When the temperature starts to go up, tempers can flare. This black-headed grosbeak was enjoying a cool bath in the shade when a house sparrow came a long and started splashing.
The party was pretty much over at that point. Each bird jockeyed for position, crowding out the other. The grosbeak with the height and weight advantage prevailed, but the harassment cut short what should have been a more enjoyable time.
I am beginning to feel the rhythm of our backyard. Today I saw my first downy woodpecker in quite sone time. Also, the black headed grosbeaks are back at the feeders and the honeybees arrived right on queue as the Astors began to bloom.
The grosbeaks are as timid as any birds that ever visit. This one was surprisingly cooperative.
The hummingbirds are jousting for dominance right now and even crowding me as I fill my homemade feeders. They are very sweet and I love it when they fly close. The tiny feeders hold only about 1.5 ml each and a hummingbird can come close to draining one at a single shot.
I like how this Douglas Spirea looks when it blooms, It is a stunning flower comprised of hundreds of tiny blossoms.
Before they burst open, they are organized in clusters like grapes. Once the flowers are out, they combine to form a single cone shape like a bottle brush.
My wife and I took an auto tour around the wildlife reserve and saw quite a few birds trying to stay cool in the August heat.
This Great Blue Heron was fishing in the marshy waters and stopped for a quick photo-op.
Today, we saw a juvenile wood duck. I could tell it was a male because of the red eyes.
We also saw some turtles, egrets and quite a few lesser yellowlegs. Toward the end of our drive, we caught sight of a coyote who looked pretty hot out there.
In all, it was a productive day at the reserve and a nice day in general.
Just returned from a trip out to the woods where I recharged my batteries a little. It was a nice time at the cabin.
My wife and I got to spend some really nice time with our son and his girlfriend as well. They were supposed to be backpacking in the wilderness, but were nearly eaten and picked clean by mosquitoes.
It was a great trip.
I may head back up there for a week toward the end of the summer as an experiment in working from the woods. I know I have basic connectivity, but I’d like to see how it might work trying to be productive from a hypothetical little cyber-cabin.
I haven’t been here for a few days, so I thought I would drop this one off.
The field behind our house is now pretty busy with dragonflies. They can be seen skirting the tops of the grass and setting down on prominent sticks and twigs.
This one was very cooperative.
At the zoo yesterday, we went into a small aviary where there were beautiful lorikeets that visitors could feed by hand. This little girl held out her little cup of nectar, hopeful that a nearby bird would take her offering.
The girl’s father was successful.
But it hopped away from her before she could feed it.
That’s what my grandfather called them.
Thanks to Wikipedia, I now know that they are also known as “Small White” butterflies. Their larvae do feed on cabbage and other cultivated vegetables which is probably how they got their nicknames.
This one is a male that happened to land in front of me as I was headed back into the house with the macro lens on the camera. He stayed put for only a few seconds, so I’m glad I was ready.
It’s that time of year again where the creepy crawlies from the garden begin to thrive and multiply and grow. This guy has been snacking on the plants we have on the front porch.
Slugs kind of give me the willies, but they do have their own beauty if you look at them the right way.
