Wildlife Wednesday - May 2015

The wildlife that frequented the garden over the past month was pretty spectacular.  The birds and butterflies have definitely been the most impressive.

Butterflies

My neighbors that share a fenceline with me have a hedge full of flowers right now that are attracting an abundance of butterflies that I get to appreciate daily.  While these plants aren't directly in my garden, I'm going to count it anyways, because, while I don't find these butterflies collecting nectar from my garden right now, I do find them basking in the sun in between their sugary meals.

The most popular of the butterflies on this hedge are the red admirals (black, orange and white).  I've seen as many as 100 or so butterflies on this hedge at one time!  The shrubs just pulse with the multitude of wildlife that is enjoying their nectar.  Besides the red admirals, I've spotted some common buckeyes...

...and painted ladies...

...and grey hairstreaks.

Birds

The main attraction in the garden right now is by far my hummingbirds.  I've already dedicated an entire post to them, but I thought they needed to be highlighted here again.  Here are some of my favorite pictures of my hummers...

I've had quite a few black-chinned hummingbirds as well as Anna hummingbirds.

They love frequenting the feeders in the morning and evenings.

I've seen other gardeners with many hummers feasting at a feeder at one time, but my birds tend to be extremely territorial and like to scare each other off so that they get the feeder all to themselves (the male black-chins are the worst culprits).

I've also spotted either a male ruby-throated hummingbird or Anna's hummingbird, but he doesn't appear to be a bit fan of the paparazzi.

Springtime has brought about a bunch of baby birds, and now that we are getting later into spring, the fledglings have been pushed from their nests and have started working on their adult life skills.  

This fledgling mockingbird has already learned to seek shelter in the oleanders out front to keep away from predators and paparazzi, but I still got a picture of him as he fled the safety of the oleander in search of his momma.

I also saw the last of the American robins before they took off for some cooler summer weather up north.

Bees

The hummingbirds aren't the only ones that have been enjoying the hummingbird feeders.  I'm not quite sure who I've been feeding more... the hummers or the bees.  At this rate, I should start keeping bees.  I'm already feeding them, I might as well reap the rewards in liquid gold (aka honey).  Yeah... if only I had time for that.

When the bees aren't bee-ing lazy by feasting at the feeder, they can be readily found on the poppies.  I'm certainly happy about that... it means I have a good chance of having some nice poppy seed pods for replanting later in the year.

Bugs and Other Critters

I found these little green guys on the poppies and gaillardia.  Not sure what they are though.

I also found the largest snail that I've ever had in the garden.  Anyone know what kind it is?  Friend or foe?

Then there are the ladybugs on the fennel...

And more lady bugs without spots.  From what I can tell, both of these varieties are Asian ladybugs.

I've had a number of Black-Eastern Swallowtail caterpillars.  They seem to be a constant fixture in my garden, as long as I have fennel, parsley, and/or dill growing (which I always do).

Then there are other caterpillars I'm not as familiar with.  I found several that were munching down my sunflowers like nobody's business.  If you have any idea what they may be, please let me know!

And to close out this month's Wildlife Wednesday, one of my resident Texas spiny lizards, basking in the afternoon sun.

Thanks to Tina over at My Gardener Says for hosting this fun meme on the first Wednesday of every month!

The Hummingbirds Have Arrived

It is now time for the springtime hummingbird migration - which means, getting to see a LOT of hummingbirds in the garden.  We spotted our first pair last weekend on April 4.

I have several plant nectar sources for the hummers, but supplement with a feeder.  I fill the feeder with a simple syrup mix.  I boil 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water, let cool  and then place in the feeder. The birds have been drawn to this mixture much more than the red concentrated syrup or sugar powder purchased in big box stores.  I also tried doing a 4:1 mixture of water to sugar, but the hummer definitely prefer the higher sugar content of the 1:1 mixture.

Female black-chinned hummingbird.

The hummers are most active about an hour before sunset until sunset.  However, I still see them in the morning as well as throughout the day.  To be more specific, I tend to see the females throughout the day, and a mad swarm of males fighting over the feeder around dinner time.

Female Anna's hummingbird.

The females are very polite and take their turn at the feeder throughout the day (even though there are more than enough feeding holes for many of them to feed at one time).

