molting woodpecker

 Mullein blooms over a long time in the summer. Some of the flower stalks have produced seeds.        Birds molt old feathers and grow new ones after nesting and fledging their young.  This Downy Woodpecker has a few more new feathers to sprout, but it is hungry enough to come out for lunch.

empty nest

 

Cornell University has a program called NestWatch  https://nestwatch.org/ where citizen scientists report on birds' nests they see.  I missed this one until now; it was hidden very well in the reeds near the pond.

fledgling robin

The nest is nearby. When the young American Robins fledged, this one flew only a little distance.  

It sat a long time waiting for someone to bring food. 

yellow loosestrife

 

spiderwort

The Spiderwort Tradescantia in the riparian area around the pond bloomed for a few days.  Then, the flowers disappeared.

Critters have been eating plants and leaving evidence behind . . .  broken off flower stalks, chewed reeds, left-behind stems, grass sheared off at ground level.

The muskrats swim across the pond to gather food on the opposite shores. The rabbits browse among the plants around the pond. I wonder who ate the Spiderwort?

smooth oxeye

Heliopsis helianthoides, also know as Smooth Oxeye, is flowering in the wildflower patch near the pond.  Smooth Oxeye has a long blooming period, with the first blooms appearing by early July lasting through September.  Goldenrod will flower later, but there are not many yellow blooms now.

bergamot

On June 24 Red Bee Balm Monarda didyma started to show her deep red buds.

On July 3, Red Bee Balm is in full red bloom alongside lavender Wild Bergamot and yellow Smooth Oxeye.  Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa, is a native wildflower with showy summer-blooming pink to lavender flowers. 

Bee Balm and bergamot are all in the Monarda genus of the mint family of plants. Sometimes they are referred to as Horsemint or Oswego Tea.