by Christine Hanrahan I thought it might be interesting to compile a list of all the natural food sources around the Fletcher Wildlife Garden, used by wildlife. I include only plants on which I have actually seen birds or other wildlife feed. Many are obvious, of course, the crabapples, mountain ash, wild grape, sumac, and [...]
hairy woodpecker work on ash trees by Christine Hanrahan December 4, a mild day, with the merest hints of snow. A day to visit the FWG and look for blog subjects. Apart from the many squirrels, it was pretty quiet. A small flock of house finches in the Backyard Garden (BYG), several cardinals, [...]
by Christine Hanrahan The FWG's November blog is up and running now (http://www.pbase.com/fwg/fwg_blog_november_2013). It was kick-started by some excellent photos from Robert Berry. I've added a few more, and there'll be more to come as the month progresses. Incipient winter is felt in the decreasing numbers of birds and the almost entire lack of insects [...]
by Christine Hanrahan Where DOES the time go? Here it is, past the mid-way point in September, on the downslide to October. That autumn feeling is really seeping in with the colour changes in the leaves, the business of birds fuelling up for journeys south, and bees nectaring like mad on the dwindling supply of [...]
by Christine Hanrahan How time flies. Here it is, early September, with all the signs of approaching autumn now firmly in place. The old field is full of asters and goldenrods, the latter already losing their bloom. Fruit is heavy on the vine and tree, some of the sumacs are turning vivid red, and of [...]
by Christine Hanrahan Mid-afternoon at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden, August 14th. A sunny and pleasant afternoon to be looking for things to photograph for the PBase Blog. My first sighting was of the Sphex ichneumoneus, the Great Golden Digger as it is sometimes called, nectaring on swamp milkweed. Its counterpart, the Great Black Digger, S. [...]
Ruby-throated Hummingbird nectaring at cardinal flowers by Christine Hanrahan You can certainly see that summer is pushing on. Goldenrod is blooming, New England Asters are starting to flower, Evening Primroses are finishing up, Solanum is fruiting, many grasses are in seed - food for wildlife is abundant. Families of Grey Catbirds, Red-eyed Vireos, [...]
by Christine Hanrahan Despite coolish temperatures and grey skies, there was much to see at the garden today. House Wrens busy feeding young Birds are VERY active feeding their young. I watched a pair of house wrens constantly carrying food to their nest. Meanwhile, a male Common Yellowthroat sounded the alert when I [...]
by Christine Hanrahan Tuesday afternoon at the garden, June 4th, and a lovely day to be wandering through the FWG. Mating pair of silvery blue butterflies Silvery blue butterflies were fluttering around in many locations, including this mating pair near the new woods. Common ringlets were indeed common that day but hard to [...]
by Christine Hanrahan Dodging the rain showers and gusty winds, I spent several hours walking around the garden looking for birds, plants, insects... Naturally, the latter were scarce and had to be looked for under leaves, huddled against stems and branches, seeking shelter from the rainy weather. I did see a pretty common spring moth [...]
