What was happening at the FWG in May 2008

31 May — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan Saw my first monarch butterfly of the season at FWG today. A very worn individual, which, like all the other butterflies observed today, was flying fast and didn't stop. Speaking of butterflies, also noted a clouded sulphur, many cabbage whites and half a dozen silvery blues. I mentioned the gray treefrogs of last night. Later on, when the tiny young appear, they will be bright emerald green, blending in the with vegetation, and yet for all of that, surprisingly easy to find. It is the adults that are more difficult to locate, in my opinion anyway. The young can also appear pale green. Here are some photos from last summer showing a young treefrog. See how minute the youngster is (it is sitting on a milkweed leaf). Speaking of insects, I came across quite a conglomeration of the Haploa confusa caterpillars, at least 20, possibly more, on several hound's tongue plants. This makes sense as I understand that the larvae particularly like plants in the borage family. The tiny publilia treehoppers are everywhere, and this photo (above) shows four of them, each with their own ant! Soldier beetles in the genus Cantharidae (above) are fairly common right now as breeding is taking place. There are many other insects around too, of course, including various solitary bee species, asian ladybeetles (left), spittlebugs, leafhoppers, sphecid wasps, etc. You may notice some new signs have gone up at the FWG very recently. These are designed to (hopefully) keep people out of the Ravine where some well worn trails have been created over the last few years, to our dismay. I've noticed barn swallows near the red barn lately, so perhaps they are nesting. I haven't checked. There was a time when they nested on the Interpretive Centre building! This was before it became a busy place. I can remember that sometimes the adults would fly into the building, panic, and resist all efforts to help them find their way out again, although they did eventually escape. Tree swallows are nesting now, but fewer pairs than previously. However, it is good to see them at the garden and I wish them success. Green herons were very visible and vocal, giving a call other than their usual sharp "skeow", as Robert Ridgely describes it.

30 May — photos and notes from Sandy Garland Amid the usual chaos on Friday mornings at the FWG, our volunteers managed to notice some of the wildlife using the Backyard Garden. Tony has restructured the waterfall, carving out a hollow in the splash stone so that birds can land for a drink and a shower during hot weather. Two green frogs were enjoying the sunshine, or maybe the water was too cold for them. Later in the morning, we found the most adorable tiny painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) sitting on a rock in the pond. His shell was about the size of a loonie. I later found out he must have hatched last year as painted turtles lay eggs at this time of year and the gestation period is 80 days. And speaking of tiny things, this mushroom was growing in the garden bed next to the back patio. It's only about an inch across and its cap is cracked giving it an interesting crackle pattern. Other wildlife included a catbird that Marilyn heard singing in the ravine and a chipmunk running back and forth through the Woodland Walk area. Betty says he's made a number of holes. Pale corydalis is blooming in the rockery and golden Alexanders in the butterfly bed. The latter is a larval food for Black Swallowtail butterflies, which should be appearing soon.

29 May — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan A quick note. There were quite a few insects out today, the first warm day in awhile. I was looking for the two-spotted stinkbug and found only one. They're minute little guys, but very pretty. I also found a firefly and I think this may be Lucidota, the diurnal firefly, which doesn't have the same bioluminescence qualities of its nocturnal relatives. Finally heard an eastern wood-pewee at FWG today (and had my first of the year yesterday in Larose Forest). It was calling at the same time the great crested flycatcher (right) was. Now if the least flycatcher, which was calling the other day, had also been calling, it would have been a 3-flycatcher chorus. The male American redstart (below) was in full song, and has been hanging out near where a pair nested last year. This may be one of last year's offspring, because this guy looks to be a first spring bird. Notice the yellow on the wings and tail, but the deep orange sides. Full adult male plumage is all orange. Lots of cabbage whites, a few clouded sulphurs, two silvery blues and a spring azure. No sign of the tiger swallowtail that I saw a week ago. We should soon begin to see European and Hobomok skippers, with other species increasing as summer wears on. Just below the FWG, near where the creek through the ravine enters the arboretum, I found this big cluster of oyster mushrooms. Pretty, aren't they?