The males are much more aggressive.  A couple days ago, I was standing just a few feet from the feeder and there were four black-chinned males fighting over the feeder.

They were very territorial.  While there are plenty of places for them all to feed, they were more interested in dive-bombing each other to stake their claim than in eating their dinner.  So macho.

Male black-chinned hummingbird.

I really thought they were going to run into me since they were so pre-occupied with fighting each other.  They kept zooming around my head and flying every which way around me.

It seems that if this bird could talk, he'd say, "Hallelujah!  I finally got a spot at the feeder!"

Each male would spend just a few seconds at the feeder before the others would gang up on him and shew him off.

The hummingbirds aren't the only ones that have been enjoying the delicious sweetness of the feeder.  Bees have been loving it as well.  First there were a couple:

Then several:

Then a whole swarm:

At first, I was a bit concerned that the bees would deter the hummers.  But, the hummingbirds don't seem to mind the bees too much.

They seem to know how to keep away from the bees, yet still get their sweet, sweet nectar.

I'm looking forward to spending more spring evenings watching these pretty little creatures from my back patio.

For the Birds

Rebecca Hershman, Animal Lover.  That's what my return address labels read, the ones my parents let me purchase when I was in the fourth grade (I was also an avid pen-pal at the time).  Some things never change, I guess.  I still have a very strong affinity for critters, and was recently compelled to purchase some new homes for my feathered friends.

At the beginning of the new year, I purchased five new bird houses to attract and keep some of the avian critters around.  I purchased three wren/chickadee homes, one bluebird home, and a screech owl/kestrel nesting box.

My husband sprayed the outside of the homes with some fine textured finish Rust-Oleum and some water-based Polycrylic protective finish to help the birdy homes last longer.  I decided against painting the homes, 1) because the light wood color helps to keep the home cooler inside during the brutal Texas heat and 2) because I'm no artist.

Next, I had to find the right placements for the boxes.  Different birds like to be different heights above the ground, in certain locations, and spaced certain amounts away from other nesting boxes, all of which had to be taken into account.

One of the wren/chickadee homes was hung under the eave of the porch, a nice protected area that faces out onto the backyard and feeder food sources.  Another was positioned on top of a fence pillar, facing the back garden, where the birds will find many seed and nectar sources.

The third wren/chickadee home was nailed to the backyard fence, facing into the backyard of natural and supplemental food sources, as well as positioned in a perfect spot for me to view future residents from the kitchen window.

The bluebird box needs to face an open field for the named birds to find it welcoming.  As luck would have it, I just so happened to have an old clothes-drying post in the backyard, positioned just in the right place where the nesting box faces the open park behind our property.  Perfect for my little bluebird friends.

The final installment was the screech owl/kestrel box, which was attached to one of the trees the lines the side of our property line.  The box was placed about 10-12 feet high, and faces into the backyard.  It is in a great spot for us to view from the kitchen or family room, and hopefully positioned well so that the future predator residents can be the sentinels of the yard - keeping watch and capturing any rodents and vermin that may invade the gardens.

Unfortunately, an unwelcome and invasive European starling already took up residence in the owl box.  We had to kick him/her out (nesting material was removed and the little door of the box was covered up with a nifty sliding component of the box).  We will open the box back up in a week or two, and hopefully not too late for an owl to find it inviting.

I do not yet have a purple martin house, but this is definitely on my garden wish list for the next year. For now, I can at least enjoy the purple martins that are attracted to my next door neighbors' martin apartment.  I look forward to the mating and nesting season ahead, and to see what feathered friends make their homes in the houses I've provided.

For details on bird house dimensions and placements, I found the Wild Bird Watching and NestWatch sites helpful.

Wildlife - November 2014

I'm a few days late to joining into Tina's Wildlife Wednesday posting - that's what business travel will do to you, but I wanted to make sure to post my pictures from wildlife in my garden this past month.

Butterflies & Caterpillars
The highlight of the wildlife in my garden have been all the caterpillars and butterflies.  It gives me a sense of pride to know that I'm providing enough host and nectar plants to support these beautiful creatures in my garden.  I hope that I can continue to grow the variety and number of caterpillars and butterflies that I can host.

