wildlife

[ashley]

... Ashley- do they dig up your plants to do their burying? The most they do here is sit on a rock or piece of wood in garden beds occasionally to eat spruce cones- or at times when they drop thousands of cones from the tree tops, they may pile in garden edges.

Fortunately they don't dig stuff up or cause any harm in my garden Cohan but I've heard that elsewhere (grey?) squirrels excavate crocus corms etc. so gardeners must use wire mesh as a deterrent.

As you say, red squirrels love both spruce & pine cones.  Here they really binge on green cones from about July onwards & leave great numbers of 'cores' under pine trees particularly.  Besides cones and acorns they also eat apples we leave out for the birds, lichen on tree branches as well as freshly emerged oak/maple leaves and flowers before increasing tannin levels make them too bitter.  Apparently squirrels also plunder nests when the opportunity arises & indeed birds around the garden seem to keep a particularly close eye on the squirrels during the breeding season.

[Tristan_He]

This moth had expired on one of the walls. I think it is a lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing.



Still plenty of bumblebees about, here enjoying Centaurea jacea.

[cohan]

Fortunately they don't dig stuff up or cause any harm in my garden Cohan but I've heard that elsewhere (grey?) squirrels excavate crocus corms etc. so gardeners must use wire mesh as a deterrent.

As you say, red squirrels love both spruce & pine cones.  Here they really binge on green cones from about July onwards & leave great numbers of 'cores' under pine trees particularly.  Besides cones and acorns they also eat apples we leave out for the birds, lichen on tree branches as well as freshly emerged oak/maple leaves and flowers before increasing tannin levels make them too bitter.  Apparently squirrels also plunder nests when the opportunity arises & indeed birds around the garden seem to keep a particularly close eye on the squirrels during the breeding season.

They are definitely opportunistic feeders here- will take advantage of bird feeders, raiding the compost pile etc They take apples that fall, but don't seem to know to get those still on branches, even when crabs or apple crabs are on the branches late. They also pick mushrooms, often putting them on spruce boughs to dry!
Some birds in particular seem aggressive towards squirrels, in some cases I think it goes both ways- esp with magpies, maybe blue jays.

[ArnoldT]

It's always good to see nature taking  care of pests the organic way.


Hornworm Manduca quinquemaculata
Wasps Cotesia congregates

[cohan]

Arnold- nature is not always delicate...lol... I always assume one reason that I have few insect problems is that I have lots of *other* insects ( and birds)! now if only I'd get a good timely predator of flea beetles!

[fermi de Sousa]

Pomatostomus superciliosus - the white browed Babbler - is a new bird this year!
cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

I am delighted to see the shrew because though I've read about them, we don't have them in NZ so I've never seen one. As for the mossy rose gall, what a lovely thing. Actually I DO know those very well. They signify a bad hair day. 

[Lesley Cox]

Your new bird Fermi. Is this name for real?

[Gail]

Does anyone know what might have made these concrete-like blobs on this rock in the Peloponnese?


One of them had been broken open and it looked as though there were chambers inside for some sort of larvae??

[Tristan_He]

Hi Gail, I would say these are likely to be the nest chambers of potter wasps (also called mason wasps).

See https://www.buglife.org.uk/bugs/bug-directory/heath-potter-wasp/ for an example (though there are lots of species).

Tristan

[Gail]

Thanks Tristan, I can't find anything that looks quite right but have found some fascinating articles in the process.
https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/WASPS/Sceliphron_caementarium.htm

[Nik]

Some wildlife from our yard.

[Nik]

Few more

[Nik]

And few more

[ArnoldT]

Nik:

You have wolves in Connecticut?

Arnold