Today was one of the ugliest days we've had all season--cold, damp, and with a penetrating wind. I was so uncomfortable. I'm so glad I walked around the yard yesterday, which was a beautiful warm, still, spring day.
When I went near the azalea bushes the bumble bees were very loud! The bush shown below the bees was really humming!
There was a chickadee on one of the bluebird houses.
Showing more than just a casual interest.
When he went away, I looked in and there is one egg already!!
Click this one bigger to see all the interesting stuff in the nest. Wonder what that fine black string is?
A pretty palamedes swallowtail was enjoying the white azaleas.
Today, everything looked gray and cold and blah! But starting tomorrow it will all be nice again and our cold weather is over. I'll be whining about the heat soon enough.
I know I must sound like a broken record, but I'm so envious of all your spring color and activity! Thanks for your wonderful photos, which do a great deal to lift my spirits during our continued winter!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say, "Nice bees". Also I really admire your Masthead. We went for a short walk at the Fr. Worth Nature Center today and saw a Carolina wren, along with a Hermit thrush and a Black & white warbler.
ReplyDeleteThe Chickadees here usually have very moss based nests so that is really interesting! Love seeing your bees on blooming things!
ReplyDeleteHow uplifting! Your spring is, of course, very ahead of ours in VA; wonderful to enjoy your lovely photos of the birds and the bees! (and flowers and butterflies)
ReplyDeleteHi Bruce, great photos. Your final photo is especially interesting to me- it is a photo of a Palamedes Swallowtail. Those butterflies are only found in Southern swamps and marshes. I once took a photo of one in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. Thanks for your postings.
ReplyDeleteThanks all for enjoying our yard. I think most of you are spring deprived still!
ReplyDeleteRambles, I think the fine black stuff might have come from a scrap of old carpet being used as padding in a stack of wood nearby. The yellow looks a bit like insulation from around our AC ducts--I wouldn't think fiberglass would be attractive. There is a bit of my husband's hair in there from the last time I cut it.
Kathryn and Ari--don't despair--you'll see the ground in a month or two....LOL.....mud season is coming!
Thanks for the compliments, Troy and Martha. Carolina wren is our state bird, of course, so we see them everywhere--especially nesting in unusual places around the house.
Jayne, there is some moss in the chickadee nest, but not as much as usual. I'm going to try and post the video with the bee sounds.
Thanks, Birdlady--more coming today.
Thanks, Daniel. At least a third of our land is Southern marsh and a bit of swamp too, so we see palamedes all the time. The bush this one was on is about ten yards from tidal marsh.
Lovely pics of the nest and the butterfly and everything else! It a beautiful little egg! I like the string in the nest....I have a lot of thread and fabric scraps I intend to hang in the bushes to offer to my own birds. I hope one of them "quilts" a nest with some of it :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Bruce, I'm jealous that a third of your land is marsh land. If I had my druthers- that would be where I would live as well! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures, as always, Bruce! Not bluebirds, but chickadees are adorable, so it's going to be fun to see the progress.
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely day Bruce. I love that swallowtail and cannot believe the bird laid her egg so fast!!
ReplyDeleteI just found the painted bunting picture on the right! Wow! What an absolutely wonderful bird!! I want one!!
ReplyDeleteGreat close up shots Bruce, insects are something I am wanting to photograph this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary--you're easy to please! Birds will use threads and string and things. I like looking in and seeing what they choose. The boxes I have open from the front and the nest is actually built in a pressed fiber holder that lifts out for picture taking. Glad you liked the painted bunting! No males here yet, but I have seen a female--and she was banded, so a returnee from last summer.
ReplyDeleteWe chose this lot because of the location, Daniel. It was a long time coming, so keep trying.
Thanks, SP--I saw a beautiful male bluebird this morning, so I haven't given up hope yet. He went next door--where all the cats live.
LOL--shall I call you SAP, Joan--as in SAPhotos? You caught me out--the first chickadee pictures were taken several days earlier--she didn't lay the egg that fast. I'll check again in a few days to see if there are more. Last year there were five in that box--all fledged too.
Awe, I almost missed this posting, Bruce. One adorable egg so far, keep checking! The butterfly in the azalea is just beautiful...great shots!
ReplyDeleteDoug from Gossamer Tapestry would like these shots. He's an entimologist, i.e. "bug guy". I like them also.
ReplyDelete