Monarchs
The monarchs have definitely been the stars of the garden this month.  I probably had around ten or so monarch caterpillars taking up residence on my milkweed.

After learning that only about 10% of monarch caterpillars make it to adulthood, I took matters into my own hands and reared three caterpillars to adulthood.

The bittersweet day came when I had to release my monarchs back into the wild.  I hope they will return year after year with their future generations.

So far, I haven't gone a day (except for one day when it rained) without seeing my monarchs in the garden.  Just yesterday I saw three of them hanging out on the milkweed.  I wonder if they are the same three that I raised?  It will be getting cold soon and they will be making their way to Mexico, so I'm savoring the moments that I get to see them flit around the garden.

Eastern Black Swallowtail
I also had a handful of swallowtails munching on my parsley this past month.  The caterpillars look like they are a different species than the ones that visited earlier this year.  These guys have more black than green on their bodies.  The mother swallowtail butterfly was too quick for me to take any snapshots, but here are a few pics of the different caterpillar instars that I was able to capture.

Second instar:

 Third instar:

Fourth instar:

I took in one of these guys to see if I could rear him to adulthood like I did for the monarchs.  I'll share my experience on that in a later post.

Painted Lady
I didn't see nearly as many painted ladies as I did monarchs or swallowtails, but she was still a welcomed visitor.

Queen Butterfly
I have a handful of Queens in the garden.  They can easily be confused with Monarchs, but a few ways I can tell that the butterfly is a Queen and not a Monarch is:

1.) Queens feast on the Gregg's Blue Mistflower while Monarchs prefer the milkweed
2.) When they open their hindwings, Queens don't have the black stripped veins like Monarchs
3.) Queens are a bit smaller in size than Monarchs

Unknown
I haven't yet figured out what this little guy is.  Any thoughts?

Birds
I haven't snapped too many pics of birds this past month.  I've had fewer than normal at my feeders.  It is just the sparrows and doves that are generally hanging out at the feeders right now.  That probably means that the seeds and berries are plentiful right now, so the birds don't have to resort to my feeders.  While I'm happy they are finding other food sources, I look forward to their return to my feeders in a month or so when fresher food is more scarce.

Eastern Bluebird
I did see a few Easter Bluebirds, at least as far as I can tell.  Their color wasn't very vibrant, so it might have been several females that have more muted colors.  Or, maybe it was some other species that I just can't place.

Pests
While there have been a lot of beautiful and beneficial insects to my garden this past month, there have also been quite a few pests.

Cutworms
I found probably around 100 cutworms wreaking havoc on my cold weather vegetables - the nerve!

What did I do to get rid of them, you may ask?  I looked under every single leaf and picked them off one-by-one...then squashed them.  It was definitely effective, but not very efficient - so if you have any other organic solutions to preventing and killing cutworms in the future, I'm all-ears.

Here is the aftermath on my broccoli.  Hopefully I got rid of at least most of them so that the new leaf growth won't look completely munched through.

Squash Vine Borer
My arch nemesis is the squash vine borer.  I love squash.  It is delicious and (usually) easy to grow.  But the squash vine borers do not want me to have my squash.  No - they prefer to lay their eggs on my squash and have their larvae eat my squash vine from the inside out - bastards.  I've tried picking off all the eggs that I could find as well as cutting the larvae out of the vine, all with no luck.  The borer still wins and I end up with little to no squash.

Has anyone else beaten out the borer?  If so - please share your tricks!  I want to grow squash so badly, but if I continue to have these challenges with the borers, it is not worth the effort and space in my garden to try time and time again.

Red Wasps

My last group of unwelcome visitors for the month were red wasps.  They built their nest in the ceiling of my front entry-way porch - a nice cozy and cool spot for them out of the way of the elements.  Of course, I didn't want my welcomed human guests to get a nasty sting when they come to visit me, so the wasps had to go.  They got a decent spraying of a very non-organic pesticide which did the trick.  Bye-bye wasps.  If only the squash vine borer was as easy to get rid of.

Thanks for stopping by to check out the wildlife in my garden.  Be sure to visit My Gardener Says to see even more posts on garden wildlife.