Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Wildlife Wednesday September 2016

Even though it seems we are well into September, it's the first Wednesday which means it's time to visit the garden for a wildlife survey.  Wildlife Wednesday is hosted by Tina at "My gardener says..." each month.

A couple of new captures for my blog from August and early September include White flies flitting in late summer sunlight providing a fun GIF photo op.  For a positive ID I would need to smack some down to inspect under a magnifier.  We'll just enjoy the animation.


A skink finally makes it into my Wildlife Wednesday post. 


I've been trying to get one of these squiggly legless lizards to hold still for months.  We have a lot of skinks in the garden but their quick snake-like movements are hard to catch on camera.  Somehow this one sensed my presence and froze in place instead of taking off.


With over 1,500 types of skinks to search, I think this is a Ground Skink (Sincellis lateralis) (Does that imply there are flying skinks?).  It spends much of its time in leaf litter hunting insects and the leaves make great camouflage.  Skinks are highly beneficial in the garden and cockroaches are among its favorite food sources.  Go skink go!


Honey bees enjoy Cenizo blossoms in early August.  All the sage plants were buzzing with bees during the week or so the blooms were around.


A solitary bee approaching bright yellow Mexican Bird of Paradise flowers.



I'm going with carpenter bee since it's large, shiny and dark.


A honeybee joins in the nectaring party.  Usually there's one type of bee per plant.


Yummy nectar.  Okay, that was a lot of photos for this one bee.  It just looks so cool against the bright yellow flowers


A solitary bee on Augusta Duelberg salvia (Salvia farinacea).



White sulphur butterfly on Aniscanthus wrightii.  This might be Pieris rapae or cabbage white but I didn't get a good look at the inner wings.



Walking sticks continue to enjoy the porch screens.


As usual we had deer visitors like this spotted fawn on the outside looking in.  They have plenty to eat and drink with all the rain this summer.


Though it looks like a family of three fawns, another doe is nearby.  While one fawn per doe is most common, there are a few sets of twins each year.


That's the wildlife report from my garden for August and early September.  Find more interesting garden wildlife in the comments section at Tina's blog Wildlife Wednesday blog post.

13 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos, Shirley. Love the shots of the skink--a first, I believe on Wildlife Wednesday! They're interesting critters, though I rarely spot them. The bee is gorgeous and the deer cute--as usual! Thanks once again for your contribution to Wildlife Wednesday.

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    1. Yes, finally and I didn't give up until I got a skink photo!

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  2. The skinks are new for me - always something new to discover! As well some of the plant species, although I am learning from Tina :)
    The fawns are very cute but I hope you can keep them outside the garden.

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    1. Our tough climate requires tough plants and fortunately there are some great choices out there.

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  3. Those deer are adorable! I love the pics of the different bees, that carpenter one looks huge! Love the gif of the white flies!

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  4. You've a lot of fun wildlife in your garden as usual! Your skink is way cool especially since it likes to eat cockroaches. We don't have a problem with roaches here but rodents are another story.

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    1. We have a cat for that. She gifted us with a giant rat last Monday.

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  5. Cool photo capture of the skink! Well done.

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  6. All that wildlife has got to be a sign of a healthy garden...and photogenic, to boot.

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  7. Great photos! I've heard of skinks but have never seen one. A white fly swarm would probably freak me out but the animated show is nice. The deer photos make my heart melt but, for the sake of your garden, it's good to see them on the outside of your fence.

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  8. Great photos! And grats on catching the skink. I have at least one in my compost bin but have never captured it with the camera. My family: "Ooooh, a 'skink' you say? Pics or it didn't happen ..."

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  9. Hi Shirley, your photos are beautiful, the deer are adorable and I have never seen a bee like that before!

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  10. Skink- never even heard of those! Wild! Love the deer photos- so cute.

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