creatures in the rain barrel

 

Deep in the nearly-empty rain barrel, a Gray Treefrog Hyla versicolor clings with its suction-cup feet.  Tree frogs can climb most surfaces with ease -- even this slick dark wall -- because each pad on each foot allows strong close mucous-enhanced contact. 

Outside the rain barrel, a Northern Walkingstick Diapheromera femorata clings to the outer edge on a surface of the same material.
Walkingsticks are leaf skeletonisers, eating the tissues between the leaf veins, pausing for a while and then walking on to new leaves.

Posing on a green leaf, the Walkingstick shows off its twig disguise and demonstrates how its front legs are attached just behind its eyes.  Usually, these two front appendages are held straight out along the antennae.

Yellow Goats Beard

The seed head of the Yellow Goats Beard Tragopogon dubius is a fluffy ball 3-1/2 inches across. The elongated seeds stand stiffly forming a ball.  Each seed has brown hairs at the top forming a tiny 'umbrella' plume; when ripe, the seeds release at the bottom and breezes help the plume carry them to next season's growing site.  This is one of Mother Nature's methods for seed dispersal.

Yellow Goats Beard blossom

juvenile Bluebird

This little Eastern Bluebird comes from the first clutch of eggs laid and hatched in the nestbox.  The adults have started clutch number two with eggs in the nest.

mushrooms

The woods is full of mushrooms.  These are growing on a downed buckthorn branch.

bright blooms in the shade

False Solomon's Seal Maianthemum racemosum or Smilacina racemosa blooms brightly in the shady woods.  The blossom is a stalk bearing clusters of tiny star-shaped flowers.  With its bloom, each plant stretches the appearance of its long curving stem. Later this summer the plant will  have a cluster of waxy berries.

mealworms for nestlings

A beautiful morning.  I put a fresh supply of mealworms in the plate.  Eastern Bluebirds, nesting in the distant box, are the first to gather breakfast for their babies.  What more can I say?

bee on cranesbill

While admiring the Cranesbill 'Karmina' in the gardens today, I noticed a fuzzy bee hurrying from one to another of the blooms that are just beginning to open.  I believe it is a Carpenter Bee Xylocopa virginica, commonly a nester in various types of wood; they eat pollen and nectar.

sweet woodruff blooms among the creeping charlie

At the edge of the wild wild woods . . .  this year, the ground ivy has crept into the Sweet Woodruff Galium odoratum.  Their blooms complement one another nicely in the shade.  Ground Ivy, Glechoma hederacea is also known as the invasive "creeping charlie" but I begged some to fill an area where nothing else pretty would grow; thanks Linde!

nestwatch update

Peek inside some of the nestboxes in the wild wild woods . . .

This box (above) holds a Tree Swallow nest -- a cozy cup formed of grasses with feathers for additional warmth. As she laid the eggs, one each day, she hid them under the feathers until she was ready to incubate them. 
Now they are clustered together; she sits with her body pressed close to them until they hatch.
The nylon lines suspended on this nestbox deter other species from claiming all the boxes; Tree Swallows and Bluebirds are aerial feeders and can maneuver between the lines to access this box.

Five Eastern Bluebird eggs are cozy in their nest cup of woven grasses.  This nestbox was lined with a deep soft cushion of moss by Chickadees before the Bluebirds took possession.









That pair of Black-capped Chickadees moved to another nestbox where they laid a clutch of 7 eggs.  Six babies hatched and five survived a wet cold week of weather.  They all gape hungrily when a parent brings food. The little one on the left is closing his beak after gulping an insect.  The others are still calling for a meal as the adult departs to hunt another.


In another nestbox, House Wrens have woven a grass shelter within a twig structure (below).  Two eggs so far; they usually lay 5 or 6, sometimes as many as 10.

sweet flag

A small cluster of Sweet Flag Acorus americanus grows in a wet spot at the edge of the wild wild woods.  A cylindrical form protrudes from amidst the leaves, showing pale bumps today that will become the plant's flowers.  Mother Nature arranges them in a diamond pattern.  So subtle, you have to look closely to spot the few flower structures among the green and white sword-like leaves.

