Native Bee | the Intown Hawk

June was hot and dry. Everybody’s looking for shade and water. As a follow up to our last post, Bruce Hallett sent us three great photos of one of the juvenile Cooper’s Hawks enjoying his birdbath, which are below. There is still nesting going on and the birdhouse on the Nature Trail closest to the garden area has a brood of Carolina Wren chicks. They are keeping their parents busy and making so much noise you can hear them 25 feet away. Remember there are those who are just beginning to nest, such as American Goldfinches ( see our blog from July last year Late Starters).

Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk in Mr. Hallett’s Bird Bath

Carolina Wrens with a brood in one of the Nature Trail birdhouses

Dragonfly

America Goldfinch female

American Goldfinches – 2 males and a female

Gray Catbird – Dumetella carolinensis

Gray Catbird eating blueberries

Native Bee

Northern Flicker – Colaptes auratus

Rock Pigeon – Columba livia

Turtle on the Nature Trail

It’s May and, as always in this month, there’s a lot going on. Pollinators are busy and some species of birds are raising a second brood. We’ve seen a few Hummingbirds, but they are still infrequent visitors to our blooms.

The neighbor across the street reports that the resident box turtle was seen hiking up their driveway. And one of the most interesting reports came from a neighbor on West Paces Ferry who sent us a photo taken in her yard of a Groundhog (aka Woodchuck or Whistlepig). She contacted Georgia DNR who confirmed it as a Groundhog saying that while it’s unusual for them to be this far south in Georgia, it’s not unheard of.