Yar Matey!

This is a blue dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) that visited our pond today. They apparently are also called "blue pirates" (no idea why).

He was very forgiving compared to other dragonflies that I've tried to photograph in the past. But after a few shots, he had had enough and flew off. He had beautiful eyes, which sadly are not well represented as the horsetail was waving in a fairly lively breeze resulting in a slightly out of focus shot (that's what I tell myself anyway).

I found some info at the Bug Guide. I hope he sticks around. He'll get to meet the red pennant that is usually found at our watering hole.

Beautiful Moth

I saw this guy today while watering the plants. He's a tiger moth of some sort, but I don't know enough nor did I see enough of him to really make a definitive identification. He could be a Figured, Ornate, Virgin or Mexican Tiger Moth. I never got a chance to see his abdomen or his hind wings. I brought the camera inside to download the pictures and when I went back, he was gone.

The sites I used to look him up said that three were more likely to be found in the Western part of the US. Being in North Central Texas, I have to guess based on current findings that it might be the Figured Tiger Moth. It's the only one I've seen reported in Texas at any of these sites.

I'll probably be interested enough to continue looking into this. I found info here and here. I also went to the local library to pick up some books on butterflies and moths. See kids? You CAN find neat stuff at the library!

The Wren Wreport - So Long And Thanks For All The Fish!

It happened much earlier than anticipated, but the fledglings have left the nest. In fact, it was like the next morning after the last Wren Wreport. Amy noticed that there weren't any mouths in the doorway, but she had to head off to a doctor's appointment. Concerned that they'd flown the coup and Amy would never get to see them, I went looking for them when she left. I found two just feet away from the nest just peeping away. One of them seemed quite a bit more advanced than the others. He was able to fly to low objects and perch off the ground. I heard more peeping from the other side of the fence, so I went around to the front of the house and found the other two gathered together under the boxwood.

Of all the days to pick to leave the nest... it was very windy with gusts up to 30 miles per hour and sustained winds around 15-20. I quickly snapped several pictures as mom and dad tried to warn me off. I then retreated to let them do their thing.

Several hours later, Amy was home and I showed her where they were. By then, all four had moved to the neighbor's bushes and were huddling around together. That is the last we saw of them. The next day they were gone.

We hope the parents will come back to have another family in the wren house. *fingers crossed*

Blechy!

The title is inspired by a friend who had a toad almost jump on her when she was helping my wife move something. She did some hopping herself and exclaimed, "Toads are blechy!"

I noticed this little toad in our pond a day or two ago. Last summer we didn’t have any toads visit the pond. I’m glad to see one back this year. It is probably a Bufo americanus, the common American toad. We’ve heard no calls the past couple of nights, so I’m assuming it’s a female.

A couple of years ago, we had a toad take up a two year (or maybe three, I can’t remember) residence. He's pictured in our profile...a rather similar shot actually. He was a male and boy did he have a loud call. Let’s hope this new resident is a quiet neighbor.

Learn more about the American toad here.

The Wren Wreport for Wednesday

Amy and I were sitting down to lunch today when she exclaimed, "There are four babies in there, not three!" So we stand corrected (although I have no idea how four babies can manage to get along in that little house).

One of the more adventurous babies did some perching in the doorway, which worried us a little. I find myself having rather un-manly feelings over these little ones. They're going to have to leave the nest soon. It's going to be a thrill AND a trial watching it. Nature has a "tough love" approach that often seems cruel, but in fact is the exact way it should be handled. It should be fascinating!

The Wren Wreport

All is well. Amy and I were concerned considering the last encounter she had with the birds, but for the past week or so now, things have been progressing smoothly with the proud parents producing three chicks. So far the routine goes something like this. Mama bird (or is it papa bird?) flies out and perches on the apple tree. He sets to twittering right away. We don't know if it's to tell the babies to "Stay down! Shut up!" or to warn others away. Then both parents disappear in search of food. A few minutes later, breakfast is served. This basically goes on all day.

The babies look to be getting pretty big already. I believe they'll be looking to test their mettle in another week or so. We'll keep you posted.

Read more about Carolina Wrens here.

The Wrens Are Here!

We have a wren house nailed up to our fence under an apple tree in our side yard. We saw two wrens taking a look at it the other day. It was really funny actually. We saw one bird (presumably the male) the day before, looking at the establishment and we were hopeful. The next day, the bird shows up again, this time with the Missus in tow. We know this to be a fact because the second bird already had packing material in-beak, and we all know women are the more practical gender.

The male landed first as if to say, "see? It's perfect!" The female took a look and you could almost see her saying, "what? We'd be catfood in there!" and flew off. That we thought was the end of it.

