry got a pretty shot of the dried flower heads of queen anne's lace holding little balls of snow,like mini sno-cones.
26-NOV-2012
snow on spruce
The season's first snowfall looks very pretty in this photo by Barry. Most of the snow has now melted, but not all... and more to come soon, I'm betting.
Northern cardinal, male
Another shot of the beautiful male cardinal who really brightens up a winter day with his striking colour.
26-NOV-2012
Northern cardinal, male
A quite interesting composition to this photo by Barry, of the male cardinal at the bird feeder. Winter is the time when you begin seeing cardinals in small flocks, rather than in ones and twos. One winter, we regularly had a flock of about 8 around the garden, but since those days, flocks of 3 to 5 are more common. "Flock" seems an incorrect word for such a small number, perhaps I should say a group of...
26-NOV-2012
Northern cardinal, female
The female cardinals sport a more subdued plumage than the flashy males, but they are equally beautiful I think. Barry photographed this one in the blue spruce in the BYG.
26-NOV-2012
White-throated sparrow
Barry was out photographing at the garden, when he spied this beautiful white-throated sparrow and obtained this excellent photo. Most of these sparrows have moved through but the occasional one still lingers.
26-NOV-2012
Ice patterns
Intriguing patterns on the ice-covered pond make a winter abstract in this photo by Barry.
Red squirrel
Winter is the time when red squirrels are most easily observed. Less wary than during breeding season, when they have young to protect, they are now out and about, focused on gathering food, eating food, and protecting food! You'll see sumac cones, crabapples, mushrooms, walnuts, etc. stashed in forks of trees, piled on the ground, piled in cavities (where a tree is big enough.... one large walnut tree in the Arboretum every year has a massive cache of walnuts about 10 feet above the ground in a cavity). Barry took this pretty photo.
26-NOV-2012
Grrey squirrel
These squirrels too, are busy upgrading their dreys (leafy nests), or finding food. Unlike the red squirrels who create big caches for the most part, these guys scatter-hoard, burying a nut here, and a nut there. This is why oaks and walnuts sprout up in so many places!