30 April 2009
Firefly larva, Lampyrid sp.
Today was much quieter in terms of birds seen and heard. However, insects were abundant.
I saw my first dragonfly of the year, a common green darner This one was a male (brilliant blue abdomen). A few seconds later I saw a milbert's tortoiseshell butterfly, and later in the old field area, another one. Three cabbage whites were also around.
I was in the Ash Woods when it occurred to me to look for firefly larvae (having just seen some yesterday, elsewhere). I turned around and looked at the tree behind me and... there it was, one firefly larva. "Well", I thought, "that was easy. Now I'll see how many more I can find." After more than 20 minutes of peering intently at a number of trees I had found no more and was feeling rather deflated :-) These are odd-looking larva, dressed in armour. They hunt snails at night and hang out in trees by day. What a life. Until they metamorphose of course.
30 April 2009
Slime mould (Hemitrichia clavata)
I came across a very rotten log, so soft it was like a sponge. Turning it over I saw these minuscule slime moulds which I think are probably Hemitrichia clavata. You can see the sporangia or fruitbodies hanging from a deep cup. No Carabids, which is what I was hoping to find.
30 April 2009
Red squirrel with walnut
This cheeky little guy was flying along his arboreal, aerial highway with a walnut in his mouth, and still managing to keep an eye on me and Tasha below.
30 April 2009
Andrenid bee excavating nest hole
I spent some time watching an Andrenid bee excavating a hole and was amazed at how swiftly she was able to dig herself down into the soil. Daffodils were being explored by quite a few bee species including Nomadas.
30 April 2009
Magnolia
Our two magnolia trees are in full bloom after a day of rain and a day of sun.
30 April 2009
DSV, Dog-strangling vine/Pale swallowwort
It is truly astonishing how fast things are growing. It is as if once having started, there is no stopping all those trees, shrubs, flowers from leafing out, popping up, tripling in size almost as we watch. In the Ash woods, white trillium is now appearing, red trillium is in full flower, herb robert has appeared, mayapple shot up overnight, and on and on... Meanwhile, the bloodroot is starting to fade. Wasn't it only yesterday that it appeared? Spring is too brief.
DSV is already sticking its cheery little head out of the ground. Now, how did that happen? On Wednesday there was virtually no sign of it.
30 April 2009
Pierre rototilling
Diane has been busy all day with the Butterfly Meadow. Starting early this morning when AAFC rototilled a large area, and carrying on until mid-afternoon, she got an impressive amount done. Here you can see the site being rototilled by Pierre, from AAFC, who did a beautiful job.
30 April 2009
Rototilled area in butterfly meadow
Here is the site after the rototilling. The object of this exercise is to chop up all the DSV roots, remove them (volunteers sift the soil and remove all bits of DSV root), and then plant with wildflowers attractive to butterflies and their larvae.
30 April 2009
Another rototilled section of the Butterfly meadow
This section is part of the area that was worked on in 2008. It is now on the way to being ready for planting.
30 April 2009
Diane inspecting the mountain of last year's DSV
A pretty impressive mountain of dead material raked from the butterfly meadow.
30 April 2009
Cottontail rabbit
Early this morning, Diane saw two rabbits near the Centre.
30 April 2009
Mallard, male, resting
This mallard was resting on the packed down cattails at the pond, but clearly keeping a wary eye on me.