14-NOV-2017
Common milkweed seeds (Asclepias syriaca)
Hopefully these seeds, and the others I saw at the garden, will find fertile ground and grow well next year, providing a food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars.
Puffball
Barry photographed this very attractive mushroom which looks like a puffball, though which one I don't know.
Carbon balls (Daldinia)
A composite of three images taken by Barry of the carbon balls, AKA King Alfred's Cakes, so named for their charred appearance.
14-NOV-2017
Black knot fungus on prunus (Dibotryon morbosum)
This is a plant pathogen that affects Prunus species (plums, cherries). Unless the tree has numerous black knot fungi, it doesn't usually negatively affect the tree. We usually only see a few on the prunus at the garden, and it has not caused a problem thus far anyway.
14-NOV-2017
Backyard Garden at FWG
A view eastward over the Backyard Garden (BYG) component of the FWG. There were numerous birds around the garden today, and many were at the feeder here in the BYG. The large juniper on the left attracted big flocks of starlings and a few cedar waxwings, feasting on the berries. At the feeder were:
dark-eyed juncos,
black-capped chickadees,
american goldfinches,
mourning dove,
downy woodpecker,
white-breasted nuthatch,
northern cardinal
14-NOV-2017
White-breasted nuthatch
The peanut feeder at the BYG (previous photo) is very popular with nuthatches and woodpeckers.
14-NOV-2017
European starling
Huge flocks of starlings numbering perhaps 300+ birds were around the garden for an hour or so, including a smaller group who came to the BYG to feed on the juniper berries.
14-NOV-2017
European starlings
A small fraction of the many starlings that visited the garden for an hour or so today.
14-NOV-2017
Feeder birds
A chickadee, house finch and white-breasted nuthatch on the feeder in the Backyard Garden (BYG) today.
14-NOV-2017
More feeder birds
In addition to the birds in the previous shot, here they were joined by an american goldfinch.
14-NOV-2017
Northern cardinal
Another feeder visitor in the Backyard Garden.
14-NOV-2017
American robins
Flocks of robins were feeding on any available fruit including crabapples, buckthorn, prunus, and were joined at times by smaller flocks of cedar waxwings and huge flocks of starlings.