27 May — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan Migrants continue to move through the area. At noon, I noticed a small black and white bird with a black cap fly into a scotch pine. Seeing it for only a mere second, I dismissed it as a chickadee, but then immediately thought better of it as the shape said 'warbler' not 'titmouse'. When I eventually re-located it I saw a beautiful Blackpoll Warbler. This warbler's call is a thin, high, insect-like sound, slightly reminiscent of cape may warbler, and often hard to pick up. Another new arrival for the garden, but like the Blackpoll, one that will carry on north, is the Wilson's Warbler, heard but not seen, unfortunately. I didn't expect today to be as bird-filled as yesterday, and it was not. But nonetheless, there was a good variety of birds, including two chimney swifts which came twittering by at just above head-height, remarkably low for these aerial foragers. If you spend any time listening to birds singing, it won't surprise you to know that most species have a number of different songs. Mockingbirds, to no one's surprise, have been found to have a 200-song repertoire. Listen to our yellow warblers at the garden and figure out how many different songs they have. Nowhere near as many as some of the Mimidae, but a pretty good variety nonetheless. Most commonly they sound at times like a chestnut-sided warbler, at others similar to a common yellowthroat, but most often there are variations on the "sweet-sweet-shredded-wwheat" song. And we wonder why it is difficult to learn bird songs! In the pond, the green heron and the turtle were sharing quarters, something the turtle didn't seem to appreciate. The heron was more intent on catching tadpoles, as it did several times. The poor frogs in our pond have been having a hard time in the last year, what with all the mallards in the winter (remember, they were found scooping up green frogs), and the herons now. Several caterpillars were noted, including this pretty little caterpillar, which Diane confirms is one of the later instars of the ctenucha moth. Thanks, Diane! As well, this other small caterpillar, which Diane reports is that of the confused haploa moth, a very beautiful insect which flies later in the summer. I've been compiling a list of trees and shrubs at FWG, and in so doing have paid more attention to trees I've only idly glanced at in the past. Thus, I have discovered several quite large amur corktrees scattered around, though not as big as the one that Dale Crook first discovered in the ravine. As well, a large hackberry that we must all have walked by hundreds of times and not even noticed! Many of the trees and shrubs are ornamentals, legacy of the days, now some decades past, when the FWG site was planted with a lot of exotics.

28 May — photos and notes from Sandy Garland I was weeding Dog-strangling vine yesterday evening when I noticed this very dark-coloured lady beetle. I later confirmed that it is a 15-spotted lady beetle (Anatis labiculata), a native species and a new one for our list of Insects of the FWG. Another surprise was finding these "baby" ferns in the Ash Woodlot. I grew these from spores a couple of years ago and, after coddling them all summer, planted them here in the fall 2006. I thought they had disappeared, but several have survived and seem to be doing well.

27 May — photos and notes from Sandy Garland Prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) is blooming in the rockery in our Backyard Garden right now. Although native to Ontario, we seldom see this plant in the wild, as in this region it only grows in sunny open areas or alvars. It is well-adapted to prairie conditions: its hairy structures protect the more delicate parts from drying out in wind and it makes use of the wind to disperse its seeds. I've been trying to look at the flower structure, which consists of a ring of 5 bracts, then five pink sepals, then 5 cream-coloured petal. Inside all that is a tassel of long hairy structures, each of which will eventually carry a seed at its base. What I haven't figured out is whether those plumes are styles, which they should be if they end up as part of the seeds. Prairie smoke in rockery Bracts surround closed sepals Open flower with creamy petals visible around dense tassel of hairy plumes Seeds develop at the base of each plume Out in the fields, especially west of our Amphibian Pond, comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is also in glorious bloom. Native to Europe, this large plant looks wonderful when blooming, but has a tendency to fall over later making it unsuitable for gardens. In the photo at the right, you can see how flowering progresses from the base to the tip of the flower head, which uncurls as the successive rows of flowers expand. Cluster of comfrey flowers. Inner ring of petals(?) is closed over carpel and anthers Flowering occurs in sequence along the curled stem