A few days later, we were sitting down to breakfast and we saw a leaf or something in the opening to the house. Then a few minutes later it was gone. Then it was back... I thought it was the wind. Well, curiousity got the better of Amy and she went out to investigate yesterday. She went right up and stood on tiptoe, putting her eye practically right up to the hole. She saw nothing at first, then a beak appeared. Before my wife could do anything, a furious flap of wings and a brush past her cheek told her we most certainly had guests. (edit: I wasn't going to throw her under the bus and mention the screaming like a little schoolgirl part, but she goaded me, so now you know. I heard it from inside the house. One of those moments where you know exactly what happened and it's as funny in your head as in real life.)

She was worried she scared the birds off for good, but we saw one of them this morning on the roof of the house, so they must be still around. But they are excellent at eluding the camera, so no visual today :(

Identifying Insects is Hard

Taking a look for info on lady beetles is more difficult than I thought. Here we have what I can only surmise is an asian lady beetle of a variety I can not find any info on.

The wife took this picture. She is a fan of lady beetles (as am I), because they are natural predators of garden pests like mealybugs, aphids, mites, scale and other sap sucking nasties.

Here is a link to some facts about this most popular beneficial insect.

SKINK!

Holy cow, when I first saw this guy (or gal, I don't know), it was big enough to freak me out a moment. Fully 10 inches long just sunning itself by the pond.

I'm not great at identifying things, so I might be totally off base when I say I think this is a 5-lined skink. I've seen a juvi in our yard last year with it's yellow lines and bright blue tail. I read that the adults tails turn grey and their lines can all but disappear. That doesn't explain the red head though. Another possibility is the broad-headed skink. The colors would be right, but pictures of that lizard he had a bumpy head, not smooth like this one. Guess more research is called for.

UPDATE: Confirmed! It's a five-lined skink. Found a picture of an adult here. The red on the head indicates a male in breeding condition. Love is in the air around our backyard apparently.

Anole Siting!

The other day I went out into our backyard and lo and behold, I saw a green anole sunning himself on one of my bonsai. I used to see anoles all the time when I was a kid growing up, but since owning my own house (just over 10 years now), Amy and I have only seen geckos. (No, not the Geico Gecko, which silly enough is a green anole.) I guess I've seen a few anoles here and there, however, none in or around my yard. But that's changed.

The next day, I found him near the pond doing his mating dance, extending his dewlap and doing his pushups. I didn't actually see a female anywhere...maybe he's practicing.

Save the Honeybees!

Ok, the wife and I are such HUGE nerds, we email each other from across the room. She wanted me to post this link for her. I think I'll embarrass her by posting the entire email instead.

Here's a link for you to put on our blog. It's backyard related. It's Earth Day related. It's a good cause and it's a cute site to boot!
Smooch!

www.helpthehoneybees.com

The Goldfish Pond

We might as well start with a view of our pond. It’s my favorite feature and provides a water source for the wildlife that visit our backyard. It came with the house and we liked it, so when the old rubber went south, we relined it and kept it. It’s less work than you might think.

We have a “scarecrow” motion sensor in place because a year or two after we bought the house, most of our fish were poached by an egret. It’s strange seeing a 2-foot tall bird landing in your backyard and looking lustily at your goldfish, but they are more prevalent than most people think.

The sad part is that the scarecrow also goes off when the squirrels come to drink, but that’s the price we pay for fish safety. Actually, we turn the scarecrow off from time to time, but since the study window is right there, and we’re always in there working, the fish are relatively safe and “Agnes” (the name we give all squirrels by default) can get her drink on.

If you're interested in learning more about backyard ponds, here is a tip sheet from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

About Big B's Backyard Blog

Hello, my name is James. I live with my wife Amy in an unremarkable, American middle-class home just outside of Dallas, Texas. That is to say, in the middle of a sprawling suburb that you couldn't hope to walk from one end to the other if you had an entire day. But it’s what goes on OUTDOORS that we’re interested in talking about.

First of all, Big B's Backyard Blog is aimed at kids. We created “Big B” to inspire and encourage children to get outside and experience the outdoors. The idea came to us when we realized that our nephews preferred to stay inside with their PSPs, Nintendos, XBoxes, (etc.) as opposed to going outside and “interfacing” with the World around them. When I was young, all of my time was spent outdoors. And it was the same with my friends. It was GREAT! There was always something to do. I still enjoy getting outside today.

I will admit right from the start that we’re not experts, so occasionally we’ll make a mistake. So, if in doubt, do some research! We’re just two people who would like to help our future generation “unplug” a little and see the beauty in the everyday surroundings that we live in.