Friday's Hunt v 2.24

It is Friday once again, and time for me to participate in Eden Hills' Friday's Hunt.  This has been another busy week, but I have had a small reprieve on one project that has been put on hold.  That will give me time to catch up on a couple of other projects!

This week our prompts are:  Starts with X, Week's Favourite, and Insect.

Starts with X
The letter X is a bit tricky, but since I am a bit of a moth nerd and I prefer to use the scientific species names, I am able to showcase Xanthorhoe ferrugata.  This moth has the common name:  Red Twin-Spot Moth.  Unfortunately this isn't a recent shot - it was from July 29 of last year, but I don't mind digging in the photo repository when it comes to the difficult letters!

Week's Favourite
My favourite this week is this quick snap of a male ruby-throated hummingbird at my feeder.  The throat looks dark in this picture because of the lighting, but it is ruby red in the right light.  I seem to only have a single pair of hummingbirds who visit my feeder, so they are not always there to photograph.  Also, the mosquitoes are really bad at the moment, so I'm not spending a whole lot of time outside.  Still, I was glad to get this shot.

I'm also really happy that the Bachelor's Button plant is flowering in my garden - I love the interesting form of the flowers.  That's my second favourite!

Insect
I've already given you one insect - the moth from the letter X part of this post.  However, I am happy to provide another insect, since I seem to take so many pictures of them.  This is a photo of Bombus ternarius, also known as the Tricoloured Bumble Bee.  This one came inside the screened porch and seemed to have trouble finding its way out, so I helped it by placing a container over it, covering the open end of the container, and taking it out into the garden.

Friday's Hunt v 2.10

It's Friday, so that means it's time for Friday's Hunt, hosted by Eden Hills. As usual, there are 3 topics for today: Starts with J, Week's favourite, and Surprise.

Starts with J

Today, I give you the humble, but very sweet, junco.  This is a ubiquitous bird in my area, and it's common in much of Canada and the US.  The official name is the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) although most people just call it a junco.  (In case you're not familiar with it, that's a hard-c sound, like junk-o).  It's an ordinary little bird, but a very efficient ground feeder who cleans up underneath the feeder where other birds toss seeds to the ground.

What I didn't know about the junco, until I consulted my field guide today, is that there are actually 16 different subspecies that have been described, including "red-headed" and "pink-sided" versions, which I have never seen.  Here, we get what is described as the "slate-coloured" subspecies.  I have the impression that they get a darker grey during winter, but that may be because they stand out more readily against the snow.  Here's one scratching an itch.

They are primarily ground feeders, although sometimes they also perch at my tube feeder.  Here's one sharing space with a red-breasted nuthatch.

They're pretty good at blending with the background.  Here's a junco among my ajuga (which form part of the "lawn" under the feeder).  Did it take you a second to find it?  

Although they are mostly thought of as grey and white, the females, in particular, can have quite a lot of brown on them.  This one is about to enjoy her sunflower seed treat.

Week's Favourite

I was happy with a few hummingbird shots that I took this week.  I find they can be difficult birds to photograph, so I'm pleased when I get a clear shot.  I shot some in my parents' garden earlier this week, but then I got some even better ones at home, so here are a few favourites (can't pick just one!) to share.

This ruby-throated hummingbird is feeding at the last flowers of Chamerion angustifolium, also known as fireweed.  In England, it's called Rosebay Willowherb, which I think is a much nicer common name than fireweed.  That said, it isn't related to roses, bay leaves, or willow!

I love this shot - even though the wings are a blur.

Finally, she took a rest!

Surprise
I have two surprises....so bear with me!

First, I was quite surprised this week when I finally saw my clematis sporting some flower buds.  I had watched it grow since we moved to this house in June, and figured maybe it was having an "off" year because there was no sign of a flower or a bud. I've had many clematis vines both in Canada and in my years in the USA, but I've never had one that didn't put out any flower buds until the last week of August!  I didn't expect to see any flowers this year.  There were some old flower tags in the detached garage left by the previous owner, and I sorted through those and found that my clematis is most likely "Ernest Markham," since there was a tag for that variety, and the flower colour matches the tag. Upon researching it, I found that this clematis cultivar flowers from August to October, so it's just about on time.  The first flower opened yesterday, September 1.

There are lots of blooms on the way.  I'm looking forward to more!

Second, I was surprised when Marc installed a special cover on the outdoor electrical receptacle that will power the heated water buckets this winter, as well as the electric fence.  He had already bought a cover and installed it, but he had gone to the hardware store today for other things, and found this cover which has interesting features that he thought would be even better.

The inner panel of the cover pops out to reveal a rubber flex channel that expands outward.  There is a hole in one corner for the wires to go through.

The rubber allows the plugs to fit underneath the cover because of the expansion capacity.

The benefits of this cover mean that even when the snow piles up against the house, which it invariably does in our winters, the outlet is still protected and the electrical connections won't be compromised.  A great feature for our climate!  What a clever hubby I have, and what a good surprise that was!

My Parents' Garden: The Avian Report

As I mentioned in my last blog, I wanted to write about the various birds in my parents' garden that were visiting when I was there last Saturday.  They have some of the same bird visitors that I have, but also some different ones.  While I was there, the garden had a lot of bird activity.

The ruby-throated hummingbirds visit a lot, and I had trouble getting good shots of them.  They move so quickly.  Sometimes, they sit on the laundry line and keep a beady eye on me.

I can almost hear this one saying "Are you taking my picture AGAIN?"

The tube feeder is always busy.  There are goldfinches, various sparrow species, and also finches.  The female purple finch is a frequent visitor.  She's on the bottom left.  The bottom right is, I believe, the song sparrow.  That dark spot in the central chest is indicative of the Eastern variant.

I thought this was a funny shot - I'm not sure but I think it's the finch - she looks like she's pretending to be an owl!  It wasn't cold that day, so I'm not sure why she's all puffed up.

 That finch was there for almost all the time I was there - several hours!

The activity was really high at the bird bath.  My parents get starlings visiting a lot - typical for a more urban setting I suppose.  I never see starlings at my new home.  (I'm not complaining!)  Still, their antics at the bird bath are really amusing.  My Dad says they empty the birdbath quite often with all their splashing.  Here are some shots of bath time!

They really throw the water around!

Then, all of a sudden, "large bird" bath time was over, and "small bird" bath time commenced.  I liked this shot of the large starling and the small female goldfinch eyeing each other over the bath.

Do I have to go?  Really?

Yes, you've had your turn.  Now it's our turn.

And so began the time for small birds to drink the starlings' bath water.  Ewww...

The little finch reminded me of those cast cement birds that are on the sides of some bird baths - her colouring fits right in with the cement.

I think she might have been posing, just for me!

Finally, I had some better luck with shots of the hummingbird.  My parents have a lovely metal arch upon which a clematis is growing.  It made a lovely setting for the hummingbird feeder and they seem to enjoy spending time there.

This female looks all around before starting to drink.

 Upon her satisfaction that the time is right, she has a very long drink.

I was so glad that I managed to take some good pictures of her at their feeder.

Such a lovely day to visit the garden.  Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday!  Come back and visit tomorrow for Friday's Hunt!