Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Wildlife Wednesday: All in a day for November

I rarely plan my Wildlife Wednesday posts in advance so this one is an exception.  It just happened that one day in late October the garden was busy with so many different and interesting forms of wildlife I decided to show you just one day, "a day in the wildlife" you could say.  Wildlife Wednesday is hosted on the first Wednesday of each month by Tina at "My gardener says...."

My day started with observing what appears to be a female black chinned hummingbird on a small branch.  It is fascinating how their head, and entire body for that matter, never stops moving.  This one might be waiting to dive bomb and chase other hummingbirds away from the feeder.  Oddly, the chasers rarely visit the feeders.


A few minutes later I spent about an hour (off and on) convincing two Carolina Wrens to leave the screened porch and that's when it occurred to me I could make "a day in the Wildlife Wednesday".  The two birds had somehow found their way in and were clearly enjoying exploring their own private aviary.  It was time for them to go out before they made a mess of the furniture and plants.


When I tried to get them out they kept flying up to a cubby near the roof.  It's apparently easier to get in than out.  Here's a bit of the excitement:


When they tired of trying to fly up to the roof they dropped to the floor and began exploring so I just shooed them out the open door.

Meanwhile out the garden, fall-blooming White heath asters were fairly buzzing with activity.

Carpenter Bee



Bug eyes!



I think this is a paper wasp.


No idea.  It looks like a giant fly but I couldn't find a single redheaded fly in the images I searched.




While all the stingers and buzzers were busy in one part of the garden, over in the Gregg's mistflower patch butterflies were everywhere because it's a magnet.


Monarchs are migrating through.






Their cousins the Queen butterfly are here much of the year.



They get along well it seems....sometimes.  


And a Gray Hairstreak posed just right on the Augusta Deulberg Salvia.


Bright on bright with a Gulf Fritillary on Gomphrena 'Fireworks'.



A female Whitetail deer dropped by for lunch



and a nap


All in a wildlife day in my garden.

Tina's garden is all aflutter at "My gardener says..." and you'll find more posts from gardeners to follow in the comments sections.

14 comments:

  1. All great shots, Shirley. Love the birds; I adore Carolina wrens, so curious and charming. I had one in my house once--you're wise to have shooed them out before a mess happened. :) Great pollinator shots. Aren't Queens and Monarch photogenic??

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    1. We've had a bird in the house too and that was a challenge. Thanks, I love having the butterflies and it's just amazing how many different pollinators visit the garden.

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  2. Also, I'm totally jealous at the shot of the Gray Hairstreak with wings spread! I have a hard time getting them with that pose.

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    1. Thank you Tina! The secret is multiple frames at once. My camera takes up to 10 in just a few seconds.

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  3. Fabulous photos as always, Shirley. I'm glad you were able to get the Carolina wrens out of the screened porch unscathed. I've been more cautious about birds getting into my cat's screened in porch since an unfortunate incident in which Pipig discovered a stray hummingbird before I did. I'm impressed by the sheer number of butterflies in your garden. For reasons I can't explain, our butterfly contingent was extremely low this year. The only anomaly I can point to is our extremely low rainfall last year but I don't know how those events might be tied together.

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  4. Butterflies are doing well this year after a rain delay in October. I hear Monarch numbers have increased which is a beautiful thing.

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    1. Good news! Migrating monarchs fascinate me.

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    2. They are beautiful and certainly their journey twice a year is an amazing feat.

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  5. It still looks like summer there. No wonder the critters like living in and around your garden.

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    1. It looks like your PNW summer, our flowers die back in summer. We have a few months of this until the frost which may arrive in November or not.

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  6. That little hummingbird is so cute! The photos of the pollinators on the Heath Asters and the Mistflowers are magical. Thanks for sharing these beautiful images!

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    1. It's fun to note the preferred plants of different pollinators.

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  7. As always, some really beautiful photos. I especially liked the Gulf Fritillary on Gomphrena 'Fireworks‘. Wow, that’s a lot of color! Last year a wren nested in a succulent planter between two chairs on my front porch. I couldn’t sit in those chairs for a month but it was totally worth it.

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    1. I can imagine that was fun since they are adorable.

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