Photos of the Day

I glanced out the window and there was a squirrel trying to get the suet at the bird feeder. I managed to get a few photos before it scampered away up the tree. I don't see many squirrels in Saskatoon for some reason.



Who me?


Love that tail!


While I was out in the yard with my camera I grabbed a few shots of the native plants in our flower bed.

Prairie Coneflower


Wild Bergamot


Prairie Onion


Purple Prairie Clover

Walking to Work

Another walk to work, this one fairly interesting nature-wise.

I heard some magpies making noise (not unusual) but I saw they were chasing a couple of other birds. The other birds looked like small raptors, I guessed Merlin's since they're the most common. In between chases the magpies and raptors returned to perch on the fence around the new fruit orchard. I managed to get close enough to get some photos, although I only had my little ZS100 and it was almost straight into the sun. Looking at the photos afterwards I realized from the black stripes on their heads that they were American Kestrels. I've seen and photographed them other places but I think this is the first time for me in Saskatoon.


Next I spotted a wasp on some grass seed. It was running around and around the seeds and the wind was blowing so it was a challenge to get a decent shot. Based on looking at the photos later I think it's a Yellow-legged Mud-dauber Wasp. They are a solitary parasitoid wasp that builds nests from mud. The nest has several cells that it stocks with paralyzed spiders and lays eggs in. When the eggs hatch they eat the spiders. So what was it doing on the grass seed? Looking closely at the photos, I think there's a spider in there that the wasp is trying to get at. I wonder what evolutionary path led to the extreme narrow waist.



Arriving at Innovation Place I stopped to take photos of this flower (Mertensia?). I like the candy cane spirals on the flower buds.



On a lily just beside it, I noticed a motionless fly. Another crab spider catch? Sure enough, I could just make out a spider behind the fly. Unlike the one on the roses, this one was perfectly colored to blend in with the flower. The surprise was when I looked at the photos on the computer, I realized there were two spiders - the crab spider behind, and a jumping spider in front. Both appeared to be feeding on the fly. I would guess that the crab spider ambushed the fly and the jumping spider happened upon the feast. I haven't noticed the jumping spiders hunting on the flowers before.



Other spiders left their webs in the plants where they collected water drops from the sprinklers.



The water lilies and bougainvillea continue to bloom.





Taking photos made me late for a work Google Hangout so I joined in on my phone from beside the pond.

At lunch and after work these sparrows were keeping me company. Judging by the yellow around the mouth I think they are juveniles.





This wasp was collecting wood fiber to build it's nest. I think it's a German Yellowjacket.



There were lots of damselflies around the pond. One of the ways to distinguish them is that damselflies perch with their wings together whereas dragonflies perch with their wings spread. But these Spreadwing damselflies perch with their wings partly open. They still have the wide spaced protruding eyes of damselflies.



I normally wouldn't bother taking more photos of the ubiquitous water striders, but this one was stationary while I was photographing the damselfly, so I took advantage of the cooperative subject.



I'm reading Mariposa Road so I've been more on the lookout for butterflies. But there haven't been many cooperative subjects. I'm not sure why this one was just sitting on the path. It didn't seem to be injured. I think it's a Cabbage White.



This one was also sitting on a path a few days ago. I didn't recognize it at first because I'm used to seeing the top of its wings. It's a Mourning Cloak. Usually I notice them in the spring because they overwinter as adults and are one of the first butterflies to emerge. The ones that overwinter are often somewhat ragged. This one looks quite fresh and undamaged.

Photos of the Day

After seeing the crab spider that had caught a bumble bee the other day, I've been looking in the same area. Sure enough, I spotted what is probably the same spider. Can you see it?



This time it was waiting patiently in ambush. It's not very well camouflaged on the red roses, but it was mostly underneath the flower so it wouldn't be very visible to an approaching bee or fly.



I think this is a Goldenrod Crab Spider.

While looking for crab spiders I saw something on a lily. It turned out to be a cute little slug.

Photo of the Day

A closeup of one of the bougainvillea around Innovation Place.



The flowers are the small white part, the big colorful "petals" are actually "bracts" -  specialized leaves. My father, after moving to Saskatchewan from living in East Africa for ten years, liked to say "man should not live where bougainvillea will not grow". I'm pretty sure he meant in the wild though.

While I'm at it, another interesting find today was this Greater Bee Fly. I saw one for the first time here in the spring on a crocus. This one was flying from lily to lily and pausing on the petals. If it was feeding, I'm not sure on what. Their diet includes both nectar and pollen.

Around the Pond

The windy cloudy day with intermittent showers kept people away from gardens at Innovation Place so I enjoyed a peaceful lunch by the pond.

There have been a couple of mallard ducks hanging around the pond. I don't think they nested there, probably too much traffic for that.



The male got a little nervous if I got too close.



The dramatic sky made for some good reflections around the water lilies.



There are always interesting flowers around.



Seek suggests this is a magnolia.



There are less hibiscus this year, but more bougainvillea. I like them both. Of course, small bougainvillea bushes in pots isn't quite the huge masses of them like in Mexico.

And lilies and irises, of course.







And a zillion water striders skating around on the pond. This is the most abundant I've seen them. On the other hand, I haven't been seeing any fishing spiders for some reason.



I've also been looking for crab spiders in the flowers. I was heading back to my office and I glanced at the roses by the door, thinking of the ones my parents had beside the house when I was a kid. I noticed a bumblebee on a flower. Except it wasn't moving. That caught my attention - bees seldom stop moving. I looked closer and sure enough it had been caught by a crab spider. The spider itself was mostly hidden. It always amazes me how a relatively small spider can kill much larger prey.



See all 19 photos in this album.

To learn more about the nature around you, try Nature Companion, the website/app my sister Penny and I developed.

Photos of the Day

A Western White Admiral (I think) and the beginning of the water lilies at Innovation Place.