Welcome Back Vacationers

A familiar sound made me look up from my morning's porridge. Sure enough, perched outside my window was a Baltimore Oriole. Again she burbled out her question. Likely, she was merely keeping contact with her mate or checking her window reflection. But I imagined she had just returned from the south and was asking if jelly was still on offer here. Of course, I had to put aside my breakfast and hustle out with an order of grape jelly. Almost before I was back inside, she had a good feed of the sweet offering and was joined by her mate.

A female Baltimore Oriole eagerly samples freshly served grape jelly.

Her mate quickly follows suit. Grape jelly has been added to my grocery list!

Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks have also recently returned from their southern migration and are making use of my feeders. 

A pair of Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks reacquaint themselves with this old feeder.

Mrs. RBG looks very different from her conspicuous partner.

These migrating friends are certainly a welcome sight but I can't underestimate the charm of the local wildlife that enriches my yard the whole year long.

Flocks of bouncy American Gold-Finches are among my favourites and for them especially, I plant sunflowers and cosmos. Most of the males have now molted into their dazzling breeding plumage.

A venetian blind reflection subdues the brilliance of this male Goldfinch.

During this past winter, I never saw any rabbit tracks at all in the snow. I did, however, see lots of coyote tracks. Some of them were huge, looking more like wolf tracks. I've read that all coyotes in the eastern part of North America are now coyote/wolf hybrids. Last week I saw a very large one running across a field. It occurred to me that I have not seen any feral cats lately. Coincidence? So I was delighted to spot a smallish cotton-tailed rabbit munching on my lawn's dandelion leaves one morning. Well done, little chap. I'll gladly share my garden asparagus with you.

A young cotton-tail enjoying my lawn's dandelion leaves.

Something Missing

The laneway leading to our bush lot is sodden from frequent and heavy rains. My rubber boots squelched with each step and the air was heavy with moisture -- almost steamy. So I expected mosquitoes to take advantage of the break in the rain and seek me out. But they did not. In fact, I don't think I saw, heard or felt a mosquito on my entire walk. They need stagnant water to reproduce. Perhaps the rain has been too frequent to allow the required amount of calm water time for the larva to develop. I can't help but wonder if the swallows and other birds dependent on flying insects are missing this food resource.

I found a seat on a culvert stone and watched as muddy water in the drainage ditch swept past. In this same spot a few years ago I witnessed a snapping turtle excavate a depression in the bottom of the ditch. But the water was too fast moving and murky today for any aquatic sightings.

On a burdock leaf beside the bank crouched a damselfly, waiting for a meal to fly by. For the five or ten minutes I sat there, nothing did. When I left, it remained perched at it's stakeout, so elegant in it's metallic colours of emerald and bronze.

A drainage ditch with muddy, flowing water.

An elegant damselfly crouching on a burdock leaf.

A bobolink keeping watch over it's hayfield nesting site.

A female red wing blackbird gathering green caterpillars.

A Baltimore Oriole nest under construction.

This swallowtail butterfly appears to have escaped an attack.

Grape Jelly Appreciation

The assorted jams and jellies from my cupboard went down a treat with the oriole crowd. But a favourite, grape jelly, was nowhere to be found among my condiments. Since local berries are not yet ripe and I see no reason to stop indulging my backyard creatures now, I made a special trip to the grocery and bought a jar of the purple stuff. I think the appreciation was evident. 

An oriole sampling the freshly served grape jelly.

This red squirrel also enjoyed the treat.

Both oriole and honey bee prefer the grape jelly over strawberry jam.

Avoiding the honey bees, the oriole digs in.

This golden honey bee is a visitor since mine are much darker.

Baltimore Oriole Visit

For several days now I've heard the sweet songs of an oriole. Yesterday two of them took an interest in black oil seeds. This is the first time I've seen orioles use any of my feeders other than those for hummingbird nectar. Since the day was overcast with scattered showers, the camera did not really capture the flaming orange colour that a sunny day would reveal. Still, I imagined similar hues fluttering through a tropical canopy.

The male oriole watches his mate feeding.

He is not sure about my camera.

She seems the more confident of the two.

She was fascinated with her reflection in the window.

The offering of a sweet orange went down a treat.

After some trial and error, I solved the problem of recovering the wax from my combs of crystallized honey. (1) Crush and strain the combs over a pan covered with wire mesh to remove the honey. (2) Pour on hot water to help it soften. (3) After letting it drain overnight, scoop the stuff off the screen and into the wax melter.