With temperatures finally climbing to seasonable levels and with stormy sun filtering through the yellow-brown smoke coming our way courtesy of wildfires in Alberta and other parts of central Canada, we ventured out to see what might be basking in our local star’s refracted rays…
Dragonflies including this Black Saddlebags are now actively patrolling the edges of waterways and wetlands for prey and mates.Here we see a pair of Common Green Darners flying in tandem……and, having already mated, stopping at a suitable location for the female to oviposit the fertilized eggs onto submerged plant stems.A sunny day almost always brings out the reptiles, including these Painted Turtles…and the invasive Red-eared Slider, a native transplant from the American midwest.A really big Snapping Turtle will prey on almost anything, including other Snapping Turtles……but this one seems to be fascinated by something a lot smaller. Something like these juvenile Golden Shiners seen here schooling in the sun-drenched shallows.Turtles aren’t the only reptiles thriving in the heat. Northern Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon sipedon) take full advantage of a sun-drenched rock to warm up after spending time in the chilly water of a stream.You know, no one loves a snake like another snake……and when it comes to these two snakes, it looks like love is in the air!Butterflies like this Spicebush Swallowtail enjoy time in the sun, even while seeking out minerals in a patch of moist soil.After its siblings darted into the familial burrow upon our approach, this juvenile Woodchuck instead sought the attention of its nurturing mother. Unlike its brothers and sisters, perhaps this little groundhog isn’t afraid of its own shadow. Or does the smoky haze have the youngster all confused about what does and doesn’t constitute as a shadow? Well, we can’t help you there, but you have a whole eight months to figure it out!
