Wishing for Milkweed-Clover Honey

I felt bad—or at least nostalgic for better environmental conditions in years past—reading Hal Borland’s Nature note for July 2 in his book “Twelve Moons of the Year”.   (See my blog for July 1.) Borland describes patches of milkweed so large in the countryside that you could smell it.  He says it and clover smelled like the honey that bees would make from it.  I believe he wrote that note in the 1940s.

This reminded me that bees are another creature that benefits from milkweed.

Sadly, born in 1948, I haven’t smelled a big patch of milkweed in my lifetime—and the chances have greatly diminished in recent decades.  I remember raising a Monarch butterfly caterpillar, around the late 1990s, and how hard it was to find enough milkweed to give the caterpillar its daily needs for milkweed leaves.

At least we’re still “in the clover”.   Borland confirms my observations recently that clover types grow at different heights:  The white clover on some lawns grows very low, thankfully; red clover grows fairly tall.

I read an article in a recent Columbus Dispatch newspaper article saying that white clover on lawns has gotten a bad rap over the years.  The writer likes it because it attracts bees, makes nitrogen fertilizer for lawns, and reminds her of her youthful days enjoying a rest on a clover-laden lawn.

We have white clover on our lawn—the only “weed” there I’m proud of—and I see red clover in the vacant lots along Ridgeland Drive and in the “wildflower oasis” at the far edge of the Clubhouse area meadow that fronts Apple Valley Drive.  But I don't know why it's called red clover when it looks very purple to me.

And I do relive my childhood when our toy poodle, Friendly, "forces" me to rest on our lawn with him!

The Dragon Hunter and the Bee Hunter: Both Birdwatchers

Richard Orr has an interesting website at http://www.marylandinsects.com.   He has checklists and photographs of dragonflies and damselflies found in the Maryland-Washington, DC area, as well as photographs.  He also has photographs of bees, moths, butterflies, and other arthropods.

Richard is considered by many entomologists and conservation biologists as the leading authority on dragonflies and damselflies in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  He maintains the historical and current species records for the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia. 

Richard includes Sam Droege’s records and checklists of regularly occurring bee species found in the Washington D.C. area.  Sam is a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, which adjoins the Beltsville (Maryland) Agricultural Research Center from which I retired in 2011 as a science writer.  I’ve met Richard and Sam on bird counts on the Center’s research farm.

Sam’s artistic photograph of dead birds collected by volunteers in Washington, D.C., victims of collisions with brightly lit buildings, appears in the July-August 2014 issue of Audubon Magazine.   Sam posted the photograph as a “public art statement” on Flickr.  The article is about the Lights Out campaign.  The article sites a link for learning how to start a Lights Out campaign in the towns we live in:  www.bird-friendly.audubon.org/lightsout.

 His site also has links to other arthropod websites, including those dealing with dragonflies and damselflies and other dealing with everything from ants to moths.

 One of the most interesting links to me is to the Maryland Biodiversity Project (MBP) (http://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/index.php) that is cataloging all the living things of Maryland.  The project was started in June 2012 by Bill Hubick and Jim Brighton, right about the time I left Maryland for Ohio.   They have already cataloged more than 13,000 species, including over 4,400 species with photographs, and feature the work of more than 200 naturalists and photographers.

 Richard also has a link to his Flickr photographs at https://www.flickr.com/photos/dragonflyhunter.

 

Common White Tail Dragonfly at pond near Apple Valley.  Photographed on June 20, 2014.  (Photo by Don Comis)

Check out my website at:  www.doncomis.simplesite.com

 

Wildflower Oasis

A great spangled fritillary butterfly on clover.  (Photo by Don Comis)

My toy poodle, Friendly, led me to a wildflower oasis in a park across the road from our house. 

So, this morning I returned alone, with binoculars and a camera and got a photo of a great spangled fritillary butterfly on the tall clover plants that dominated this natural oasis in a park, caught between woods and a mowed lawn.  With Friendly, I was treated to the sight of three great spangled fritillaries all at once, perched on clover plants.

And this morning, I got to see a host of other pollinators on the clover, including at least three kinds of bees, an ant, beetles, cabbage butterflies, meadow fritillary butterflies, and an unknown black bug.  I even got to see the cabbage butterflies mating, which continued as they flew together in the air at times before landing again!

