Nature & Wildlife Thread

[JBtheExplorer]

I've seen quite a few going to my Coral Bells plant. I expect to see more once my Mexican Sunflowers bloom, but that's still a month or so away.

 

[addy1]

These little cuties must have lost their parents, they came over every morning for snacks.

The sea gull bathing spot, every morning, we could canoe up to them real quietly.

Lots of orioles

And of Course the Boat Captain!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

These little cuties must have lost their parents, they came over every morning for snacks.

the photo with the young ducks is interesting. I wonder what happened. Looks like they're old enough to take care of themselves, at least for now.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

A lot of flapping around the eagles nest. I think they may be getting ready.

 

[RobAmy]

Good old flash did the trick . Sitting in a tree outside my house making noise from 10pm till 4 am:

Love it

 

[addy1]

A lot of flapping around the eagles nest. I think they may be getting ready.
View attachment 82192

One took off, spread those wings and flew away! Around 1 pm

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My mom was dog-watching today and she wanted to take it for a walk so we met up and went to a short trail. This area is tucked between a prison and an industrial park, yet the restoration turned it into something worth seeing. It's a great example of what can be done for wildlife in cities. I've been seeing more and more of these mini restorations and pathways, and my hope is that this is happening all over the US.

Blue Flag Irises.

Guessing this is a Pale Purple Coneflower.

I found the invasive Yellow Iris there. This plant is one of the top listed invasives in the state, and I expect it'll be on the banned list in the next 10 years. This is the first time I've ever come across it in the wild, though. It's a shame it is invasive because it looks great.

Milkweed. Unsure of which kind. Safe to say this area was filled with native plants. I love seeing that.

After that, I went over to the bike trail often visit shortly before rain moved in.

Didn't see too much there, but this Great Egret was a nice sight.

 

[Figgy]

Some photos from my trip to Martin Mere Wetland Centre in Burscough, UK:


Flamingos

Avocet

Rock Dove

Moorhen

Asian Otter

 

[addy1]

Great shots you two,
JB that is the milkweed that is in the farmers field, edge of. Looks the same as yours.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Great shots you two,
JB that is the milkweed that is in the farmers field, edge of. Looks the same as yours.

I'm guessing it's probably Common Milkweed, but there are others with big round leaves like that so I'm not sure.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

It was fun watching this year. All three new Eagles have officially left the nest. Two are on camera today, though.

 

[Mike in Vermont]

An Osprey nest in Maryland made the news today. A camera was set up. Unfortunately, the eggs didn't hatch. A biologist waded out to the nest, took the two eggs, and placed two baby Osprey in the nest. Apparently, they were orphans and needed a home. The mom came back and looked kinda confused. Imagine that. lol The dad came back with a twig. He looked a little confused too. I hope things work out.
.
On a side note, I haven't seen any here since one stole one of my fish last week. Their probably raising a family, and will be real hungry later on.

 

[fish_tale]

barred owl in our backyard - he's gorgeous!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Hoping to share my camping photos tomorrow, but today I was out hiking a little. My mom and I went over to a county park that I haven't been to in about 10 years. I wasn't even aware they had a trail until last year. It was a nice trail but I noticed many invasives in the "prairie".As you can see, fog rolled in from Lake Michigan.

A highlight was finding a patch of Wild Strawberries. They're probably the best tasting strawberries I've ever had.

The lowlight was that we realized the area was infested with ticks...
We had a total of 8 ticks between us, and the walk was very short. I don't want to think about how many we could've had, had we waked the whole trail.

After that we went over the the Pike River Pathway.
Summer Wildflowers are finally beginning to bloom. Just in the matter of a week, I've noticed Wild Bergamot and Milkweed blooming. Wild Bergamot is one of the plants in my native garden, so I'm hoping to see it bloom this year. Hopefully in the next month or so.

and thistle. I'm not sure if it's native or not. Some are and some are invasive. The color sure stands out. Too bad they're full of thorns or it would be a welcome addition in my native plant gardens, if native.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

As you might know, I went camping last weekend. I went out to a State Park that I have never been to before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

It lies on the shores of Lake Michigan.

There was quite a bit to explore, including woodlands, dunes, marsh, and prairie. Each area was completely different from the rest.

Being that there were so many different habitats, there was a large variety of plant life.
Blue Flag Irises growing along a pond.

Veiny Pea growing on the sand dunes.

I found at least four different types of ferns while there.

I also saw a lot of wildlife. Painted Turtles and Snapping Turtles were crossing roads everywhere to lay their eggs. The morning after I took the photo of this Snapping Turtle, I came back to find that it had laid its eggs in the exact spot this photo was taken, right along a quiet road.

While taking that photo, I looked up and noticed a bird I have never seen before but have been patiently waiting to find.

Eastern Bluebird

Deer were all over the place, mostly in the woods, but this one was seen walking along the sand dunes.

I also came across a coyote while hiking the trails. It didn't care that I was there and only glanced at me once as it stood there waiting for me to walk away so it could continue on. As I was taking video, it got tired of waiting so it turned around and ran off.

Lastly, the sunset shots of my final night.