26 May — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan It was a remarkably bird-filled day at FWG today. There was almost constant bird-song, and some areas of the garden were real hotspots with a tremendous number of birds in one location. It was not that the diversity was huge, although there was certainly a good variety, as that some species were present in high numbers, and almost all were vocal and visible all day. The first bird of the day was a black-throated green warbler, heard singing in the ravine as I got out of the car at 10:30. The green heron was in the pond, along with a lone male mallard. Over by the birch grove a mourning warbler was singing very loudly, though I wasn't able to see him. In the Ash Woods, a magnolia warbler was heard and seen, along with a very insistent male American redstart (the photo at left of the magnolia warbler was not taken at FWG, but nearby). Meanwhile, back in the ravine, I heard another redstart and eventually saw the female. Back to the Birch Grove again, a least flycatcher called briefly, and a little later, a great crested flycatcher was heard. Just after that three blue jays flew over and another four appeared a little later, heading in the same direction (east). A few hours later, large flocks of goldfinches could be seen and heard, sometimes as many as 15 or 20 at a time. While watching these goldfinch flocks in the ravine, a group of about 7 to 10 cedar waxwings flew in, the first I've seen at FWG for awhile. A Swainson's thrush was quietly hopping through the shrubs near the centre, while yellow warblers were giving several variations of their song. I spoke for some time with a couple of birders, one visiting from Vancouver. He was amazed by the constant activity and the variety in such a small area and thought the garden was a gem. Both had been to Britannia earlier, but found it was far too full of people. FWG they said, was refreshingly quiet. I had thought it too busy, but you see, it all depends on perspective. In the New Woods area, I watched two male house finches watching a female gathering DSV fibres for nest building. It was an overcast day, with only brief glimpses of sun, but when it warmed up more, a silvery blue butterfly was found, along with some other insects, bumblebees, several species of wasps, various moths including a virginia tiger moth, and an Asian ladybeetle. The tiny Publilia treehoppers (photo at right) were also quite abundant. Last year I first noticed them on May 25, and so today being May 26, one could say they are right on time. Back to the ravine. While watching birds I couldn't help also noticing a chipmunk feeding on apple leaves (below left). In the 3 minutes I watched, s/he must have consumed about 6-8 large leaves. And still on non-avian critters, gray treefrogs were abundant! And a few green frogs were calling on and off. One doesn't think of spring as a time for fungi and mushrooms in general. But there are some species that occur only in spring such as some of the tiny peziza, morels and false morels to name a few, and certainly some of the more showy polypores grow at this time, for example, the large dryad's saddle (see below). Others include one of my favourites, the tiny Schizophyllum commune (top view at right, underside above right). List of birds found at FWG, May 26: green heron mallard ring-billed gull downy woodpecker northern flicker least flycatcher eastern kingbird great crested flycatcher tree swallow blue jay American crow black-capped chickadee swainson's thrush American robin gray catbird cedar waxwing European starling warbling vireo red-eyed vireo yellow warbler magnolia warbler black-throated green warbler American redstart mourning warbler northern cardinal rose-breasted grosbeak chipping sparrow savannah sparrow song sparrow red-winged blackbird common grackle brown-headed cowbird Baltimore oriole house finch American goldfinch house sparrow

26 May: Marsh Marigold — notes from Sandy Garland; photos by Tom Hebbert and Sandy Garland I've been trying to propogate Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) from seed for many years (with no success), but I hadn't taken a close look at the flowers until my friend Tom Hebbert got interested in this species. Tom is documenting the structure of various flowers growing in his area near Renfrew and looking at how seeds are produced. Marsh Marigolds have no petals. The showy yellow bits are sepals and their number can vary from 5 to 9. The number of anthers and carpels (egg chambers) also varies. The anthers produce pollen and nectar sacs are located at the base of the carpels. Five sepals Close-up showing flattened spoon-like anthers and curled stigmas encrusted with pollen 6 sepals, 16 carpels 7 sepals, 20 carpels Marsh Marigolds are pollinated by small flies and bees Many seeds develop inside each carpel

25 May — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan The arrival of catbirds in the garden always seems to me be a signal that migration is drawing to a close. They have been around FWG for a couple of weeks now, and while some migrants are still pushing through our area, many are now nesting. Catbirds have been returning to one particular site at FWG for about 12 years now, a consistency that is reassuring! The tall birch snag that a pair of chickadees were so carefully excavating about a month ago fell down sometime in the last 10 days. No nest had been completed, and perhaps this pair is one of three that has decided the new bird boxes are a pretty good deal! Goldfinches can often be found around the pond where various seeds are eaten. This little guy looks like he is contemplating the world. Many shrubs and trees are flowering now, or are about to. The viburnums tend to be a bit later, than hawthorns and elderberry, for example. While the Viburnum lantana is in full flower, the native species are just beginning. Most of these shrubs will provide food for birds and small mammals later in the summer and fall, although they are not all relished equally.

