12-NOV-2013
New bench
Thanks to our volunteers, we have another new bench at the garden. This one is south of the ash woods, with a view of the feeder. We now have four benches around the garden, two in the Backyard Garden, one by the butterfly meadow, and this one.
09-NOV-2013
Male cardinal
Robert Berry photographed this striking male cardinal foraging on the ground under a very crowded feeder. Once winter comes, we often find small flocks of cardinals hanging around together at the garden. The most I've (Christine) ever seen at one time has been 8. Many birds flock in winter, the reasons are varied, and we don't really know why, but speculate that more eyes find more food, and there is also, no doubt, safety in numbers.
09-NOV-2013
Female cardinal
Nearby a female cardinal preens herself, photographed by Robert.
09-NOV-2013
Black-capped chickadee
Robert photographed this busy chickadee coming to the feeder. If you stand near a feeder for any length of time, you'll see chickadees are by the far the most industrious of visitors, flying back and forth constantly. However, it is not only at feeders that they are busy feeders. Watch them forage on sumac seedheads, or search twigs, trunks, branches and even still-hanging dead leaves, probing for insect eggs, larvae or pupae.
09-NOV-2013
House finch
Robert photographed this male house finch, and noted only two were at the feeder. House finches are not native to Ontario, but over the last 25 years or so, their numbers increased, and about 12 years ago we'd regularly see flocks of 30 or more house finches during the winter months. In recent years, we have seen fewer and fewer, and big winter flocks seem to be a thing of the past.
09-NOV-2013
Downy woodpecker
This male downy was digging into soft rotted wood looking for insects. Woodpeckers are voracious predators on insects, as well as being seed and suet feeders. The larger hairy woodpecker is also seen at FWG, but less frequently than these guys. Last year was an exception, however, as hairy woodpeckers were commonly found flaking bark from dying ash trees and feeding on emerald ash borer larvae.
09-NOV-2013
Checking to see who is coming
Chipmunks maintain 'larders' in their underground dens, which they provision with all manner of seeds to see them through the coming cold weather. As they are not true hibernators, they will occasionally awake and feed during the winter.
09-NOV-2013
Backyard Garden
Robert photograhed this pretty scene showing the backyard garden ready for winter. We leave most seed heads for hungry creatures over the winter, then do the cutting back in spring. We also add leaves between the plants to provide extra shelter for insects and other wildlife.
09-NOV-2013
Nursery ready for winter
In the nursery, plant boxes are filled with pots of wildflowers and covered with a thick layer of leaves. Our plant boxes are made of 2 by 6s, with hardware cloth (wire grid) bottoms and removable lids made of hardware cloth in a wooden frame. We need to protect our plants this way, because otherwise small animals uproot some and hide their stashes in others, dramatically reducing our inventory of native plants for next year's sale.
09-NOV-2013
Just before the snow flurries
Robert snapped this lovely fall image of dried goldenrods, bird boxes, and bare trees and shrubs just before snow started falling. Although the nest boxes may appear empty, they often hold red squirrels and, more often, mice, sheltering from the winter in them.
04-NOV-2013
One chipmunk, four poses
This endearing little chipmunk sat on the fence by the butterfly meadow and ate something he'd found on the ground and carried with him to the top of the fence.
04-NOV-2013
American robin
There was a very vocal and very active flock of robins in the garden today. This one was photographed in the butterfly meadow, but they ranged all over the garden searching for food, before carrying on with their journey.