Scenes of Summer: Wild Babies and More

The sporadic blogger strikes again! Summer in Canada is short, and I hate to spend much of it at a computer. But also, summer in Canada is short, and if you’re a wild creature, you have a lot to do in those few months. So here is just a glimpse into what has been going on in the wild spaces around here.

Robins like to nest under our deck, and by July we were seeing fledglings. They always seem a bit dopey, and spend a lot of time just sitting on the deck railing and cheep-cheep-cheeping to their parents, who are always close by and cheep-cheep-cheep in reply.

Deer leave their newborn fawns hidden in a safe place, returning throughout the day to nurse. But by July the fawns are out traveling with their moms.

Dozens (maybe hundreds?) of Bobolinks nest in our hayfield. Early in July, they were busy bringing food to their nestlings, like this male with a caterpillar in his mouth. Bobolinks are a species of special concern, mostly due to habitat loss. With grasslands dwindling, many of them nest on the ground in hayfields, and if the hay is cut too early in the summer–well, you know what happens. By the end of July they have fledged and most seem to have moved on.

I’ve found quite a few monarch butterflies mating in the milkweed. They’ll even fly around while mating, the male doing the flying while the female hangs below. I’ve been searching for their caterpillars and chrysalises and haven’t found any yet. I hope they’re just hiding.

Two monarchs as well as an almost hidden bumblebee were all busy around this native blue verbena.

And one more on a milkweed flower.

I thought this Virgina Ctenucha moth was pretty cool too–I think it’s on another native (but not yet blooming) flower, Canada goldenrod.

The Ospreys nest on platforms that have been set up to keep them off the telephone/power poles. In this shot you can see how the young have orange eyes and feathers with pale tips; the parent has yellow eyes and a solid brown back. Did you know Ospreys have a valve in their nostrils, that closes when they dive into the water?

They are big birds, with a wingspan around 1.5m or 5 feet. And it’s so much fun to watch them carrying fish! They always carry them head first. The Ospreys get quite upset by people being nearby–even though I’d need a jet pack to get up there!–so I try to use the car as a blind or, if I’m on foot, I’ll get a few photos and then move on.

A family of Wild Turkeys hangs around too. They usually walk on the ground, but when surprised they’ll fly up into the trees, like these babies did.

One last photograph for now: an American Goldfinch in his full breeding plumage, on the purple coneflowers in my garden. Because everything is better with flowers and a pretty yellow bird!