More Fuzzy Stuff

This turns out to be a good time of year for fuzzy things. The thistle has gone to seed and I don't know what that pink plant is (I can't remember every having seen it before) but it's everywhere this year. On Monday night Matt and I were out for a stroll and saw two baltimore orioles cavorting through the pink piles of fluff on a tree near home. I wish I'd had my camera, what a photo that would have been.

Nothing Like Summer

Birds at Longwood Gardens

We went on a bird hike at Longwood Gardens this morning. It was a beautiful morning with temperatures a comfortable 72 and light cloud cover to block out the harsh sun. After our drawing trip last week I thought it would be interesting to go out with the bird group and see who was hanging out where. The back field turned out to be a great place. We saw both the indigo bunting and the common yellow throat there.

Give Us Rain

The other day we had lots of amazing clouds but not nearly enough rain. My garden needs the rain! My plants are being decimated by the deer. The darn animals are even eating my tomatoes!! So at least they enough water to give my tomatoes a fighting chance. That, and I think they also need to be wrapped up in some of that big orange fencing I have.

Greenhouse Effect

While the thunderstorms keep rolling in Olivia and I decided to go some place with shelter. Lucky for us it didn't do more than sprinkle while we were there so we got to enjoy some of the outside gardens too. These flowers are from the Conservatory which was just a little bit stuffy. O.K. More than a little. The humidity outside was pretty out of control so you can imagine what it was like in a greenhouse.

More Babies

Olivia showed me this nest of baby robins on the way out of the Heinz NWR yesterday.

Barn Swallows

Olivia found these barn swallows at Rose Tree Park yesterday. We spent quite a while watching the parents fly back and forth with food. I love those open mouths! And the hair tufts!!

Summer Days

Wood Ducks

Finally, a decently close photo of the wood ducks! Hopefully this is not all that's left of her brood. Last peek I got there were nine little ducklings.

Photo Experiments

Ready. Set. Go.

My baby is not much of a baby any more. Last night we went to school for the awards ceremony. Friday she graduates from 8th grade. Next year it's off to high school. She's totally ready and I'm totally not!

Lunch

I got home from work this morning just in time to see a baltimore oriole attacking a crow, multiple times. I wonder if there's an oriole nest nearby. This image is from yesterday's trip to Forsythe NWR. I was, once again, hoping to see baby osprey but they don't seem to be hatched yet. Or if they are I couldn't see them. It was over 100 degrees yesterday so the birds were just taking it easy. There was very little going on overall but I got to this spot just in time for lunch.

When I posted this image this morning I wasn't sure what kind of bird it is. I used some of my free time while volunteering today to look through the bird books. It is...drum roll, please...a brown-headed cowbird, the female variety.

Mockingbird Display

Bugs and Berries

These are more images from my 8mile walk around Heinz NWR on Friday. I took about 400 photos. Many of them were of cedar waxwings, including several of pairs feeding each other bugs and berries. I was told cedar waxwings lay their eggs late and are just getting around to that business now.

Yum Yum

The first thing I noticed about this tree was that it was singing. Unlike many of the other trees I walked passed today this one had no leaves. Nothing to conceal the little birds that I could hear chp-ing and twt-ing like mad. But there were no birds in sight. Which, of course, is when I figured out that the birds were inside the tree!


I took a few steps back and waited. Sure enough all of those babies were screaming for mama who came hopping along with a little something for her nestlings.


Did I say little? This bug is almost as big as this bird. I have no idea how the babies were going to eat it.


But in she went and things quieted down considerably.

Taylor Arboretum

Saturday (or Sunday...who can remember these things) we took a leisurely stroll through Taylor Arboretum in Wallinford, PA. This is an amazing area. The more I look the more places I find. Taylor Arboretum is free and very beautiful. We enjoyed the grassy trail along Ridley Creek. (O.K. I mostly enjoyed it. I'm still having a little post traumatic response to grass after last weeks tic attack.) They have a beautiful collection of trees including several bald cypress. It's definitely worth a return trip.

Birds Like Fuzzy Trees

It was really stinking hot today and all of this white stuff flying through the air was not making things better. For me, that is. The birds LOVE this tree. In two minutes (or less) I took these three photos of a cedar waxwing, yellow warbler, and woodpecker all in this same tree. All in fact, without even moving my feet.


This cedar waxwing was collecting nest material. I found his nest several trees down.


I'm not sure if this is the yellow warbler or just a yellow warbler but he sure is cute.


This downy woodpecker appears to have an insect in her mouth.