Hummingcrow & Co.

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Seán   Mystery of the Swiss Cheese Leaves

Lilac leaves with holes

In recent weeks, we've been noticing more and more leaves around the garden that look as though someone's been going around hole-punching them. And while seeing punctured foliage usually elicits a sense of concern about pests and disease, something about the smooth, skillfully-crafted shape of these holes makes them seem benign to me... artful even!

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Seán   #Meanwhile

A potter wasp mama puts the final touches on her vessel-like clay nest, and lays an egg inside. These beneficial insect ceramicists are not aggressive and can help protect nearby plants from caterpillar damage. So if you see a tiny pot appear unexpectedly in your garden, you might want to leave it be!

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Seán   #Meanwhile

A robber fly celebrates a successful heist by slurping out the liquefied innards of its ambushed prey.

July 13, '10: female hummingbird repeats running bill against door glass,
up + down looking in at me. many visits

Seán   #Meanwhile

A tiny metallic green cuckoo wasp timidly peeks out of a habitat log hole, taking in the world beyond through its periscopic antennae.

June 4, '02 - robin nest built on ledge of window - now 3 eggs
June 15 - two pink naked babies today + 1 blue egg to go
June 29, 9:30am - 3 robin chicks left nest


Seán   #Meanwhile

A hover fly tours the snowberry blossoms as an olive-sided flycatcher leads a chorus of trills and chirps.

September 19, 1998 - wild pigeon (band-tailed) purposefully flies thru
hose spray I hold + stays, as I repeat, to drench - drinking & preening


Seán   #Meanwhile


A tiny spider shelters underleaf beside a piece of gravel.

Seán   #Meanwhile