Recent Comings and Goings at the Nature Preserve

A male Rose-breasted Grosbeak samples an apple blossom

Lots of things have happened since my last posting. For the songbirds, migration wrapped up and nesting has begun. Flowers are still blooming, though not so many in the woods. Here are a few of the pictures that I managed to get:

A male Scarlet Tanager sings at the border of the old woods

A male Baltimore Oriole - the species is not as common as it used to be

Swainson's Thrush was singing in the old woods for about a week

Swainson's Thrush hunting insects by the creek on a cold morning

Seldom seen during migration - Gray Cheeked Thrush - having a wing stretch 

The Great crested Flycatcher - looking for a tree cavity to nest in

A Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - another north bound migrant

Rose-breasted Grosbeak stops at the post for some sunflower seeds

A female Hooded Merganser has been seen frequently on the beaver ponds

A male Common Merganser stretches his wings

Male and female Wood Ducks

A Coyote stops to see who entered the field - it's just me

A Male Bobolink sings in our high brushy meadow

An adult Tree Swallow takes a look out the door

Young Tamarack pine cones start out purple

Bitternut Hickory Tree in bloom

Golden Ragwort grows in wet shady places

Ohio Buckeye in  bloom along the trail side

Pitch pine with new growth and the beginnings of new cones

White Baneberry in the old woods

Native Red Columbine

Dwarf Delphinium - only one plant bloomed this year

The Red Eft or Red-spotted Salamander