A Bloy and his Blog » Wildlife

Like ducks to (cold) water

Jonathan — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:36:33 +0000

It seems the phrase “like a duck to water” is appropriate during the bitter cold too.

Just as long as they can still find some open water.

Waiting for lunch

Jonathan — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:00:04 +0000

How long does it take a spider to a spin web that big? (About a foot and a half in diameter). Hope he got a good meal after all that.

Looking over the grasshopper’s shoulder

Jonathan — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:58:36 +0000

The other day I discovered a grasshopper hanging out on my clematis plant.

He was trying to get some sun, but once he caught me looking over his shoulder, he got a little anxious and started moving around.

After I got a few shots, I left him to enjoy the sunshine.

Pine cone spider

Jonathan — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:46:01 +0000

I saw one of the weirdest creatures while hiking last week. At first I thought I saw a small pine cone moving along the forest floor. A closer look revealed this spider, about a 2/3 of an inch in size.

The combination of that pine-cone-like abdomen, the eight legs sticking out, and those freaky multiple eyes… I’m surprised I haven’t had spider nightmares.

Update: I think this is probably a a female wolf spider with spiderlings on her back (see comments below). I still like the “pine cone spider” name I gave it though.

Feeding monarch

Jonathan — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 22:29:18 +0000

Another example of nature’s beauty at Olbrich Gardens: a monarch butterfly feeding on flower nectar.

Indigo bunting

Jonathan — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 15:16:34 +0000

Garter snake

Jonathan — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:30:23 +0000

Soaring turkey vultures

Jonathan — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:46:11 +0000

I saw a lot of turkey vultures at Wyalusing. They’re large birds, with wingspans up to 6 feet.

The best way to identify them is the light grey color under their wings (with a smaller stripe of black at the front).

They glide along the thermals of the bluffs in groups, very rarely flapping their wings. At one point I counted 10 of them soaring the sky together.

Spring robin

Jonathan — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 01:16:03 +0000

Hawk at Olbrich

Jonathan — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:24:38 +0000

I went to Olbrich Gardens yesterday to find some proof that spring was actually happening (more on that later). First thing I saw was this hawk, hanging around one of the ponds.

There were quite a few people around, watching. I was amazed how close she was letting us get — hawks usually aren’t this tame.

At one point, she went down to the ground, when the meal she was eating fell out of the tree.

Mmmm… squirrel!