It's Wildlife Wednesday and that means rounding up wildlife photos from June to share on the meme hosted by Tina at "My Gardener Says...." on the first Wednesday of each month. Let's look at the wildlife visitors I spotted recently in the garden.
This pretty creature is a Peucetia viridans or green lynx spider. Green lynx spider is found throughout the southern U.S. and is a chief predator of southern pests such as the cotton bollworm, corn earworm, and cabbage looper moth. It doesn't spin webs, but rather trails a line along behind like a trip wire, waits for prey to show up and pounces. "Have a nice trip? Ha Ha." You can see a bit of what looks like a line between the glochids.
It's not all good with the green lynx spider since they are also a major predator of bees which might explain its presence on a cactus just to the left of Woolly Ironweed (Vernonia lindheimeri) where a Solitary Bee is working. These Solitary Bees are actually very friendly and often come up to us just to take a look.
A green Carolina Anole (Anolis carolinensis) keeps an eye on the proceedings from a Yucca Rigida while waiting for insects to fly close enough. Anoles claim plants, particularly tall ones and simply hang out there. I heard one snap at a moth a while back and it's quite audible if you're in the right spot.
Turkey Vultures have been visiting us on a near daily basis for years. Usually it's a thudding noise on our metal roof that alerts me to their presence. They typically perch high up by the chimney, all the better for their view of the creek, but not easy to get a photo. During June they moved closer to the water trough we keep out for wildlife and I created these GIFs. Something may have died back there, a fairly common occurrence which is why they perch on the roof in the first place.
Our golf course correspondent turned in this view of an Egret and Cormorants fishing at a pond.
I typically conclude these posts with deer photos. Today I'm posting deer damage instead. Deer are creatures of habit and once they gain a taste for a certain plant they won't leave it alone. Every new leaf is stripped nightly. When we discovered this type of damage to a schefflera that had been near the front door for years without a problem, we protected it with wire grates assuming the baffled deer would move on.
Yesterday I discovered the deer apparently decided to destroy nearby variegated liriope plants instead. Chewed down whole rows of them.
Deer typically nibble liriope randomly but not enough for me to worry about it. This time whole plants were uprooted and dropped.
Fortunately, liriope is resilient which why it's planted here. I've mentioned that we fenced deer out of the back garden a few years ago and these examples in the unfenced front yard show why. Imagine going out and checking each morning to see what the deer got into overnight.
For more posts on wildlife in the garden, see the comments section at "My Gardener Says...".
Great shots all--so good that you profiled the Turkey vulture. They're such important birds in our ecosystem and the don't get the love they deserve! Like that bee headed toward the Woolly Ironweed--and really like the iron weed. I also frequently see the lynx spider; they're good predators, though I do know that they also catch some of the tiny bees. Sniff. Thanks for joining in this month, Shirley.
ReplyDeleteBees will take native plants whenever possible it seems so I have three different native ironweeds in the garden. They bloom when other stuff has gone summer dormant.
DeleteGreat photos Shirley and lots of interesting information. Enjoyed seeing the turkey vulture (which I hadn't heard of before). The anole looks intriguing, does it change colour to blend in with its environment or is it always that lovely green colour?
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed seeing different wildlife. I might write more about the turkey vultures in the future since you mentioned not seeing them before. Anoles turn green or brown depending on what part of the plant they're on. Not as many colors as a chameleon.
DeleteUgh deer. This year they have been horrible in our garden, mostly because our neighbor started feeding them last fall so now they are used to just hanging out in both of our yards. I'm having some serious problems with them and now am on the hunt for anything they won't eat! gah!
ReplyDeleteThe turkey and black vultures also drop by from time to time. Mostly recently a fawn died on the wooded lot next door so they were our scavenging it.
Love green lynx---didn't know they enjoyed bees so much!
Happy gardening!
There are quite a few animals living along the creek and undeveloped land back there that some of them are bound to die off from time to time.
DeleteSorry about the deer damage. From the tiny to the large, you always capture great wildlife images, Shirley. You have me wondering if I could get my spouse to serve as guest correspondent. He came in last night from a dip in the spa and reported a raccoon sighting. That's not unusual and I shrugged until he told me that he clapped his hands to encourage the raccoon to move on his way but all that did was prompt it to stand on his hind legs and peer over the top of the spa at him - now that's a photo I'd liked to have! Our security camera in that area doesn't capture the view from that angle, or so my husband told me anyway...
ReplyDeleteThis made me smile and reminds me to check the security cameras for a future post. We are amazed by the activities. Next time, hand him a camera. Neal spends so much time on the golf course and I enjoy his interest in my blog.
DeleteDarned deer! They're cute animals but it's too bad they don't just eat weeds; every gardener would want one! How fortunate to have turkey vultures! Things would probably get pretty stinky without them!
ReplyDelete