This plant keeps giving

We have American Goldfinches all year round. They flock to our feeder to enjoy the sunflower seed. During winter their plumage is plain and the sexes appear similar. In this group, photographed on February 22,  the bird on the upper right is a male, which has slightly brighter plumage and shows some yellow on his face and neck.

On March 30, this male was beginning to molt into bright breeding plumage. Females also turn olive yellow, but lack the black head patch:

Molt progresses in early April. This male had nearly completed the transition on April 16:

Unlike the other local birds, the goldfinches postpone their breeding until late summer, an adaptation to the growth pattern of thistles. Nest building was underway by mid-July.  On July 27, this female was gathering the downy fluff (pappus) from a Common Sow Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus). It will be used to line her nest:

Males also carry pappus to their nests, most of which were located rather high in oak and maple trees along the margin of a clear-cut area in the back yard woodlands. Once the eggs are laid, the females remain on the nest and are fed by the males:

After the eggs hatch, the adults discard the pappus and harvest the seeds of the plant. They collect beak-fulls of seed and periodically stop to consume them before resuming the task. This is not a selfish act, as the seeds are stored in their crops and later regurgitated as a partially digested glob which they feed to the nestlings. Look closely to see the brown seeds in this bird's beak:   

In mid-summer, invasive native Common Sow Thistles have clusters of large yellow flowers resembling the dandelions which bloom in early spring but have flowers on single stems. Sow Thistles lack the thorns of True Thistles which are in the same flower family (Asteraceae) and whose seeds also fly in the wind and are used by goldfinches. True Thistles usually have pink, purple or white blossoms.

Deer avoid thorny thistles but relish the foliage of the Sow Thistles. Our back yard overlooks large patches of this plant in the cleared area which spreads out beneath a 30-foot cliff. There are great views of the area from behind the iron fence at the edge of the cliff. 

My photos of wildlife in the area provide a top view which is not always satisfactory. This week I was lucky when a White-tailed Deer had a tender moment with her fawn:

On August 10, I photographed the sunset from the same location:

Our sneaky granddaughter caught me in the act:

Diamond Lake under a cloudy sky:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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Ruby throats, spotted fawns and a poodle

Connecticut has been experiencing unusually hot and dry weather the past two weeks, with daily temperatures often higher than those in Florida, reaching into the mid- to high 90s°F (35-36°C) with heat indices of 100- 104°F (38-40 °C). The bird bath is visited frequently and the hummingbird feeder empties out quickly. 

We keep the sugar concentration low (4 parts water to 1 sugar) to provide adequate hydration for the little birds. Only female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds visited the feeders from spring into late July. Their numbers increased and were augmented by immature offspring with duskier plumage. Adult males do not participate in care for the  young but often continue to defend their territory. Males migrate south early, beginning in late summer. Females and immature birds exit about 2-3 weeks later.

Two are company...

...and three's a crowd, but look who's coming!

A mob of 8 to 10! I never got more than six to fit in the frame at one time:

Then, on July 29, a single adult male appeared:

While several female and immature hummingbirds often fed together, the male threatened or chased away any other visitors:

The throat patch (gorget) of the male is actually black. It contains no red pigment. Its color is created by iridescence--  refraction and reflection of light from microscopic mirror-like scales on the specialized feathers. The backs of males and females reflect a metallic green:

American Goldfinches continue to gather fluffy down to line their nests. Now the work is mostly being done by males, leading me to assume that females are incubating eggs:

On July 26, a female White-tailed Deer reclined in one shady patch, in clear view for over 6 hours, from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM:

She may have simply been resting, but we suspected that she was in labor. She moved to a sunny spot a few feet away before disappearing:

On July 31 we caught a glimpse of a very young fawn which had been hiding in deep vegetation until the parent approached. We wondered whether this doe might be the same one we had seen earlier: 

The fawn followed her and suckled as they disappeared into the trees. I shot blindly into the dark undercover and was lucky to obtain only a partial view of the infant:

On August 8, we saw this older fawn with its mother. It was possibly "Bambi" which we first photographed as a wobbly infant just one month previously:

Two days later the older fawn was eating the fresh leaves which sprouted around a felled maple:

It was accompanied by three adult deer. One saw us and snorted loudly. The fawn responded by darting into cover:

White-tail fawns begin to forage when about 2 weeks old and cannot survive if deprived of mothers' milk before age of 10 weeks, but are usually weaned at 12-16 weeks. It is said that fawns born later than June in northern states may not be adequately developed to survive the winter.   

FACTOID: "Newborn fawns lack the ability to urinate or defecate... While nursing, the doe will lick their rectal and genital regions to stimulate them to release their wastes. The doe will then consume the urine and feces so their odors do not attract predators. Now that’s a responsible mother! The doe will continue this behavior for at least 2 to 3 weeks. A newborn’s inability to expel these wastes, coupled with the mother’s protective behavior of consuming them, undoubtedly saves countless fawns from predation." REF: When Do Fawns Begin Eating Natural Forage?

The two Tibetan Mastiffs have been too much for us to handle. Cazador, the Standard Poodle, is quite well-behaved (until he sees a squirrel). We took him on the one-mile walk along the east shore of Diamond Lake. This greatly distressed the two dogs left at home, but Cazi is getting to know the neighborhood as we admire the blooming Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and the reflections on the still surface of the lake: 

A Monarch butterfly, the first I have seen here, appeared on the catmint (variety: Cat's Meow Catmint, Nepeta faassenii, similar to catnip, Nepeta cataria, but it does not stimulate cats). The migratory population of this butterfly species has just been declared Endangered. Any kind of butterfly is a treat-- some days I do not see a single one:

The swimming pool has provided entertainment for the younger crowd. Two of our granddaughters with our son and his wife flew in from Texas and visited and enjoyed short drives to tour Boston and Mystic, Connecticut. The lawn shows the effects of the heat and drought:

Rain threatened and fell over Hartford, eleven miles to the west, but we remained dry:

As expected, the sunset was gorgeous:

= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________