The Birds & the Bees (& the Frogs & the Trees)

Another visit to Beaver Creek. I'm guessing people have been feeding the chickadees because they seemed awfully friendly, repeatedly coming to perch within a few feet of me. Of course, they don't sit still for more than a second or two, which makes photographing them a hit or miss affair. Some of them had bands on their legs. This one looks like a juvenile.



There aren't a lot of flowers still blooming, but the bees are still busy.

I was happy to see quite a few frogs, both wood frogs and leopard frogs, since frogs in general aren't doing well these days. I remember there being a lot more when I was a kid. They would leap away when you approached, but if you wait for them to stop and then approach very slowly you can get quite close to them. Some of them were hiding in the grass.



And some were along the shore of the creek, requiring getting down on hands and knees in the mud to get a good angle.



I was watching for garter snakes, but it still took me a minute to figure out what this was lying on the side of the trail. It disappeared into the grass as soon as I got closer.



I like the curling bark on the (birch?) trees.

See all 23 photos (more chickadees and frogs) as a slideshow or overview

See also my blog post from a visit earlier this summer.