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What was happening at the FWG in September 2007
14 September — photos and notes from Christine Hanrahan
Last Thursday was Praying Mantis day in the garden, when I saw at least half a dozen of these peculiar looking insects (photo at right). I swear that they must have been the model for all those aliens in B movies of the 1950s! A few days after that, I was trying to get a photo of a female Common Yellowthroat on the wooden fence by the butterfly meadow, but this little chipmunk (above right) was hogging the camera! With the goldenrod blossoms mostly gone now, insects are focusing on asters and the remaining thistles and any other blossoms they can find. Although sweat bees are pretty common throughout the spring to fall, it is in spring and early that you see them most.
On that same day, Sept. 11, there was a flock of about 20 White-throated Sparrows in the BYG, and an Eastern Phoebe along the woodland walk, as well as several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in their usual spot - the ravine near the bridge. |
Cleaning out the nest boxes today (more on that when I finish the
report, but I warn you, as far as Tree Swallows go, it makes for gloomy
reading), I discovered several with mice in them. No surprise there. But
I was surprised to be able to (at last) capture one of them with my
camera. This particular box had 2, possibly 3 mice. One eventually dove
out of the box, the other(s) stayed behind. In another box with mice, I
was a bit taken aback when the mouse leaped onto the front of my shirt,
clung there for a few seconds, and then climbed up onto my shoulder
where it sat for about 30 seconds before realizing that maybe that
wasn't such a grand idea, and did a nose dive into the grass.
