You wouldn't know it from the weather, which continues to be cool and gray the vast majority of the time, but we are quickly approaching summer. There are other signs of the season, however, like this parent Pacific wren tending to its begging fledgling yesterday at Mt. Finlayson:
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| Amazing how well they blend in except for the yellow "lips" of the fledgling |
The Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana) is also starting to bloom all over the island:
The baby foxes at the south end are starting to grow bigger and roam wider. The last few times I've been down there they haven't been around, but one of them was resting near the den when I took a look yesterday. They've grown so much!
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| Prints of this photo available here; check out my whole gallery of baby fox photos here |
My other interesting find yesterday was this beetle - there seemed to be quite a few of them around, with more than one smashed on the trail by passers-by. This one was still alive and well, though. I think it may be a flightless tiger beetle (Omus audouini), which I photographed once before in 2009, or perhaps the European ground beetle (Carabus nemoralis) - see comments.
It's always delightful to watch the changing of the seasons, but it would sure be nice to do it in some sunshine....please?
2 comments:
Hey, due to the pits in its wing covers, I'm thinking that beetle is Carabus nemoralis. I could be wrong, but look them up and see what you think.
Love, love, love that pretty little fox! Great photos!
Thanks for the insight Patricia - you may be right. The tiger beetle has pits in the wing covers, too, but the fact that these are in three distinct rows on each side does match what my field guide says about the European ground beetle. I'm far from a beetle expert and there are so many of them to look over in the books....thanks again!
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