Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Flock of Flickers - Wednesday, September 16, 2020

 While I was talking with Matt today a large flock of Flickers came through on the way south. Flickers love ants and, well, ants are, for the most part, buried in the ground under snow in the winter so flickers migrate south unlike most woodpeckers who stay here and feed on insects in tree trunks. Clicking on photos below will enlarge them.


Sisters Totty and Pila
(Totty was giving me a raspberry so I took another photo)

Totty and Pila

Last year I bought several small white feeder goldfish. They all lived and grew. This spring they reproduced; an abundance of small goldfish ensued. I was beginning to be concerned about the coming winter. Were there too many fish to survive reduced oxygen levels under the ice, I wondered. Then along came for the first time here a solution, an unpleasant solution. Talk about great camouflage! Within the past week the numbers of goldfish are way down - I think. I won't be sure unless and until the fish start coming back up to the surface and feeding again. Now they're too terrified to come up for food. For now I may have stopped the predation by increasing the netting coverage.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Two signs of fall, flower-wise: the blooming of the species sunflowers and the beginning of the flowering of the various Colchicums.

Colchicums

Colchicums

Colchicums

Colchicums

Sunflowers Helianthus spp

Speaking of sunflowers - Sadly even here far from California, Oregon, Washington and several other states, the sun has been clouded over by the western forest fires. Thank you dear leader for withdrawing from the climate accords and refusing to admit or even mention climate change. Will we survive these crises, one wonders. Now we understand how what happened to the Germans, happened.






No comments: