2015/04/12

Spring is here because of flowers and pollinators

Last night, I was planning where to go today and considered taking the bus to Stony Swamp, a natural area southwest of Ottawa where photos of interesting animals are frequently shared on Facebook, such as Black-backed Woodpecker during the winter, porcupines, frogs, etc.  But the thought of the trip taking almost two hours, while it is located 15.6 km west of where I live, is kind of ridiculous (Ottawa transit system is quite poor compare to the Metro Vancouver transit system).  Anyways, I decided to walk to the bus station (via Sawmill Creek Constructed Wetland) and visit the Arboretum in the end.

Little did I know I would see several interesting things today.

Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)
First was this pair of Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) - first of the year!

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) singing for a mate.

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Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) - first flower of the year! [Thanks to two people who picked up on my mistake.  My brain is apparently still in hibernation mode.]

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

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Lone Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) male.

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Another Song Sparrow.

While I was photographing the sparrow, I noticed a large bird flying overhead.  Looking up, it was an Osprey - another first!

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Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) overhead!

The Osprey flew and hovered around the creek a few times before flying further south.  Below is a sequence of the hovering action.

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Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) not in their typical V formation.

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Then I saw a woolly bear caterpillar crossing the bike trail.  I watched it cross the path safely before I go to the bus stop (and then to the O-Train station).

At the Arboretum, the first bird I saw was a Turkey Vulture flying overhead.

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Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

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Spider on the pond.  I believe this is some species of Pirate Wolf Spider (Pirata sp.).

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Besides the vulture, some robins, and several large flocks of waxwings, I did not see a lot of birds, probably because there were too many people and dogs running around.  I did see one butterfly, but it flew way too fast for me to track it.  As I disappointingly walked to a bus stop, I came across a patch of open flowers - the same patch I photographed exactly one year ago!

Springtime is here!
Beautiful Crocus flowers!  With busy honey bees!

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)
Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)

Crocus sp. flowers

While looking at all the pollinators, one that stood out from the honey bees was a female Andrena sp. resting on a snowdrop.
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Andrena sp. female on Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)

Andrena sp. female on Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)
So beautiful!  This female had enough of me photographing her and flew elsewhere afterwards.

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Then I moved on to photographing this fly visiting flowers.

Then I spent almost an hour lying on the ground photographing honey bees.  Since I now have a better camera, I tried to use the C-AF tracking to photograph bees in flight.  I took a lot of photos, but only a few turned out all right.

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers
Kind of lazy-looking.

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers
Flying towards a flower with excitement!

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers

Apis mellifera visiting Crocus sp. flowers
Probably the best photo of the bunch.

Maybe I should make it a tradition and visit this patch again next year.  Great day overall.

1 comment:

Sara Rall said...

Hi, I've enjoyed your blog for a long time now, though I never comment.

I think your "Taraxacum" is something far more interesting (and even earlier blooming): Tussilago farfara, Coltsfoot. Dandelion bracts are usually reflexed, and you can see the non-reflexed bracts on your flower. Here is a picture of coltsfoot I took here in NJ yesterday: https://www.flickr.com/photos/120540152@N04/17113052235/

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