Oh, Spring and the Macro Lens

Wild Violet

Bombyliidae Bee Fly on a Daffodil

Liver Leaf Wildflower

 

The Downey Woodpecker today in Charlestown Meadows

 

Field Sparrow, Pileated Woodpecker and an Eastern Phoebe in the Woods - Yesterday in Valley Forge

 

Pileated Doing What Pileateds Do!! (Click for Full Effect)

 

The Warblers are Back in Valley Forge!!!

The Palm Warbler

The Pine Warbler

Spring is Here!!

Today was truly spring.  The birds were many.  And there was a groundhog who emerged and grabbed a nearby branch. Deer and best of all the first warbler of the season - a pine warbler.

The Tufted Titmouse

Northern Flicker

Kissing Black Capped Chicadees

Ground Hog with Branch

White Tailed Deer

Bluebird between the Buds

The Pine Warbler Hiding behind the Branch

 

Box Turtle in the Woods Today

I spent a good three hours scouring the woods in Valley Forge today looking for something interesting to photograph.  Finally on my way out of the woods there he was.  A little orange box turtle just sitting there with a fly on his back.  Oh the thrill of it all!

The Toads Were All Gone!!

Last Thursday and Friday I spent long hours at  Pawlings Farm where truly hundreds of American toads were doing their annual mating dance in the vernal  pools.  There were not nearly as many as in years past, but still there were hundreds.  I told my daughter- in- law that she and her daughter Piper should come with me to see this amazing scene.  I met Lynne and Piper in our driveway and then she followed me the 30 minutes or so to Pawlings Farm. I was so excited about getting there. We got to the spot and parked.  The first thing I noticed was there was no sound....  None.   I couldn't hear the trilling of the toads.  We walked through the fields and to the ponds and there was nothing.  Oh maybe a spare one toad, but nothing!  We walked on.  Piper found a turtle, but that was just about the highlight of all the wildlife we saw.  We walked on just at the water's edge.  We found two dead toads, but all the rest were gone.  It's amazing how they come, they do their stuff and they go.  We did after a long while find a nice mating couple and lots and lots of long strings of toad eggs that will soon become thousands of tadpoles.  They will mature into little toads and then hop back into the forest.  Such a marvelous life cycle.  Anyway, we had a great time even without the big crowd.  Here are some fun photos with Lynne and Piper and the wildlife we did find.

Pileated Take-Off - Valley Forge

 There were two of these beauties playing in the woods on Monday.  I tried to get them both in the same frame, but they would not cooperate.