Part 2 - More Critterspassing through

Discussion in 'Wildlife in the Garden' started by DaphDaph, Oct 9, 2007.

  1. DaphDaph

    DaphDaph Seedling

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    Here's a few photos that I took recently. I wish I could have taken more but my husband and I have been busy with his chief intitation for the past 6 weeks. I've missed my daily dose of gardenstew. Hopefully life will settle back down and we can get back to normal. Anyhow....here's the photos.

    Here's a heron or egret hunting at the pond. I was lucky enough to snap a photo when his/her head went into the water. This big bird has learned to drop by our pond at sunset. That's when the frogs wake up and sing.
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    The photo below is not the best because I took it through the glassdoor and screened porch. This is one of the hummingbirds perched on the feeder guarding it. I read that humming birds are a little aggressive and may defend their feeder. Well it is true. I put up another feeder on our swing. We had one hummer come up to the feeder on the swing when my husband and I were occupying the swing. The hummer started to feed then backed up and looked at us. He came back later and swooped over us and chirped. It's the critters yard and we are the yard keepers so we moved.
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    Thank you Glendann for your posting of your hummingbird moth. I've never seen one, so when I did see a couple in the backyard I knew exactly what they were. Two hummingbird moths went from flower to flower drinking nectar. I love to watch them so now I go out at sunset to look for them.
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    Here's one of the parent hawks. The 2nd photo of the hawk balancing on the swing was taken by my husband through the kitchen window. There is a male and female that have a nest in the woods behind out house. For two years in a row they have had their babies in the nest. I have to say the highlight of the spring/summer is when the parents bring the babies out to teach them to hunt. Each year they practice the hunting on my little wolfgang. Don't worry they will not hurt him because his girlfriend is a rotti mix that runs the yard and barks at the family circling over. I never let wolfgang go out without his big girl and me to protect him. Wolfgang is clueless, while he rolls in the grass belly up. His girlfriend runs in circles barking at the sky.
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    Here's my little piggy squirrels. Notice the cardinal watching the squirrel climb the pole to eat her seed. These fat little squirrels have took off with 2 of my compressed corn thingies. I caught one dragging it up the tree. At least I know they will have plently of food when the hibernate.
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    My first decent photo of a damsel fly.
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    This photo was taken in Spring. I found a small tree filled with these yellow caterpillars.There were several dozen of these caterpillars. This summer we saw several yellow butterflies that we think were these caterpillars.
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    I love dragonflies. They remind my of summers at my granny's house.
    We bought a purple martin house and pole that may not get put up next year because I read that that the martins eat dragonflies and butterflies.
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    I'm that crazy lady stopped in the middle of the street or blocking traffic to save the turtle in the middle of the road. My husband use to fuss at me saying it's to dangerous and that there's lots of turtles. After a few saves my husband ended up waking me up in the middle of the night because he found a turtle crossing the street on his way home from work. So far we have saved about half a dozen big and small turtles. Below is a photo of a shy turtle we found on a busy road. She pulled into her shelf when I got close with the camera. The second photo is my husband releasing her to our pond. On a sunny afternoon you can see several of the turtles sunning themselves by the pond. I'm trying to get photos but they dive in the pond when they see me.
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    More birds
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    I love my lizards. This photo is the biggest lizard I have ever seen. He is on top of my rainbarrel.
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    One night I was thinking about what the baby lizards do at night. I found these sleeping babies on the aloe plant on the backporch. The first photo has 4 of the babies sleeping on the aloe.
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    The photo below is a pregant mother on the porch door. We call our back porch the lizard nursery.
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    Below is a baby frog on a small lemon.
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    I had to add this grasshopper because it is the biggest grasshopper my husband and I ever seen. Her body (not icluding her antenna and legs) was 4 inches long and when she stretched out to climb she was as long as a dollar bill. The photos of her are on the cucumber vine. She stayed with us for a couple of weeks, moving between flower bed and herb garden and mulch beds. I later found out that she is a ludder grasshopper and larger than the normal ludder. I call her a her because later a male ludder found her. He was about half her size. We may have babies!
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    Below are my first photos of a monarch.
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    Fall is coming. The birds are migrating through the Carolina's on their way further down south.
    Here's some ducks that stop by on their way to and from the south.
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    I'm not sure what type of birds these are. They came by the hundreds and landed in my yard. They nibbled and moved on.
    I love the photo of the mourning dove. This mourning dove has been with me since the spring. She eats while sitting in the birdfeeder and often bathes in the birdbath. I don't think she liked these birds eating her food. The 3rd photo is a stand off between the cardinal and mourning dove. When the cardinal jumped out the mourning down plotted down in the feeder.
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    I caught this fella nibbling on my roses.
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    That's it for now. I'm sad to see summer end so soon.
    Thanks for letting me share.
     
