Tundra swan requires a runway.

Juvenile tundra swan required a runway to take off from the pond!  I am so used to ducks popping up from the pond like corks that I was holding my camera in wrong position to capture the takeoff.  You can tell it’s a juvenile because the head is gray.

Swan was paddling around on the pond, totally unaware that I was sneaking up on it with all the stealth a senior citizen can muster.

These shots show the bird continuing to climb. To me the most interesting thing to observe here is the black edge at the end of the tail feathers. Those are the swan’s enormous black feet!

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My friends call me Wolfy!

I wasn’t expecting paparazzi when I slipped out to enjoy a pleasant winter thaw. I thought my camouflage was more than sufficient. Feel free to call me Wolfy!

January 21, 2018 provided a pleasant and unexpected winter thaw!

Go fish!

Red Eye (osprey chick) begs Pepper Dotty (mom) for fish. Pepper says what all mother osprey say to their chicks, “Go fish!”

Pepper continues to eat, ignoring her starving, miserable chick.

Red Eye continues to complain. Pepper ‘hoods’ her fish. Dart (dad) flies to nest off camera.

Red Eye flies to nest but Dart is already gone and there was no fish left in the nest. Help!!

Suddenly Pepper drops to the nest to deliver fish remains to her chick and Red Eye starts eating immediately.

Happy Red Eye will survive another day! Thanks, Mom!

 

4 mockingbird chicks are outgrowing their nest!

You can clearly see all 4 beaks in today’s photo. Imagine if they all had their mouths open at once!

Another lovely invasive!

This is the invasive yellow flag iris. The blue flag iris is not an invasive.  But I can’t find the one or two that have sometimes bloomed down in the marsh. The yellow flags have totally taken over the pond and marsh since John stopped mowing down there. I hate to say how lovely and cheerful they are. Since it would take me more than a lifetime to pull them up I will just have to enjoy them…

You can buy used beetle wings on Amazon!

One look at this Emerald Ash Borer and you can understand why the elytra, or stiff front pair of wings on a beetle have been popular since cavemen discovered they weren’t just delicious but also useful for trade.  What wouldn’t you give to possess something so amazingly iridescent?

World’s biggest mosquito!

Everyone is scared of this insect, commonly thought to be the world’s biggest mosquito. But it isn’t a mosquito.  It’s a crane fly.  And it doesn’t bite or sting or cause any harm. Most don’t even eat, except for a bit of nectar. Some people call them mosquito hawks and skeeter eaters. I saw my first crane fly of 2017 on March 25th in my bathroom.  They are really fun to look at. Since their major activity is mating, watch for that pairing. They are so big that a mating pair is quite obvious on your screen door or window.

Their wings remind me of stained glass.

This close up gives you a chance to see their antennae.