5.31.2011

Denizens of the Yard

A quick turn about the yard this weekend revealed some critters that call our property home, too.


Under the stoop on the shady side of the yard we discovered a very well fed toad...


An eastern kingbird was sitting atop a pine, keeping an eye on the garden.  He eats an amazing number of insects!


Number 33 was on patrol along the path we keep mowed.  She is a beauty of a young box turtle.  We hope she spends many happy years with us here.


Out on the carport we spied a young praying mantis on the prowl.  We have had a bumper crop of mantids this year.


Cruising the edge of the yard, in a section of the property we maintain in an old field succession state, we noticed several spangled skimmers keeping an eye on things.  This one is a male.

I love the variety of life just outside my door.

5 comments:

JSK said...

I was going to ask you how you tag your turtles to keep track of them and then I looked more closely at the shell. No need for tagging; it tagged itself :-)

swamp4me said...

JSK,
This one certainly tagged itself! When I need to keep track of a turtle I take several pictures of it. The good thing about box turtles is they tend to have very distinctive shells. I just can't seem to do the whole marking marginals with a file thing.

Sybil said...

What a fascinating yard you must have.

GFunny said...

I vicariously live through your pictures! I have affinity for tree frogs, snakes, turtles and swamp life period. I live up in Maryland -Baltimore/Annapolis. So we do not have as much of the species as you do down in the coastal plain. You can never post too many pics, keep'em coming- we love'em! Thank you!

Ryan

swamp4me said...

I'm always delighted to meet another swamp lover!