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| Fletcher Wildlife Garden | profile | all galleries >> Previous FWG blogs >> 2008 Blogs >> FWG blog: November 2008 | tree view | thumbnails | slideshow |
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I collected a few seeds of various plants commonly found at FWG, and photographed them using a microscope. It opens up a whole new world when doing this because the seeds of many plants are so minute that we rarely see them or pay attention to them.
Another shot of the Queen Anne's lace seed, this one showing a much more spiky appearance.
The seed stem of the common plantain is pretty uninspiring! But when you take it apart and look at the seeds, each individual seed is quite lovely.
This is quite decorative! Goldenrod seeds are also eaten by many species of birds and small animals.
These seeds are minute and yet they too are important food for birds. I've seen chickadees and finches perched on the stems of these plants and pecking out the seeds.
This tiny seed is rarely seen as it is normally encased in a fuzzy red coating. Scores of these seeds, coated in red fuzz, make up the conical-shaped sumac clusters we see. These too are another important food source for birds and animals.
The common hoptree near FWG in the Arboretum, also has lovely seeds as these clusters show. Squirrels are mad about them!
The minute winged seeds of the birch are absolutely beautiful when viewed close up. When a catkin is broken apart, this is what you get. These seeds are eaten by many birds, but American goldfinches in particular seem to really enjoy them.
Today was lovely and mild, and very pretty with the snow softening the landscape.
In the New Woods, there were four red squirrels, three of them hanging out together.
It was fun to once again look for animal tracks and signs of activity in the snow. Here is a photo
Meanwhile, a little further on, a chipmunk had staked out a spot underneath a crabapple and was busy storing the fallen bounty in his cheek pouch.
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