07-MAY-2014
American Goldfinch, male
The males have now assumed their full breeding plumage, after a fall and winter of drab olive colours. These birds don't nest until mid-summer, making them one of the latest of our local breeding species to begin the process of nesting.
07-MAY-2014
Ruby-crowned kinglet
"Very active flitty" Kinglet in the Backyard Garden. Both species of kinglets, golden-crowned, and this ruby-crowned, arrive back in the region in large numbers in early spring. You can hear them singing their very high-pitched song, so high-pitched in the case of the golden-crowned that it can be inaudible to some. The latter species occasionally overwinters in small numbers, but generally goes undetected. In spring, however, both species are incredibly active and Robert's description of them as "very active flitty" is right on the mark.
07-MAY-2014
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
A beautiful image of this very common overwintering butterfly, by Heather. In Britain these are known as the Camberwell Beauty. Once the days warm up in early spring, sometimes even when snow is still present, these butterflies emerge from their long hibernation. While most butterflies overwinter as eggs or larvae, these and a handful of others including the eastern comma (next image) spend the winter in adult form.
Eastern comma (Polygonia comma)
As mentioned in the previous text, this is another local butterfly species that spends the winter as an adult. In this fine photo by Barry, the adult is looking pretty unscathed for having gone through a long hard winter.
07-MAY-2014
Barn Swallows
Heather photographed this group of barn swallows at the garden. No longer as common a sight as once upon a time, sadly. In the early days of the garden, when the Interpretive Centre was little used, barn swallows several times nested on the building near the front door. As the building became busier, they gave up. We installed nesting platforms but they were never used. Now, we only occasionally see barn swallows around the garden. They nest nearby, but not in the garden itself.
07-MAY-2014
Hairy Woodpecker
This hairy woodpecker is the bird responsible for stripping the bark off ash trees across the region. This is not what has killed the trees, however. It is what the woodpecker is seeking that has done that, the larvae of the emerald ash borer, a small and very pretty, Buprestid beetle.
Hairy woodpeckers are overall, much larger than downy woodpeckers and they have a much longer bill. Seen side by side, the difference is striking, but there's no doubt that from a distance it can sometimes be difficult to tell them apart, particularly when one is just learning to ID birds.
07-MAY-2014
Pileated Woodpecker, male
Excellent photo by Robert, catching the long probing tongue of this male pileated, as it looks for insects in this tree near the Old Field. Pileated woodpeckers have been unusually abundant in this region this past winter, and are being seen frequently by birders and casual observers in numerous locations. Like other woodpeckers, these birds nest in tree cavities, but because of their size require a larger tree and cavity than say a downy woodpecker. One year they nested in the Arboretum, and at the end of summer the dead tree they nested in fell down. I was lucky enough to come across this early in the morning before it got cleared away and could see the very deep and long nest hole ending in a bowl-shape, they'd excavated. No nest material is used, other than what bits of 'sawdust' fall to the bottom of the nest chamber. Fortunately, the tree stayed standing long enough to allow the young to fledge.
05-MAY-2014
Red maple flowers (Acer rubrum)
Gorgeous vivid red flowers appear in early spring before the leaves.
05-MAY-2014
Red trillium (Trillium erectum)
Just beginning to flower fully, the red trilliums seem to always bloom before the white ones.
05-MAY-2014
Blue beech bark (Carpinus caroliniana)
As mentioned in the next image, another name for this tree is musclewood. If you look closely, you can see how the name developed, for the bark looks sinewy, muscled.
05-MAY-2014
Blue beech bract (Carpinus caroliniana)
This is actually the dried bract, all that remains of what would have been a long cluster of leafy bracts bearing fruit (seeds). Now it is tissue thin but still very attractive. We have only one blue beech in the garden, and it has flourished and done well since being planted about 15 years ago. Despite the name, this is not related to beech trees, but is in fact, in the birch family (Betulaceae). Other names include american hornbeam, musclewood (see previous photo), and ironwood. The latter is very confusing because there is in our region another tree that goes by this name.
05-MAY-2014
Fungi
The leaf pile left on the west side of the woods last fall has sprouted some odd looking growths. These mushrooms are just popping up, and it will be interesting to go back a bit later and try to ID them (not that fungi ID is easy!!).