I also got to see  a mother red-tailed hawk guiding her youngster, warning me away.   I thought I could hear the two chatting as I lay on rock right next to Apple Valley Lake.  I saw a great blue heron fly along the opposite shore, while a dragonfly patrolled the shore near me. 

On my way to the lake I scared up three deer--one gave a warning shriek before jumping into the road and I could hear his hoofs clattering on the paved road. 

All in all, a good outing that got me out of bed, although it lasted 2 hours instead of 45 minutes because of my naps on my favorite lakeside rock!

I'll be returning to that wildlflower oasis soon.

Meadow fritillary, smaller than the great spangled.  (Photo by Don Comis)

For a slightly longer version of this blog, go to my website and click on "Daily Nature Blog" in the menu.

 

Going Native

Today I confirmed bluebirds were using a house I set out for them last year.  I also saw my first red-headed woodpecker in a long time eating peanut splits from a feeder.   And a flock of bees of various sizes discovered my new crabapple tree blossoms today.

I was thrilled to see the bees and even more thrilled when I realized that these are the bees that will eventually cross pollinate my two new apple trees to produce apples!

And e-mails from my Ohio Birds and morel mushroom groups tell me that Baltimore orioles are in Ohio now and soil moisture levels predict a banner year for morels, with maybe the first black morels showing up by May 1.

I'm hoping to plant a large wildflower garden soon as part of my plan to make my yard more wildlife friendly, as I go native!

One of the larger bees of a flock that discovered my new "Snowdrift" crabapple tree flowers today.   They worked these flowers all day.  (Photo by Don Comis)

A bee's  view of  a crabapple tree's blossoms.  The visit of a flock of bees today convinced me they will cross pollinate my two apple trees when those trees blossom.  I read that the "Snowdrift" crabapple is one of only a handful that will pollinate the "Liberty" apple trees I bought.  It also helps to have a crabapple tree with the same color flowers as the apple trees, luring the bees to all three trees.  (Photo by Don Comis)

Easter Sunday Brings Chipping Sparrow and Spring!

White-throated sparrow (left) has yellow markings on its face that make this bird stand out. I think bird on right is a female house sparrow.  (Photo by Don Comis)

Photographing this moth at my porch light tonight starts my moth-hunting season, to see how many more moths I can add to the listing for Knox County, Ohio, on www.butterfliesandmoths.org.  (Photo by Don Comis)

Today, Easter Sunday, was spring to me.  I brought out the outdoor furniture and had my lunch outside with a glass of wine and was treated to many sights and sounds.  Most exciting for me was finally seeing the chipping sparrow return from the south.

I also saw my first cabbage white butterfly and my first big flock of bees and wasps of the season.  The bees and wasps were eating nectar from the flowers of an ornamental tree in my neighbor's yard.

I also saw a small bird, maybe a bluebird, check out a pileated woodpecker birdhouse, and a blackbird, probably a grackle or starling, seeming to have settled in a red-headed woodpecker birdhouse.

By nightfall, I was treated to the sight of the first moth of the season near our porch light.  Not as exciting, I saw my first house fly buzzing nearby.

Bees, Spring Peepers, Woodcocks and Salamanders All Have Spring Fever

This July 6, 2013 photo, taken at the wildlife garden at the Brown Family Environmental Center, shows what we have to look forward to.  (Photo by Don Comis)

I had more first signs of spring, firsts for me anyway, on this wonderful spring-like day today.  My Nature day began this afternoon seeing not only purple crocuses in bloom in my neighbor's garden, but also two bees buzzing them and nearby yellow flowers that have bloomed for weeks now.

That made me decide that my next trip should be to the wildlife garden at the Brown Family Environmental Center. Of course, there were no flowers blooming there to attract bees, butterflies and moths.  I had jumped the gun!

But then, amidst the numerous chirps of birds, a loud chorus broke through and I finally realized these were not birds but frogs, likely spring peepers.

I'm also hearing of sightings of woodcocks doing their peenting call and mating dances, the closest one being at Honey Run Falls park.  All the reports in Ohio place the dance as between 8 and 8:30 p.m.  So I plan to visit that park and the Brown Center's north and south sides by 8 p.m. soon.

And if it's raining when I'm at the Brown Center, I may just head to the vernal pool there--conditions seem right for the mass salamander migration each evening from tonight through Friday, with Thursday seeming best.

The harsh winter here has delayed  both the woodcocks and the salamanders, giving me a chance not to miss either for the first time in my life!