Wildlife in our gardens

I grew several red milkweed from seed and planted them out last summer. The caterpillars “loved them” to death. Will have to plant a LOT more this yr. I have a lg. dill stand that’s perennialized. The Tiger Swallowtails love them; (host plant); as well as the desirable predatory wasps.

Woke up this morning to a flock (30-40) of Robins in my front yard. According to the officials robins live here year round but having spent a few years :flushed: in this area I can tell you that they show up in spring and then move on. So…it must be spring… supposed to be 22 here tonight and I hope it’s the last freeze.

Katy

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I rarely see them in the winter but also sometimes get 10-15 arriving in the late winter or early spring. They like to eat the holly berries that other birds ignore. None here yet. There is snow on the ground and more coming tonight.

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Second day in a row that I had a huge flock of snow geese go overhead while pruning. Both days the flock went from horizon to horizon taking several minutes to pass. Must have been thousands,

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we get them here occasionally. seen some during hunting season but they didn’t come to our spread.

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Dannggit…

THAT IS AMAZING! The most we ever get is just one single V flying over (and they are Canadian Geese). I have never seen anything like those photos, even in media. WOW!

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Bird feeder is attracting so much more than just birds…at least nothing is going to waste…

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Painted Lady Butterflies are streaming northbound through our yard at the rate of 100+ per minute. Simply amazing!

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we get those lil’ buggers all the way here in n. Maine! amazing! never realized they traveled so far!

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We had a Snow Bunting today. They’re usually in large flocks passing through this time of year. They’ll be at the feeder for about a week and then move on, heading back north. Always happy to see them, a sign spring is coming.

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This is true! I have read that on milkweed plants that are planted alone, the eggs and caterpillars face even higher mortality rate. I watched monarchs come lay eggs on my single milkweed i had planted under my dining room window- they were so pretty! But as soon as they laid the eggs, i would watch as wasps would come and cut open the egg and eat it!! The wasps had to have been watching and waiting, it was immediately after the butterflies would leave the area. I think if you’ve got a stand of milkweed as opposed to just one, youre giving them more cover and more of a fighting chance.

Last year, for the first time, a pair of hawks nested close to my yard. They reduced the amount of fruit damage from the birds but I still had plenty of squirrels.

They had one baby and left in the fall. This morning I spotted two hawks in the yard so I think they have returned. I’m guessing they are Cooper’s Hawks but I’m not sure.

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You need redtails to work on the squirrels

Yes, if they are Cooper’s Hawk as I think they mostly go after birds. At least my wife won’t worry about her little dog.

I can vouch that Cooper’s Hawks are expert squirrel catchers.

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Never seen it. Chipmunks, definitely

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We caught a Fisher on our Trailcam behind the cabin at the Porcupine Den. Fishers are a member of the weasel family and were at one time depleted to a low population. They’re making a strong comeback and I’ve heard many rumors that they were around, but hadn’t seen proof of such until now. These are still photo’s I took from video:

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Very cool. Curious type…

Beautiful creature.