23 May — photos and notes from Sandy Garland Another exciting day in the FWG's Backyard Garden on Friday morning revealed another fuzzy yellow caterpillar, this time munching on a native grass species. A volunteer also discovered a small skull (right) in one of the garden beds — a long-dead squirrel, we think, probably a grey squirrel as the measurements (2.8 cm wide; 5.2 cm long) are a bit big for a red squirrel. Although somewhat gruesome, this sort of find allows us to have a good look at something we don't see very often. The number of bones in a skull and the way they are knit together is fascinating.

20 May — photos from Christine Hanrahan More about muskrats at the FWG

20 May — photos and notes from Sandy Garland At the Amphibian Pond today, a green heron was standing statue-like until suddenly, his head darted forward and he deftly caught a large tadpole in his bill. Meanwhile, a painted turtle (right) was basking on a pile of debris in the middle of the pond. In the woods, I was sitting watching a clump of mitrewort to see if I could observe a pollinating insect when I noticed this pair sitting on adjacent leaves. At a pollinators workshop last summer, we learned to distinguish between flies and bees and these tiny insects seemed to illustrate the differences. Flies have larger eyes, thicker bodies (without a "wasp waist"), and only one pair of wings, often folded at an angle rather than back over their body. This is a gross oversimplification, of course, but a start. Painted turtle. Fly. Bee.

19 May — photo and notes from Sandy Garland I noticed this quite large Dryad's Saddle fungus (Polyporus squamosus) on an old apple tree today. This type of fungus is one of the few seen frequently in the spring (morels are another). We've seen these before at the FWG, but this one really looks like a saddle! And at 15-cm diameter, it might even hold a Dryad.

17 May — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan If you've been to the garden lately, you will have heard all the Baltimore orioles singing away. Yesterday, late afternoon, there were four in the BYG in view at once, all males, all singing. The pair of green herons were sitting in the black locust trees in the ravine, calling away. Their call is loud and unmistakable. I heard it while walking out of the Ash Woods and went over to the Ravine to see what they were doing. They were not doing much of anything in fact, just sitting and calling, but eventually they both flew off toward the Arboretum. A few more new arrivals over the last couple of days, including rose-breasted grosbeaks, and gray catbirds, both of them singing loud and clear. In the Old Field area, a couple of green blister beetles (a new species, I think, for our list) were on the wild plum. You've probably seen the very common Meloe blister beetles (although I haven't found them at FWG, I find them in many other locations), which are a lovely, deep, indigo colour and begin appearing at about the same time the trout lilies flower. Don't make the mistake of picking any of these beetles up, however, as they can emit a liquid which will cause nasty blisters (hence their common name). Now is the time to enjoy the spectacular display of crabapples, pear, and plum trees in the Arboretum (and FWG has a pretty dazzling collection of prunus and malus trees in bloom right now too). Some rain and wind will blow all those petals away soon!

17 May — photos and notes from Sandy Garland Spring wildflowers are popping up all over the FWG. It's an especially good time to visit the Ash Woodlot and the Woodland Walk in our backyard garden. Tiarella cordifolia or foamflower (above) is blooming right now in both areas, as is the similar looking mitrewort, Mitella diphylla (right) We planted Wood Bettony or Lousewort in the woods last fall and at least one plant is blooming. A Pathfinders group planted more last week, so we're hoping for a large patch by next year. Wood bettony (Pedicularis canadensis). Yellow violets (Viola pubescens) in the Ash Woodlot. These showy "chasmogamous" flowers will be followed later in the season by inconspicuous "cleistogamous" flowers that self-pollinate. (See the key to the violets of the Ottawa District for more about violets.) Starry False Solomon's seal (Smilacina stellata) in the Ash Woodlot. Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) - named for its blue berries which form later - along the Woodland Walk.

14 May — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan Female red-winged blackbird (left) and white-crowned sparrow at our Backyard Garden feeder The variety of birds passing through FWG these days is quite interesting. Some of them remain to breed and are already staking out territory. It doesn't take long! But then that is why they undertake that arduous journey north - to raise a family and there is no point wasting time. Last year American redstarts nested in the garden for only the second time (as far as I know, anyway), and this year a female has been singing constantly from the ravine for the last couple of days so perhaps a male will show up and they'll nest again. Not all female birds sing, but within some species, both males and females do; the redstart is one such species. Chickadees have now taken over three of the new nest boxes, and are very busy nest building. Yesterday, I watched (from a safe distance) as an industrious pair flew back and forth with bits of grass, moss, and plant fibres. There are fewer tree swallows than we've had in the past at the garden. Consequently, not all of the boxes are being used. House sparrows too, are far more scarce at present than in previous years. While they congregate in winter, forming flocks of up to 30 or 40 birds around FWG, come breeding season, they disperse. A couple of pairs are using the eaves of the barn, but there are few to none around the nest boxes (yet). While on the topic of "fewer than before", the kestrels are noticeable by their absence, and the green herons, while around, are present only very occasionally. One can make informed guesses (or have informed opinions) as to why. The lack of nesting kestrels is rather sad, as we had become quite used to them around the FWG over the past 12 years. Last year they made their presence known in April and May: very vocal, very busy, very conspicuous, although they eventually nested elsewhere. Other birds found yesterday and today include Baltimore oriole, warbling vireo, black-and-white warbler, chestnut-sided warbler, yellow-bellied sapsucker, cooper's hawk (above right), white-crowned sparrow (top of section), white-throated sparrow, chipping sparrow (below) and song sparrow. Three killdeer flew across the garden, circling around as if looking for somewhere to land, but after a few turns, flew on. And of course, all the usual species, such as white-breasted nuthatch, robins, cardinals, etc., being seen. The sapsucker photo (below) was not taken in the garden, but close by. Chipping sparrow Yellow-bellied sapsucker Turning to other critters. Butterflies are also fewer than I'd expect at this time of year. However, I did see a lovely male silvery blue yesterday. Silvery blue Coleomagilla maculata on dandelions Other insects are certainly present, but are seen in large numbers only briefly. When the Coleomagilla maculata beetles emerged a short while ago, they were everywhere, particularly on dandelions, but also all over other young vegetation. On Sunday, there were hundreds, if not thousands of them, but by Tuesday and today, they were found only sporadically. On Saturday, while waiting around for people to get back from the bird walk, I spent a little time looking down into the ravine. A chipmunk came along, gathered some vegetation, swam across the stream in the ravine, ran up the other side, vanished into the shrubs, re-emerged, empty-mouthed, swam back over the stream and vanished. I think this is the first time I've seen these little guys swim. Although most animals can, many prefer not to. Both red and grey squirrels are enjoying the seed catkins of poplars, as you can see in this photo.

12 May: Guides help out — photos and notes from Sandy Garland On Monday evening, an intrepid group of about a dozen Pathfinders led by Diamond Macdonald weeded out invasive species and planted native trees and wildflowers on the south side of the Ash Woodlot. Two years ago, the same troop planted violets along the main path in our woods. This year they planted 2 small beech trees, 3 golden alexanders, a couple of violets, and lots of bettony. They did an excellent job of removing swallowwort from the planting sites. A highlight of the evening was the discovery of a small American Toad under a stone that had to be moved. The toad was placed under an upended flowerpot for safety until the planting was finished. Then the girls carefully put him back next to his rock.

