Normally autumn is when leaves are photographed in their array of bright colors, but the normal green colors can be pretty too against the white bark. The nuthatches like to run up and down the bark too.
Summer Leaves
Picture of the Day for June 9, 2013
It was nice to spot both the Redheaded Woodpecker and the Pileated Woodpecker today since they aren’t not regulars to the bird feeders but what I didn’t expect to see outside was a peacock. It was trying to get into my basement and it probably wished it succeeded as now it is hiding under the pine tree because of the rain shower.
The Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a large and brightly colored bird of the pheasant family native to South Asia, but introduced and semi-feral in many other parts of the world. The species was first named and described by Linnaeus in 1758.
Technically, only males are peacocks. Females are peahens, and together, they are called peafowl. Peacocks are ground-feeders that eat insects, plants, and small creatures.
Peahens often choose males for the quality of their trains — the quantity, size, and distribution of the colorful eye-spots. Experiments show that offspring of males with more eye-spots are bigger at birth and better at surviving in the wild than offspring of birds with fewer eye-spots.
Indian Peafowl
Picture of the Day for June 8, 2013
One bad thing about the long stretch of rainy weather, is that there have been few sunsets visible this spring.
Few Sunsets
Picture of the Day for June 7, 2013
The woodpeckers are often overlooked in the summer as the attention is turned towards colorful birds like the Indigo Bunting, Eastern Bluebird and the Baltimore Oriole, but this little Downy Woodpecker puts on its own show. Their rising-and-falling flight style is distinctive of many woodpeckers and they don’t sing songs, but they drum loudly against pieces of wood or metal to make their song.
The Downy Woodpecker is an active bird that moves quickly over tree trunks, branches, and stems of grasses and wildflowers, characteristically leaning against its stiffened tail feathers for support. And this female Downy Woodpecker is hanging upside down and using the tail feathers for support.
Downy Woodpecker
Picture of the Day for June 6, 2013
The sound of a low “chuck-chuck-chuck” or a higher pitched “chit-chit-chit-chit” gives away the presence of the “chipping squirrel”, better known as the chipmunk who are small members of the squirrel family. Their pudgy cheeks, large, glossy eyes, stripes, and bushy tails have made them a favorite among animators, and landed them a series of starring roles in Hollywood.
But they aren’t so ‘cute’ when they eat my garden seeds and dig up my plants. They eat seeds, fruits and nuts but they are also burying my sunflower seeds in my flower pots and now I have sprouting sunflowers. They also will eat insects, bird eggs, snails, and small snakes and I have seen one eating a worm.
Eastern Chipmunk
Picture of the Day for June 5, 2013
The white blossom of a wild strawberry is pretty but I rather see a bright red ripe strawberry instead and so would many birds and small animals.
Wild Strawberry Blossom
Picture of the Day for June 4, 2013
The Wild Germanium are making an appearance in the ditches and woods. Geranium is derived from the Greek word geranos, meaning crane. Though this name seems curious, it actually refers to the shape of the seed pod, not the flower. The papery seed capsules, which split lengthwise into five long peels, resemble a crane or stork. Cranesbill and Storksbill are two common names for Wild Geranium describing this likeness.
One of the most surprising and beautiful aspects of Wild Geranium is the color of its pollen. Unlike most wildflowers with traditionally yellow, orange, or white pollen, when viewed under a microscope Wild Geranium’s pollen is bright blue. This attracts a variety of insects, including the digger wasp, which come to pollinate the flower.
Wild Geranium
Picture of the Day for June 3, 2013
The recent winds blew most of the apple blossoms off the tree leaving a sea of white on the ground. The apple tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe, and were brought to North America by European colonists. The only apples native to North America are crab apples, which were once called “common apples”.
Apple varieties brought as seed from Europe were spread along Native American trade routes, as well as being cultivated on Colonial farms. An 1845 United States apples nursery catalog sold 350 of the “best” varieties, showing the proliferation of new North American varieties by the early 19th century. There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples now.
Apple Blossom
Picture of the Day for June 2, 2013
The blooming lilacs are finally filling the air when their wonderful fragrance. There are over two thousand lilac cultivars through the world and they come in white, violet, blue, lilac, pink, magenta and purple. No matter what color, it is just good to see them after a long winter.
Blooming Lilacs
Picture of the Day for June 1, 2013
A group of turtles is called a ‘bale of turtles’. And I rather a bale of painted turtles than a bale of snapping turtles. This Western Painted Turtle spend most of its time in shallow streams, lakes and rivers. They can also be found in prairie sloughs, cattle tanks, and farm ponds. Water that is slow-moving with a soft, muddy bottom with vegetation and submerged logs is ideal habitat for painted turtles. Painted turtles are mainly carnivorous, but as they mature they eat more vegetation. They forage for insects, crayfish, small mollusks, worms, minnows, and aquatic plants.
They are called painted turtles because their lower shell is brightly colored in red with yellow and olive designs. Turtles shed their shell as they’re growing; this skin resembles a burnt leaf. Painted turtles are basking turtles, which means they spend as much time as they can in the sun to warm themselves after a long swim or a chilly night.They bask on a log or rock with their necks and legs stretched out and their toes spread wide apart to catch as much of the sun’s warmth as possible. Basking also allows their body to produce vitamins and helps to kill fungi. The sex of the painted turtle is determined by the temperature during development.
Western Painted Turtle
