Back Yard
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Last Glimpses of Summer
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Out the Window
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What do they put in this stuff?
Along with the bluebirds, pileated woodpeckers have shown an interest in the suet this year. We had one come once or twice years ago, but this one — part of a family of the majestic birds that frequent the dead ash trees out back — seems quite interested.
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Bluebirds?
We’ve seen bluebirds very rarely in the 24 years we’ve lived here. For some reason, this year we’ve had 3 or 4 pairs take up residence over the last several weeks, eating at the bird feeder. I thought you needed mealworms to attract these lovely creatures, but it seems peanut flavored suet is enough.
The bluebird is New York’s state bird. I so enjoy these small, fluffy bursts of color in an otherwise drab setting.
My daughter took the picture above, as well as this next one:
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Backyard Drama
What a story I witnessed this week as I rose from working at the kitchen table and glanced out the window.
A Cooper’s hawk was wrestling a starling to the death. By the time I looked out, the starling was motionless as the hawk pressed down with its talons, patiently squeezing out its life. Eventually it started plucking out beaksfull of feathers in preparation for its meal.
But as I turned away, I heard the starling start screeching. Looking out, I was astonished to see it fighting back against the startled hawk. This is an unfocused picture, but it gives the general sense of it:
Even more shockingly, after a few moments, the Cooper actually gave up and flew into a tree. The starling flew into a different tree. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a mound of reddish fur in the back corner of the yard: a fox, watching curiously. It came out across the lawn and investigated the scene of struggle.
It probably saved the starling’s life, attracted by the uproar and appearing at just that moment. I’m not sure whether the bird will survive whatever wounds it sustained, but the sight of such a remarkable string of events was an amazing gift.
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Sunflowers
Just when they look their ugliest to me, they are most attractive to the wildlife.
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Bluebirds
They’re our state bird, but we don’t see much of them.
They pass through this time of year, traveling in a small flock, and stay for a few days before moving on.
Somehow it’s often on a drab day that we look out and see them searching for insects or puffed out for warmth.
Lovely little spots of color among the branches, and part of the changing pattern of this place.
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Garden Sightings
Great Spangled Fritillary 
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Giant Swallowtail
These are, I’ve read, the largest butterflies in North America. It takes around 7 weeks to move through egg, caterpillar, and chrysalis stages. The culminating masterpiece, a gorgeous adult butterfly, only lives 6-14 days.
Looking at the torn wings of this one feeding in my zinnias, I sure wish they could regenerate and last longer.
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Summer Visitors
We have various non-human residents who pass through our yard in the summer. Other people may lead more exotic and busy lives, but one of our joys around here is simply watching what unfolds in the back yard. Some visitors are more welcome than others, but they all bring interest and variety and encourage us to pay attention. You never know what you might see when you look out the window…
This overgrown lilac just over the stone wall in our neighbor’s yard, for example, is a favorite roost for the female ruby-throated hummingbird.
She even takes a drink now and then — at least, I think that’s what she’s doing here:
We have mixed feelings about the rabbits, who ate enough of my flowers that I put up an ugly fence for awhile… but they clearly feel quite comfortable.
Chipmunks aren’t as welcome as they used to be either, since they sabotaged my sunflowers twice this spring.
The fence wasn’t pretty, but it seemed a welcome addition to birds who liked to perch on the wire. When I took it down this week, they were briefly flummoxed by the disappearance of their favorite landing place.
This warbler — I think it’s a Nashville warbler — didn’t appear till after the fence went up.
A giant swallowtail visited as well. They’re not really common around here, but we’ve seen one twice this summer.
Last but not least, we have a whitetail deer with two fawns.
It’s hard not to see them as pests who carry lyme disease and eat garden plants. But they don’t come to our yard much, and when they do they mostly eat the brushy stuff along the edge of the yard. No nibbling in forbidden areas so far.
On the whole it’s a pleasant set of visitors. I notice, looking at these pics, that most of them weren’t taken in bright, sunny conditions. The light could be better. But it’s been so hot that clouds are actually a relief when they come. I suspect the animals feel the same.
Still, it’s been mostly sunny, and I can’t complain about a sunny summer — not in one of the most overcast regions in the country!