10 May: International Migratory Bird Day — notes from Christine Hanrahan photos from Diane Lepage The IMBD event attracted close to 50 people. Forty-three went on the walk, while another 6 came later to the centre and stayed to browse the exhibits, have some coffee and talk birds. Peter Fuller (left) did his usual excellent job of helping the group find birds, with a total list of 32 species (below). The highlight for everyone was the green heron, of course! It arrived just as the group came to the Amphibian Pond, as if on cue, after not having been seen for some days! Warblers were not as plentiful as the day before, but things change — birds come, birds go. Before the group headed out, I gave a short talk about IMBD. We had a quick birding quiz and the three winners each got a bag of Audubon Society Bird-friendly coffee, donated by the Canadian Wildlife Federation. This group was a particularly engaged one, and there was a lot of interest and enthusiasm, not only for the bird walk but for the FWG too. The weather cooperated, the birds were singing up a storm (several people commented on "so many birds!!!" in tones of amazement), and it was a great day to be out. Species seen on the IMBD walk: canada goose mallard ring-billed gull green heron cooper's hawk tree swallow northern rough-winged swallow american robin blue jay american crow red-winged blackbird brown-headed cowbird european starling baltimore oriole least flycatcher warbling vireo yellow warbler yellow-rumped warbler nashville warbler ruby-crowned kinglet american goldfinch northern cardinal chipping sparrow song sparrow white-crowned sparrow white-throated sparrow black-capped chickadee white-breasted nuthatch downy woodpecker pileated woodpecker mourning dove rock pigeon

10 May: Work on the Butterfly Meadow — notes from Sandy Garland, photos from Sandy and Diane Lepage Regular visitors to the garden will notice a change in the Butterfly Meadow. On Saturday, super-volunteers Rob (above) and Andrew (at left) rototilled a large area of the west meadow — partly to do some damage to swallowwort there and partly to prepare for planting native species. Thanks to Charlie for making arrangements to rent the rototiller for the afternoon and for delivering it to the site. Diane organized the work and will be following up with the Wednesday evening volunteer group planting shrubs and more native wildflowers, including some important larval food plants.

9 May: Migration at FWG — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan To whet your appetite for International Migratory Bird Day tomorrow, I can say that migration is well underway. lots more warblers are being seen, and today's observations included black-throated green warbler (the photo was taken in the Arboretum... I couldn't get a shot of the one at FWG), palm warbler, northern parula, yellow-rumped warbler, yellow warbler, black-and-white warbler, as well as warbling vireo and blue-headed vireo. A ruby-throated hummingbird was in the BYG this afternoon. White-throated sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, song sparrows, savannah sparrows and chipping sparrows were all quite visible today, along with the cardinals, robins, goldfinches, chickadees, tree swallows, orioles, downy woodpeckers, etc. etc. Black-throated green warbler Native lady beetle, Coleomagilla maculata Sweat bee on a dandelion White-breasted nuthatch A mourning cloak butterfly landed briefly in a plum tree, making for a pretty shot, and a few spring azures and cabbage whites were found. Dozens of the tiny little native ladybeetle, Coleomagilla maculata were very visible, along with many nomada bees, sweat bees, andrenids, bumblebees (females), and many other insects.

7 May: More arrivals at FWG — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan Yesterday, new arrivals at the garden were yellow warbler (above left), black-and-white warbler, and white-crowned sparrow. Today, Baltimore oriole (above right), barn swallow and blue jay (actually, I saw barn swallows over the farm last week, but the one today was the first I've seen at FWG this year). Black-capped chickadee Green frog I watched a pair of chickadees bringing clumps of moss to one of the new nest boxes. Whether they actually do nest will remain to be seen. Tree swallows are gathering nesting material, as are robins, cardinals, red-winged blackbirds, house sparrows, etc. Polistes dominula (below left) are also busy building nests, some in nest boxes (had to scrape the nest out before they got much further, so the swallows could have a chance). Green frogs (above right) are out and about and calling. And the toads continue trilling away in both the Arboretum and near Hartwell's Locks. Last night, about 10 p.m., the toads in the Arboretum were trilling up a storm! The big painted turtle seems to have discovered a great spot for basking - a large mat of cattails. Spring azure, mourning cloak (below) and cabbage white butterflies are relatively common at the moment. Charlie's new signs in the BYG are a great addition to the garden. Here you can see the one for the Woodland Walk. But right now, it is spring migration that is the major draw at the garden! Unfortunately, the trees are really leafing out, making it quite difficult to see birds at times. I am quite certain that there are more warblers passing through than I have noted below - I keep getting distracted from the birding by other things. A list of birds seen there (or occasionally flying over) in the last week: green heron Canada geese wood duck mallard black duck Cooper's hawk ring-billed gull mourning dove rock pigeon downy woodpecker northern flicker tree swallow barn swallow blue jay American crow common raven black-capped chickadee white-breasted nuthatch brown creeper house wren ruby-crowned kinglet American robin brown thrasher European starling yellow warbler yellow-rumped warbler pine warbler black-and-white warbler northern cardinal chipping sparrow savannah sparrow song sparrow white-throated sparrow white-crowned sparrow dark-eyed junco red-winged blackbird common grackle brown-headed cowbird Baltimore oriole house finch American goldfinch house sparrow Male (above) and female brown-headed cowbirds

