OK, here's one more post catching up with April, May, and June around our house!
Yet More Birds
The trail camera in the woods made several videos featuring cool birds this spring. The following video compiles a few especially exciting clips: First, some deer triggered the camera while a Barred Owl happened to be calling nearby -- I've heard a pair of Barred Owls calling individually and together a whole lot this year, and I suspect they've been nesting somewhere in the woods surrounding our property. Next is a video of a Wild Turkey foraging in the underbrush; it's always neat to see these big birds up close. Then, there's another deer-triggered video that captured a Wood Thrush's amazing song; I hear Wood Thrushes only occasionally around here, and getting to hear this song so clearly is such a treat. And finally, incredibly, there's a video of an adult Ruffed Grouse and two tiny chicks foraging at midday. I'd glimpsed Ruffed Grouse in our woods only a couple of times before, and then this family group wandered past the trail camera on three different days. I love Ruffed Grouse a whole lot, and I'm so happy to know that we have them as neighbors.
Amphibians and Others
I've known for a few years now that Gray Treefrogs live around here, and I suspect that they're fairly common, because I hear them trilling every year in May, June, and July. I'd never actually seen one of these mostly arboreal and well-camouflaged amphibians, however, until this year.... On the night of May 22, with warm temperatures and heavy rain -- wonder of wonders -- two Gray Treefrogs appeared right our front porch. Oh my goodness!
Paul was admiring these frogs with me, and he pointed out that their skin is all bumpy and mottled, a lot like a toad. But their shape is so treefrog-y, all low to the ground and spread out, and with those big round suction-cup toes.
These two treefrogs were very active -- we'd turn off the light and go inside, and then we'd look out onto the porch again a few minutes later and they'd be in entirely different spots. One of the treefrogs perched on top of our door frame, like the world's most adorable gargoyle:
The other treefrog ended up clinging to a window, which meant we got to see a treefrog belly. :)
The Gray Treefrogs were the stars of the show, but tons of other amphibians also kept showing up near our porch on that warm rainy night. This little Spring Peeper was adorable and bold:
And here's a Red Eft (juvenile Red-spotted Newt) with an American Toad hulking behind:
Amphibians are awesome! I'll close this summary with a couple more sights. There have been many interesting insects around, but here's one that's entirely new to me: A male Glowworm Beetle (possibly Phengodes plumosa) who showed up in my garden on June 5. Apparently female Glowworm Beetles look like larvae, and both the females and the larvae are luminescent -- amazing. I'm really impressed by the antennae on this male. What a weird bug:
And finally, the Wild Lupine we planted in our meadow a few years ago put on a fantastic show in June. I love looking at these thick stands of purple and blue flowers:
Whew! OK, we're all caught up! Now onward to the rest of summer. :)
Even though I've seen owls in the woods a dozen times or more by now (since I was watching that Great Horned Owl nest), I don't think I'll ever get used to the shock when I stumble across one. They're just so awesome. This owl was watching me from a tree near the path this morning, and I had a hard time containing my excitement when I looked up and saw it there:
It's a Barred Owl, maybe even the same individual that I saw in March in this same area. Do you love the pattern of stripes on its breast and belly? And the wide rings around its face, with one side arching slightly higher than the other, like a raised eyebrow? I do. This bird seemed so calm, so big and peaceful, and I felt lucky to be in its presence. What a truly magnificent creature.
And there were more cool birds at the woods today as well. This Northern Parula (a migrating warbler that nests in eastern North America) was flitting around and singing in a rose bush right next to the entrance to the woods. He flashed his bright yellow throat with his pretty orange/gray collar right at me for a photo -- how nice of him. :)
A pair of Common Mergansers flew down and landed in the lake in front of me. I've posted about these birds before, but I couldn't resist taking more pictures with these two so close. Here's the male:
And here's the female (yep, she's definitely the prettier one):
I found new flowers in the woods, too -- everything's growing by leaps and bounds out there!
Yes, it's another violet (I said there are a lot of different violet species around here, didn't I?). This one's a Dog Violet (Viola conspersa), and I feel pretty confident about my identification since this plant has all the right characteristics for the species: leaves on the flower stem, hairs on the petals, and a long spur on the back of the flower, which you can see in this next picture:
The pretty flower in this next picture is Sessileleaf Bellwort (also called Sessile Bellwort, or Wild Oats, Uvularia sessilifolia):
I love how these delicate lily-like flowers look, all bowed down, and blending so well with the ferns unfurling in the background of this picture. This is yet another cool thing that I never knew existed until now. Hooray for the woods and hooray for spring!
Today was a great woods-walk day -- so many cool animals, including some that were completely new to me! I was planning on telling this blog post in story form, winding my way through the woods and highlighting creatures in the order in which I saw them, but I can't help it, I'm jumping right to the most exciting one.
I saw an owl. A Barred Owl, to be precise. I'm especially excited about this because I've been thinking recently about how cool owls are, and how I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild before -- in zoos, yes, and I've heard them calling in the woods, but never seen one (at least, not that I can remember). So I had been reading some things online about how to find owls in the daytime, and it sounded like a complicated process, so I didn't really expect to see one any time soon.
And then today I was walking down my normal woodsy path, and there was this Barred Owl, just sitting in a tree, staring at me. It wasn't a "Are you going to eat me and should I be thinking of flying away?" stare, but a stare more along the lines of: "You're not a mouse. I can't eat you. What are you doing in my forest?" After about a minute, the owl looked away, but whenever I took a step and snapped a twig, he or she would look right back at me again -- right, the human is still here. Anyway, it was quite the encounter, and a high point for a while to come, I imagine. (So cool!)
The water birds were out in force today, as the ice continues to disappear. The Common Mergansers and Mallards were back, and a lone male Hooded Merganser was hanging out as well.
And a pair of Wood Ducks made a brief appearance -- they landed in the lake, waddled up onto the shore, and then flew away about a minute later when a person walked by. I think Wood Ducks are super pretty, and again, I don't know if I've ever seen them outside of zoos.
The pictures I managed to get of the male don't at all do him justice, and I have to say, I felt a bit Paparazzi-like, grabbing photos of him from behind bushes, etc., and then settling for the best I ended up with. (I actually have that thought quite frequently when I attempt to take pictures of animals -- is that strange?)
One final part of today's adventure to recount: When I got back to my car, I found that it had become the site of an intense battle between a male Northern Cardinal and... himself. He was flying and pecking at his reflection in my car's side mirror -- after a little while, he changed strategies and went after his reflection in the windshield, then the mirror on the other side. There was another person in the parking lot at the time, and we both just stood there for a while, wondering what in the world this bird was thinking. (Actually, it was pretty obviously something like: "I will not tolerate other males in this, my territory, and WHY AREN'T YOU FLYING AWAY?")
Eventually, I had to drive off and take the cardinal's rival with me. But someday soon, I'll be back, and this cardinal had better still be keeping a vigilant watch -- if not, the male cardinals in my car will surely find their opportunity to take over!
