Wildlife Wednesday - April 2015

It has been a very active month for the wildlife in the yard.  The weather has warmed up and the wildlife knows it is time to get out, start attracting mates and creating the next generation of critters. 

The first critter in the yard was Ms. Carolina Anole.  These friendly little lizards have become much more active now that the weather has warmed up.  As I was doing some garden work over the weekend, I noticed this anole hanging out in the garden shed.  I didn't want to leave her in there to bake, so I quickly caught her, took advantage of the photo-op, and released her back into the "wild."

Another fun critter spotting was this giant leopard moth caterpillar.  I spotted a similar one back in January, but no sightings of it in its moth-like form...yet.  I do hope I spot one this year, as they look to be pretty amazing creatures.

The most peculiar bug I spotted in March was this little guy below.  At first I thought he was just a twig nub on my pomegranate tree.  While I was inspecting the tree for buds, I notice the "twig nub" move!  

After a couple of pictures, I tried to get him to walk onto a stick so I could investigate closer.  Turns out the animal was a worm-looking thing and the "twig" was it's shell of sorts.  Anyone have an idea on what it could be?

I was happy to spot this ladybug on one of my roses, one of nature's pest controllers.  Then I realized I must have pests - aphids on the rosebush.  I sprayed the plant with a high-stream jet of water to knock them off.  Hopefully Mr. Ladybug will get the leftovers.

I wasn't quite as happy to spot this snail.  There are many more where it came from, but (knock on wood), I haven't seen them destruct anything in the garden...yet.

Enough about the creepy-critters.  Let's move onto my feathered friends.  I'm most excited to see that the bluebird house has a new resident, though not a bluebird.  A titmouse couple is nesting in here, but I have not yet spotted any baby birds or eggs.  They will certainly be quite cozy when they do arrive, as the nesting materials are made of soft furs, fuzz and moss.

My pup is certainly intrigued by the new inhabitants.  I frequently here Mr. Titmouse making a big fuss - apparently he doesn't like Jeb sniffing around his property (quite the Texan he is).

I'm also happy to report that one of the wren houses has wren residents - though no pictures to show.

The screech-owl nesting box, however, does not have screech owls.  It seems to have everything but.  First, it was European starlings that we kept chasing off.

Then, it was the fox squirrels.  After several attempts to discourage them from nesting, we finally gave up and let the squirrel nest this year.  I just hope that she has some cute baby squirrels as a result.

This seems to be her favorite position - just hanging out of the entrance.  

Other birds making their homes in man-made boxes are the purple martins.  This house is actually in my neighbor's yard, but I get to enjoy the view of the purple martins from my house and love seeing them soar overhead.

Other birds of note during the course of March include the last museum of cedar waxwings.

As well as my first sighting of a male red-winged blackbird.  I've noticed the females hanging around the last few months, but this was my first sighting of the male.  He was accompanied by a female.

One other new avian creature was this mourning dove.   I have, what seems to be, nearly a hundred doves flying around our neighborhood, but they are primarily of the white-winged dove variety.  I spot Inca doves from time to time, but this is my first time spotting the mourning dove kind.

The Northern mockingbirds (our state bird) are being extra showy right now, serenading their sweethearts in hopes of finding true love, or at least their next baby-momma.

And then there are the regulars, like Mr. and Mrs. Northern cardinal (I only have one pair, as far as I am aware), and the sparrows.

As well as the lesser goldfinches.

It has been an extremely busy month for wildlife with the arrival of spring.  Check out more Texas garden wildlife and other wildlife in gardens around the world over at My Gardener Says, where Tina hosts this fun meme every first Wednesday of the month.