5 May — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan The green herons while still around, are not quite as visible as they have sometimes been. However, on Tuesday, last week, I was treated to some good views of these lovely little herons (photo above). A beautiful brown thrasher was another new arrival at FWG this afternoon. Another new arrival on Tuesday was a pine warbler. A house wren was still hanging around the Ash Woods on Thursday, and also on Thursday, a pair of wood ducks (photo above) landed briefly on the pond before flying off toward the Arboretum. I took a quick look there and found them in the small stream that goes around the island. I hadn't seen any accipiters at FWG for awhile until today when a cooper's hawk was present for a short period. Now that the female red-winged blackbirds have been back for awhile, nesting activity is really picking up. The pond cattails are greatly reduced at the moment (the birds nest in last year's standing stems), but since they are not reliant on cattails for nest sites, there shouldn't be a big problem. If you remember, I sent you some photos of breeding (and egg-laying) toads on April 24. I thought this was very early and checking my notes for the last few years, found that typically I've heard and seen them from early to mid-May. In 2007, it was May 9 that I photographed toads breeding. I don't know if the FWG toads were particularly eager to get the business of breeding underway, but today toads were trilling away near Hartwell Locks, much closer to the usual time for this species. Still on pond critters, a very large painted turtle was in the pond today. The recent rains and the warmer weather have caused all sorts of plants to grow and bloom including both white and red trilliums, bellwort, downy yellow violet, foamflower (just beginning). The BYG, of course, is looking very lovely now. In the last few years, field horsetails (Equisetum arvense) have become quite abundant in certain parts of the garden. These very primitive members of the fern family are pretty interesting, if you take the time to look at them. In the photos below you can see the short-lived fertile stem of this species (left). The other photo shows the immature sterile stem (right). Don't forget - the FWG and the Ottawa Wildlife Festival, celebrate International Migratory Bird Day on Saturday, May 10th. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and includes a guided birding walk around the FWG with Peter Fuller. We'll have free refreshments, displays and handouts on birds, plus a quiz in which you'll have a chance to win a bag of bird-friendly, shade-grown, organic coffee. No registration required. Just turn up! The walk goes rain or shine. And birders in the group know that if it is warm AND raining, birding can often be quite good. On another note, Jim Robertson has once again kindly posted some of my recent photos of Larose Forest. Included in this batch are recent photos (as of yesterday!) of red efts and red-back salamanders, a Henry's elfin butterfly, and several colour phases of the pretty little spring beauty:

3 May — notes from Sandy Garland, photos from David Hobden and Sandy Garland "April showers bring May flowers..." and flowers are appearing everywhere at the FWG. David photographed these red trilliums in our Ash Woodlot on Friday morning and the trout lily (right) in our Backyard Garden. Volunteers were hard at work in the Backyard Garden clearing away dead material from last year's plants and checking to see what plants are coming up now. Pussytoes (right) are in bud in the rockery. These low-growing plants bloom for a very short period in May, then spread vegetatively to form a mat of rosettes. They are a larval host plant for American Lady butterflies and they attract Elfins and Spring Azures. In the Woodland Walk part of the Backyard Garden, wild ginger leaves are unfolding... and violets are in bloom. We're hoping to identify these and other violets in the garden using a key by John Gillett, which is now on our web site. In the Backyard Garden's butterfly bed, Carla discovered a number of little fuzzy caterpillars among the shoots of several perennials, notably pearly everlasting and monarda. I think they are caterpillars of Ctenuchid moths, which were common last summer in the garden (see our Blog). This species overwinters as caterpillars, under leaf litter or matted grass.