Wood ducks often search for nest cavities during the early morning with the male standing outside as female checks out the site. This male became extra excited when his mate flew into the duck house that he was standing on.
Wood Duck Watching
Picture of the Day for May 4, 2021
More color is showing each day as the grass turns greener with yellow dandelions dotted the lawn and some blue color from the Virginia bluebells, which are a bell-shaped native wildflower.
Blue from Virginia Bluebells
Picture of the Day for May 3, 2021
As May arrived, so did the first calves of the season. This one was enjoying an afternoon nap until I interrupted his sleep.
New May Calf
Picture of the Day for May 2, 2021
This weekend was the opening of the fishing season and it looks like this kingfisher wanted to get in on the action. But he didn’t find any fish in my pond, or at least I haven’t spotted any this spring after the thick ice over the winter. So the Belted Kingfisher had to snack on some bugs instead. The males are less colorful than the females as the female also has an additional rusty orange band on her belly.
Belted Kingfisher
Picture of the Day for May 1, 2021
The very warm sunny day had the wildflowers opening up to the sunshine on this May Day, even if May baskets filled with flowers is not celebrated like it was in the past.
May Day Flowers
Picture of the Day for April 30, 2021
These are some young barn swallows before leaving in the fall and today I saw the first barn swallow back. Actually I heard it before seeing it just outside a barn. The adult barn swallows have a longer forked tail than these juveniles. Soon the nest building will occur and new eggs will be laid for another season.
Juvenile Barn Swallows
Picture of the Day for April 29, 2021
Last year must have been tough on the Yellow Trout Lily corms as so far I haven’t noticed any blossoms. Immature shoots only have one leaf instead of two leaves which the mature plants have and produce the flower. It takes four to seven years before it blooms and within the colony, only about a half of a percent will flower.
Missing Trout Lily Blossom
Picture of the Day for April 28, 2021
With the sunshine appearing this afternoon, I spotted a bird darting about catching insects near the pond. The little warbler is another recent arrival to its summer breeding ground. The Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler flashes its patches of yellow in the sun as he flutters after insects.
Warbler Watching
Picture of the Day for April 27, 2021
I had a pair of Blue-winged Teal ducks stopping at my pond for a brief stay on their way north. They are one of the last variety of ducks to migrate north in the spring and also one of the first to leave in the fall. Blue-winged Teal are the second most abundant duck in the country behind the Mallard, but they don’t seem to stay more than a few days at my pond. But they also don’t make use of my duck houses as they make their nest on the ground.
Blue-winged Teal Pair
Picture of the Day for April 26, 2021
I think the cold, wet weather has delayed some of the spring bird arrivals, but the Killdeer has been back for a while now. I always hear the Killdeer long before I see it and when I see them, it is normally in flight as they blend in with the ground cover even with their white band. Early naturalists called the noisy bird the Chattering Plover and the Noisy Plover.
Hidden Killdeer
