Category: Animals
The dragonflies are starting to thin out a little. We found a male Common Whitetail Skimmer on a log.
If you had told me as a kid in northern Michigan, that one day I would miss seeing gulls, I would have told you that you were crazy. Growing up on a farm just inland from Lake Huron, I can remember my Father plowing a field, and Gulls being so thick that it looked like they sprung from the ground. We mainly had Ring-billed gulls, and Herring gulls, but it was not unknown to see other species too.
The Honey Bee and Bumblebee seem to get a lot of attention, but we should not forget about other Native Pollinators. Single representatives of the Mason bee, orchard bee, and Green Sweat Bee each do more work that an independent Honey Bee. They are not showy, and don’t makes sweet treats for us, but they keep the flowers blooming.
We went on an adventure to Kensington Metropark this week. The kids wanted to go back to the farm to see how all the babies were growing. Not surprising, they were bigger. We had a lot of fun exploring, even just watching a duck having a bath in a clean pool.
On today’s Bug Safari we found an Eastern Pondhawk. They have been around for a few weeks, but today was the first time one let us get really close. I am sure she thought she was well hidden in the leaves by the trail. Needless to say, we got a very good look at her, and even a few good photos.
This week we had a lot of rain. We didn’t get many chances to get out and explore. Fortunately, we found some Honey Bee action on our deck. At first the kids were a little worried about the wings and stingers, but once we started talking about honey they were on board. We started watching the flowers and that’s how the cucumbers get pollinated!
Today I had two animal adventures without the kids. The first happened while filling up the kiddie pool for the kids, and the second while taking recycling out to the curb. Both involved Eastern American Toads.
It is full Dragonfly season around our house. Today’s star was a Violet Dancer Damselfly. When my daughter saw the metallic purple damselfly, she pretended to “faint,” because it was so beautiful.
This last week, we went on another Bug Safari. We saw a lot of insects, but some moved too fast for little watcher. Some were old friends. The top prize was, a female Elfin Skimmer who sat in the grass for at least five minutes. We didn’t know what she was at the time, other than a beautiful dragonfly.
On this week’s Bug Safari we focused on Backyard Pollinators. I am glad to see the kids are becoming less afraid of “Bees.”
