Nature journal

[Andrew]

It's also exciting that they are still finding a place to nest even in the human-altered habitat, and even though they are not always successful.  Here's a very brief audio clip of the Kildeer (it takes a minute to load) - but not the distinctive kilDEER call which gives it its name.

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/songwav.html

[injest]

Actually around here it is a better place than the wild. Fire ants are killing so many ground nesting birds. We are very aggressive fighting them because we deal with food products. Fire ants are incredibly aggressive and build HUGE mounds. They kill things as big as calves and foals. There have been cases of mounds riddling pastures so badly that tractors have been swallowed. There have also been cases of fire ants killing people in nursing homes.

You don't have fire ants do you? (Not yet I mean)

[Andrew]

I just hijacked Jess' image of a tiger swallowtail in her yard from her Jess's Feed Store thread

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I found this in my yard this morning...it was very still so I took a picture of it!

[Andrew]

[Andrew]

And here's a Polyphemus moth Jess found...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ok apparently we have turned into the butterfly graveyard....this is one I have never seen before. It has pink and purplelines! and if you look you will see small round dots on the wings? those are clear! You can see thru them...It is not as showy as the first one but it is bigger and I think I like it better

[Front-Ranger]

This is the yucca glauca or Spanish Bayonet that is blooming now in the Rocky Mountains. It's also called soapweed.

[injest]

I found this in my yard this afternoon...



and it was ALIVE!!



but it wouldn't sit still for its close up!! 

cross post from the Feed Store!

[Andrew]

Ooo, a spicebush swallowtail.  We've got them in New England too but I've never seen one.  So, it looks like this one likes sweet william!  my book just mentions sassafras and spicebush as food plants.  It's good to see you at least have enough water to keep your flowers alive, Jess.

[injest]

*Jess breaking her arm patting herself on the back!*

At the end of fall last year the oil company that is drilling on the land beside us fouled our well. I wrote letters and threw a wall eyed fit and they drilled us a new one!! yippy skip...much deeper than ours was and it is GUSHING water...we are still being conservative but we are watering our lawn and flower beds. we don't have a sprinkler system set up in the pastures.

so we are sitting pretty good...at least all the critters will not go thirsty!

[Katie77]

Took this photo yesterday, and thought I would share it with all my mates overseas.....

This bird is a KOOKABURRA....a native bird of australia........it is a protected species...makes a sound like someone laughing.....sometimes you here them communicating, and it sounds like there are 100 people outside laughing.....they are a very placid bird, and will eat out of your hand if they get used to you.....