Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Adoptive 'children'...

even in the wild there are adoptions going on....i'm not sure whether the baby is a Brown Headed Cowbird ( Molothrus ater)   or a Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) .... both are Brood Parasite birds.... a very interesting but world wide phenomenon, there are a few different species but in my world the Cowbird and Starling are the parasites... they will find a host 'nest' lay their egg or eggs and leave..... the unsuspecting parents will hatch and raise the baby as their own.. BUT in most cases the alien baby will 'dispose' of the other eggs or hatchlings and have the parents to themselves... there are some excellent sites if your interested in reading more about the parasitic birds... for a more detailed study on the parasitism of Starlings here is a great site
i've been trying to get a shot of the parent Junco feeding the baby but as of yet, this is the best i've come up with... as for this 'family' there are no other babies, just this one, so am assuming the junco babies were destroyed either as eggs or as hatchlings.... 'ain't' life grand ....

i've been busy in the garden, finally got a few ripe tomatoes, some budding cucumbers are coming along nicely and yesterday i planted some containers with a mixed bag of arugula, lettuce, onions and beet greens... they are in a cool shady spot and hopefully if the temperature doesn't skyrocket i'll have some tasty new greens in a few weeks...

this is what happens to a leek flower when it doesn't open correctly!


this red cabbage is from last year... it came up so beautifully i decided to leave it.. it's not flowered yet, just keeps growing and growing... i keep thinking the leaves would be good for cabbage rolls but since it's from last year and doing so well, i just don't have the heart to pluck it's leaves..... 

 

this hoverfly was pollenating my parsley plant..i guess some people would call me 'odd' but i find wings fascinating.. how such a delicate appendage doesn't rip, tear or fall off is amazing...  

the Daddy Longlegs had it's one leg stretched out... thats some gams!  i noted that something black was on it's back.. i'm not sure what it was, parasites perhaps?