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  3. redrose

    redrose Seedling

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    My goodness, you and your camera have been busy. They're all so wonderful. The hawks are spectacular, we don't see them much around here. And dragonflies are so pretty with their different colors. Aww . . and the little lizards and frog, so adorable! Great photos!
     
  4. petunia

    petunia Young Pine

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    I loved all your photos. Your butterfly bush is bringing in the butterflies. Lizards look so cute, but I'll have to admit, you can keep them in S.C. thanks for sharing.
     
  5. cajunbelle

    cajunbelle Daylily Diva

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    Wonderful, I don't think I can pick a favorite, but the fat little squirrels are really cute.
     



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  6. eileen

    eileen Resident Taxonomist Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    We really missed having you around. :( It was well worth waiting for your return though as you've posted excellent photographs Daph. I really do love seeing all the 'critters' that visit your garden. How I wish I could sit and watch them all for myself. Thanks for taking the time to show us all your birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and rodents. Keep those piccies coming!! :stew1:
     
  7. Droopy

    Droopy Slug Slaughterer Plants Contributor

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    Beautiful photographs! I love the heron-splash, and thought that was my favorite, but then there's the hummingbird moth, the dragonflies, the frog... I can't choose. I love them all! And I'd like more. Many more.
     
  8. Frank

    Frank GardenStew Founder Staff Member Administrator

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    What fabulous photos to start the day with DaphDaph. Hard to choose a favourite but if I was forced to I would pick the squirrels and cardinals, frog on lemon, grasshopper and of course the monarch. Just wonderful!
     
  9. jubabe296

    jubabe296 Official Garden Fairy

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    Daph thank you for the wonderful critter show! I love them all but having to pick I would choose the heron going into the water and then the fat little squirrels and oh.. I choose them all! :)
    We call the black birds just that blackbirds in our neck of the woods. Sometimes there are so many they look like of cloud of smoke in the distance and you wonder what's on fire and then when you get close enough you realize oh it's the blackbirds! :)
    I really look forward to your next around of pics.Please keep 'em coming!
     
  10. Netty

    Netty Chaotic Gardener Plants Contributor

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    Fantastic photos Daph...keep 'em coming!
     
  11. TheBip

    TheBip Young Pine

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    Awsome! I would love to live in your area :D
     
  12. glendann

    glendann Official Garden Angel

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    Wow!!!! What a show you gave us my favorites or the tiny little frog and the dragonflies.I do love all the colors.Every picture is wonderful.Thanks for the photos.I love the Butterfly Bush amd the Butterfies.
    I have a hard time picking a favorite as you can see.
     
  13. DaphDaph

    DaphDaph Seedling

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    I'm delighted that you all enjoyed the photos because I sure enjoyed taking them.
    Jubabe...that exactly what those birds look like....a dark cloud. They remind me of that Alfred Hitchcock movie..the birds.
    I'm so sad to see summer ending :( My little frogs and lizards will be hibernating soon. I do have to say my favorite night of the year is when the frogs wake up in the spring. Hundreds of them...maybe more...gather around the pond and sing.
    Eileen...next spring I'll have a glass of sweet tea and a saved seat on the swing waiting for you :-D
     
  14. Penny

    Penny Young Pine

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    Those are incredible pictures, so vibrant and colorful!!!
     
  15. eileen

    eileen Resident Taxonomist Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    I'll start packing now Daph!!!! ;)
     
  16. Biita

    Biita Arctic-ally Challenged Forager

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    WOW!!! those are amazing photos,, i don't think i can pick a fav of those,,, but the heron an the hawk,, is that a red tail hawk,, it looked like it, but i liked them all. we had a gray or blue heron here for a while last month, only at dusk for about a month. now its moved on, i do hope it comes back next yr. i could never get a pick tho,,
     

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