More May Flowers

Spring moves on apace. The blossoming trees have dropped their blooms and sprouted leaves and are much more green and full. Now the Spring wildflowers are popping up all over the place. The color seems to have dropped from the ceiling to decorate the floor.

Dame's Rocket is springing up all along the Dykeman Walking Trail

Swamp Buttercup is blooming in the Dykeman Spring wetland

Blackberry blossoms in the upland meadow

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

All Creatures Great and Small

On today's walk through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park on the way to the grocery store it became evident that the critters are out and stirring. The place was loud with bird song - Baltimore Orioles, Catbirds, both House and Carolina Wrens, Cardinals, Robins, Song Sparrows... Unfortunately most of them stayed out of reach of my camera, although I did manage to catch a male Oriole at the very outer limit of my zoom lens. There were also lots of other creatures - turtles, rabbits, and such. And to top it off, up on the upland meadow the butterfly population is booming, mostly the Spring appearances like the Cabbage and Mustard Whites, Spring Azures, Painted Ladies; I managed to get a shot of an Eastern Tailed-Blue, a relative of the Spring Azure. So come on, let's take a walk.

Baltimore Orioles like to hang out way up in the tops of trees; I just barely caught this one at the end of the range of my zoom

A Painted Turtle dozing in the Dykeman Spring wetland

Two Eastern Cottontails on the Dykeman Walking Trail

A huge and ancient Snapping Turtle coming up for air in the Dykeman Spring wetland

A young Green Frog in the grass by the northern duck pond

A trio of handsome Mallard drakes in the grass beside the northern duck pond

A Tailed-Blue butterfly on the upland meadow

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

May Flowers

Today has been a gorgeous Spring day, and fortunately I have a day off to enjoy it. I wandered through the increasingly fragrant and colorful Dykeman Spring Nature Park this morning, wrapping myself in Mama Gaia's bounty. There was lots of birdsong, and I saw one Oriole and heard several others singing in different parts of the park, but what got my attention most was the increasing amount of blooming going on. So wander with me through the park and enjoy a great Spring morning's worth of wildflowers.

Heal-all growing in the Dykeman Spring wetland

Common Blue Violet growing on the forest floor along the Dykeman Walking Trail

Barberry blossoms by the duck ponds

Apple blossoms along the Meadow Trail

The Redbuds along the eastern edge of the upland meadow are blooming

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

My Backyard "Community"

I have quite a wildlife "community" happening on and under the feeder station in my backyard. Lots of House Sparrows and Starlings, unfortunately (both invasive species who have squeezed out -  and have even led to the extinction of several species - native songbird species across the continent and are vermin as far as I'm concerned), but also lots of Finches since I added the Finch sock full of Thistle seed - Goldfinches, the red-headed House Finches, and two Pine Siskins who drop by occasionally. But I also get some occasional surprise visits - one or two Chipmunks, the Eastern Cottontail rabbit pictured here, the Red-winged Blackbird (the first one since I set up the station), and a mating pair of Mallards who drop by every Spring. The following pictures are representative of what I see every day when I look out my kitchen window. Enjoy!

Here's a handsome fellow! And he knows it, too.

Mr. & Mrs. Red share the feeder station with some female Goldfinches

I looked out the window one day to see Peter here enjoying the spillage under the feeders

This male Red-winged Blackbird has been visiting a lot lately

Mr. & Mrs. Mallard drop by every Spring

Finches R Us!

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

April Showers, April Flowers

We've been having some fairly warm weather lately, and last night into early this morning we had some serious rain, so things are really blooming in Central PA. I went wandering the streets of Shippensburg this morning taking in the Spring colors. Enjoy!

McLean House is taking on some seasonal color

And next door, Branch Creek is starting to look festive, too

Cleveland Flowering Pear trees on Neff Ave. brighten up a cloudy morning

A bright splash on Queen St.

Looking out Baltimore Rd. to South Mountain

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Is It Spring Yet?

Well, well! Spring finally looks like it's creeping in around here. The temperatures are definitely warmer and Spring colors are starting to show. Not to mention some critters are appearing who either migrate or hibernate in the colder months. Yes, it's finally starting to look like Spring around here. I took pictures yesterday and today in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park to document the progress. Enjoy!

My first sighting of a Painted Turtle for the year, sunning on a fallen branch in the wetland

The woods along the wetland are definitely greening

The creek is getting festive, too

Corn Speedwell growing along the Upland Trail near the meadow

The forest floor along the Upland Trail

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Damp

It's been pretty damp here in Central PA for the last three days - off and on showers and drizzle. Combined with temperatures above freezing, this has gotten the green started in coloring the landscape. I went through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park on the way to the grocery store this morning and got some nice, wet photos. Enjoy!

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Stirring

Spring is advancing, and the Earth is stirring. Green has begun to emerge from the brown and gray, the earliest flowers have begun to bloom, and buds begin to swell into leaves on the trees. Mama Gaia is waking up after her long Winter sleep.

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Finches!

I bought a Finch sock last weekend. For any of you who may not be familiar with it, a Finch sock is a coarse nylon bag filled with Nyjer seed, which Finches love. I put it up on Saturday, but they didn't discover it until yesterday. Both House Finches (the red heads) and Goldfinches have always seemed to like the Black Oil Sunflower seeds I keep in the flat feeder, and now with the Finch sock and the warmer weather the Finches are coming to visit in greater numbers. Wheeeee! The Goldfinches have really taken to the sock, but so far I haven't seen any House Finches checking it out, although I'm told they do like to feed from them. Maybe soon. Here are some shots from Wednesday and Thursday.

And an extra added attraction! It's raining today, and when I looked out the window I saw a busy scene - Mr. and Mrs. Red joining some Goldfinches at the flat feeder. Yup, Spring traffic is definitely picking up.

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Bleak

It's Spring-Not Spring time. By the calendar it's after the Vernal Equinox, but the temperature when I was out this morning was around 25º F (-4º C), and even colder with the wind, and there were occasional snowflakes drifting here and there from time to time. It's officially Spring, but the woods in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park are a tangle of bare branches and vines, with not a leaf or a bloom in sight. The predominant colors are gray, brown, and tan; it's only the touches of red from the bridges and the benches, and also from the brambles, that add some vibrant color to the scenery. It was these reds that decided me to keep the photos in color rather than black & white, because those few touches of color emphasize the bleakness of the general scene.

What's ironic is that it sounds like Spring. The air was full of the songs of Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Goldfinches, and surely they mean Spring. I guess it's a hopeful sign that Spring is just around the corner, these Spring migrants singing their hearts out in the cold, cold air amidst a bleak landscape.

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger