There wasn't a whole lot of activity at the marsh this morning, so when that happens I often 'go macro'. That is, I look for little wildlife - like this snail. Snails are especially evident after a rain. I saw a number of them on different plants - this one was on a leaf of a sensitive fern. The second shot shows it moving from that leaf to one beside it. Not long ago, I would have walked right by and never noticed it and its slow and patient journey.
I saw this magnificent bird way out in the marsh today, as I was scanning the bird life with my binoculars from one of the viewing stands.
Does this photo look vaguely familiar? Actually, it is the same photo posted on July 18, but rotated 180 degrees. Why you ask? Because after a friend sent me a photo of a green bee , I looked at my photo more closely - and realized I was looking at the bee upside down. Its abdomen wasn't green, its head was! Once I got that straight, with some online help, I was able to i.d. the bee as a Green Metallic Sweat Bee. They like to pollinate flowers, too.
Finally this morning I caught a few of the geese as they did a fly over. Luckily, they always announce their flight before take-off, so I had a few seconds to prepare. This time they didn't just fly a few feet above the water's surface, but soared over the tree tops. They'll be wandering farther afield now, although the marsh will remain their home base until they depart, probably in November.
This morning I finally found one of those white butterflies that stopped long enough for me to get a shot. I question why I bothered, as it turns out it is a Cabbage Butterfly, the bane of vegetable gardeners who prefer their broccoli (and cabbage) cabbage worm free. I might be biased here, since I suffered from their presence in bygone years.
The Knapweed is coming into full bloom these days, and the bees are attracted to their blossoms. I saw these two on the same clump at the marsh this morning. The one at the top I'm pretty sure is a Tricolored Bumble Bee, but I haven't i.d.'d the one with the green abdomen. It might not even be a bee, as there are some insects that mimic bees. Any ideas??
I saw the geese take a short flying lesson this morning. I wanted to catch them 'on film', but I wasn't quick enough. I saw the yellow warbler I saw yesterday in the same willow clump, beak once again packed with insects. And I saw another Common Whitetail Skimmer dragonfly - the second within a week - when I've never seen (or noticed) one before. But the cutest thing I saw has to be this little Pied-billed grebe chick pleading with its parent for something to eat.
Remember those eleven young Blue-winged teal orphans? This morning I saw two Blue-winged teals sitting among the cattails near one of the viewing platforms. I took a few shots, then thought that perhaps these were of that group I had been seeing, so started looking around to see if I could spot the rest of them. Searching with my binoculars, I located six more in among the cattails, some more relaxed than others! The blue wing feathers are clearly visible on the teal in the upper shot.
I got a good shot of a female Black Duck this morning, sitting on what I believe to be a muskrat house. Her offspring were feeding nearby.
The Sea Cadets were out on the French Basin this morning, learning the ropes of sailing. Not exactly wildlife, but a pleasure to watch from the trail, especially on a hot summer's day like today.
