A red-bellied woodpecker searches for food high in a scotch pine. The red on the belly is usually very faint and hard to see, and some people mistake these birds for red-headed woodpeckers, but the latter has an entirely red head and a solid black back.
A red squirrel darts across the snow and up a tree, then settles on a branch to eat. Its long fingers and grippy toes enable it to hold its food and balance just about anywhere.
The trees are mostly bare. A willow is still hanging onto yellow-green leaves, providing a bright spot in the otherwise brown-and-gray landscape. A dogwood also retains some fall color.
Living between the green of summer and the white of winter, autumn’s rich colors seem the more precious for their fleetingness.
A juvenile cardinal perches on a tree branch and gazes around. While it already has the distinctive cardinal crest, it will be another month or two before this bird develops its adult plumage and orange-red bill.
A grasshopper perches beside bottle gentian blossoms. These flowers don’t open, so are pollinated almost exclusively by bumble bees, one of the only insects strong enough to push apart the petals and get inside.
I spot a lone hummingbird clearwing moth among all the bees. Aptly named, its wings are transparent, and it hovers like its namesake as it drinks nectar.
Great black wasps (yes, that’s their name) seem especially drawn to the nectar of rattlesnake master blossoms.
A song sparrow sings, three notes followed by a varied trill. I hear a “chit” call coming from a bush and peer in to see a fledgling house wren.
Sunfish swim lazily in the shallow water. Dragonflies zip around, then land on lily pads. A white water lily is fully open, petals reflected in the still water. The stems and leaves of this plant have air channels that trap air and keep it afloat.
Nature Notes