Tree Swallow nest

One nest box in the wild wild woods is being used by Tree Swallows Tachycineta bicolor this year.  Yesterday there were two eggs clearly visible, today maybe three.  Tree Swallows poke feathers into the grass structure of their nest to hide the eggs, so it is hard to tell for sure.  Usually they lay 4 to 7 eggs per clutch.  Today while I was monitoring the cam, the adult perched at the opening and kept poking her head in to check on her nest.

tulips

Tulipa 'Marilyn'.  A long slender lily-flowered tulip variety.  Blooms later than other tulips in my gardens.  Bulbs were a gift from my sister when she visited the the Amsterdam Tulip Museum.

maple samara

 

One of the prettiest maple samaras I've seen this year!  

Even though only half of this pair developed, it is lovely in the sunlight.

pollinator magnets

Agastache seed heads stood through winter at the edge of the wild wild woods (see post 2/3/17).  Now, with warming soil, the new sprouts are coming up to bloom another season.

These fragrant showy blossoms are vital to my pollinator garden. 

Also called Hyssop or Hummingbird Mint . . .  these are "Honey Bee Blue".

first egg Eastern Bluebirds 2017

buttercup

 Subtle spring blossoms are visible in the woods to a wanderer gazing down.

This Ranunculus aborvitus flower, Little-leaf Buttercup, is only 1/4 inch across.

The pale blooms give the woods a glow with sunlight filtered by newly unfurling leaves above.

chipping sparrow

The male Chipping Sparrow displays his finest look, ready to attract a mate with his intense rufous cap.  A common sparrow wherever woods are interspersed with grassy areas.

migrants

Among the migrating birds in the woods this week are a flock of White-throated Sparrows.  They show up in the late autumn on their way south, and in the springtime on their way to nesting grounds in northern Minnesota and Canada.

Their yellow lores make it easy to spot them among the foliage and branches . . .   until the warblers show up.  Some of them have yellow feathers too.

NestWatch starts

Six nestboxes are up, ready for the NestWatch citizen science project.  We monitor nests in these boxes and look for nests in the trees or shrubs on our property. http://nestwatch.org/   For several weeks, we've seen Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinals, American Robins, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers acting like it is nesting season.

The bluebirds selected box number 4 for their nest.  It faces an open expanse of grass where the adults will hunt grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, caterpillers, and dragonflies to feed the young birds once they hatch.

Chickadees had lined the floor with moss,
but the Bluebirds took over and added a grass cup above the moss.

swallowtail

This beauty was in my studio this morning!
I collect plant specimens in the autumn and keep them to draw or paint indoors during the cold months.  I recall pulling this chrysalis off the deck umbrella a few months ago, and placed it among the interesting things in my art room. 

between garden and woods

In summer, the Agastache blooms blue and provides sweet nectar for bees and butterflies.  Now, the seed heads stand in sunlight, a favorite food for Chickadees and Finches.

gooseberry winter

Walking through the woods in snow.

Some plants display interesting winter personalities, very different from their growing season garb.

The Eastern Prickly Gooseberry Ribes cynosbati reaches out its long curving canes to call my attention to their defense of juicy berries this coming summer.

sparkly snow on seedhead

photo by Julie Pritschet

red bellies

 























A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers live in the wild wild woods.  This winter, they come to the feeder tray one at a time, so observers might think there is only one.  But they give themselves away when they call to one another from different trees.  The male has more red feathers on his head, extending from his lores all the way to the nape of his neck.  And yes, they do have a patch of red or orange feathers on their bellies.

ground camouflage

Camouflage of brown and gray and buff.  The outfit allows a sparrow to blend in among the leaves and litter while hunting for seeds, fruits, and insects on the ground.  But the pure white throat, striped head, and yellow lores gives away this White Throated Sparrow.  They've come south for the winter from Canada where they breed and raise young in nests on the ground.