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.