Hermit! Thrush and Other Spring Signs (CORRECTED)

Yesterday was a great day with sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s.  I saw my first butterfly, the Eastern Comma; and later in the afternoon, I spotted several lovely blue Spring Azure butterflies.  The toothwort was budding--should bloom any day this week.   Spring is here!

 I downloaded the pictures from my wildllife camera and was very surprised to see a Wood Thrush which was captured on St. Pat's day.  The temperature was 25 degrees.  He must have been thinking he came back to early from the tropics where he winters.   I can't wait to hear the sound of wood thrushes in the woods.  CORRECTION:  It's a Hermit Thursh--see comment below.   Some birder I am!

I also saw this Northern Flicker in the garden.  I captured this shot thru the screen window which acconts for the poor quality of the image.

He was looking for insects in this old cherry stump I had used for a flower pot stand in the garden.

The woodpeckers have been here all winter.  It is easy to distinguish between the Downy Woodpecker on the left and the much larger Hairy Woodpecker on the right side of the seed cake.

The temperature is 60 again and mostly sunny--time to get outside and work in the garden!

Bees' Knees (Corrected)

Honey Bee on Glory-of-the-Snow (March 22, 2009)

Since I posted this yesterday, I have received replies from several entomologists so I corrected this post. First, the yellow bee is actually a fly! Feral colonies of honey bees can exist in this area.

I have paid more attention to bees lately because this year I am becoming a beekeeper! When I was researching about honey bees, I wanted to find out whether the honey bee, essentially an alien, would harm the wild bees, that is replace them. Since honey bees have been with us since colonial times, it's not surprising that I didn't find out much about this issue online.


Bumble Bee (July, 2008)
So, I have been watching my favorite, the Bumble Bee, to see if my new colony of 12,000 bees arriving this Friday, April 3 would interfere with it. For a week, I have observed bumble and honey bees foraging together on my Glory-of-the-Snow tiny blue flowers. Besides these two bees, I saw two other types, both smaller than the honey bee. Even the wasps were getting along with the bees.


On this photo, you can see how the honey bee carries pollen in a pouch on his legs (or knees? Ha!) while she sucks the nectar. Both foods will be carried back to the hive.

I also inquired about where those honey bees might have come from because I understand they don't usually forage more than a mile from their hive. Honey bees can survive in the wild in our winter, especially if they find a good hollow tree, their natural nest. I since learned that a couple of farmers keep hives about 2 miles away.


Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)

My interest piqued, I went up in our back pasture looking for more bees. Instead, I found this Dung Fly feeding on cow manure.



Luckily no one saw me on my hands and knees over the cow manure (thankfully not fresh), studying these flies.


Spring Azure Butterfly in flight

While I was up in the pasture on March 22, I saw my first Spring Azure butterfly. You can only see the beautiful blue azure color as they fly. When they land, they keep their wings up and the undersides are a dull gray. I tried to capture the beautiful blue azure color but I guess my shutter speed wasn't fast enough. In a way, the photo's a lot like what you experience when you see them fly--a flash of blue.