30-SEP-2015
Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
A native shrub that flowers in the autumn, thus a nice addition to the garden for late season blossoms and colour.
30-SEP-2015
New england asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Life was easier when the scientific name was Aster novae-angliae (as it still is in older field guides) rathter than the tongue-twisting new generic name. These asters are a native species, common across the region and in the garden, and greatly loved by bees and other insects seeking nectar, as well as seed-eating birds, (CH)
30-SEP-2015
Mallard pair
Found in the amphibian pond, this pair of mallards were first noticed hiding in the cattails, but later came out and fed amidst the duckweed. (CH)
30-SEP-2015
Chipping sparrow
There were numerous chipping sparrows at the garden today, along with flocks of goldfinches, starlings, yellow-rumped warblers, and robins. A mixed flock of warblers descended to feed in the trees of the old woods, including black-throated green warblers, cape may warblers, and the aforementioned yellow-rumped warblers. The rare western kingbird (new for the FWG list) was seen again today and has been hanging around for several days now. (CH)
30-SEP-2015
Yellow-rumped warbler
A small number of yellow-rumped warblers joined a large flock of american goldfinches to eat the aster seeds, which are abundant in many locations around the garden. (CH)
30-SEP-2015
Puffball (Calvatia gigantea)
Autumn is a great time to look for mushrooms and fungi of all sorts. Puffballs can appear earlier in the summer, but now is a good opportunity to look for them. This one was larger than a baseball. (CH)
23-SEP-2015
Splendid dwarf spider (Hypselistes florens)
A beautiful and eye-catching little spider, made more so in this photo by Diane, perched on a sunflower petal. They are only a few mm in length, so not easy to get such a good photo. They make sheet-like webs near the ground.(CH)
23-SEP-2015
Splendid dwarf spider (Hypselistes florens)
Another shot of this colourful and tiny spider by Diane.
23-SEP-2015
Red-legged grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum)
A large and very common grasshopper, the females often found ovipositing in soft gravel or soil on trails.(CH)
23-SEP-2015
Grass-carrying wasp (Isodontia mexicana)
A small wasp in the Sphecidae family (the thread-waisted wasps, these can be seen carrying long strands of grass to their nest sites. At the garden, they have used the bee hotel which Sandy constructed a few years ago. (CH)
23-SEP-2015
Black arches moth caterpillar (Melanchra assimilis), #10295
Diane found this colourful caterpillar at the garden, and it also represents a new moth species for the FWG moth list. These are fairly common in region (I've seen several recently elsewhere) but this is a first for FWG. (CH)
21-SEPT-2015
Northern corn rootworm (Diabrotica barberi)
Barry found and photographed this little green Chrysomelid beetle. The Diabrotica species belong to the subfamily Galerucinae, the skeletonizing leaf beetles, the same group to which the beetles introduced to fight purple loosestrife, belong.(CH)