Rain Garden Visitor

Rain Garden Visitor

We had a beautiful visitor yesterday as we were finishing up the signage on the rain garden.  Despite the drought conditions, our rain garden is surviving, thanks to a heavy, consistent downpour this past weekend and irrigation.  Although it seems odd to water a rain garden, the plants do need water despite what Mother Nature delivers or not. 

As we were finishing the sign, a coworker noticed a gorgeous winged visitor in the garden.  A Spicebush Swallowtail spent quite a bit of time in and out of the dianthus, partaking in the flowers' nectar.  When we chose the species to place in the rain garden, it was our hope to attract wildlife and birds/butterflies.  This visit was a great sign!

The dianthus is just brilliant today - no wonder it caught the attention of the swallowtail!

There are a lot of details in this closeup.  Not only has our friend been around a bit (see the missing parts of the wings?) but you can actually see the proboscis, or tongue, reaching into the flower for a meal.  Although butterfly wings feel soft and it may seem as if they are made of feathers, they are actually covered in setae, or scales. 

Both the above photo and the photo to the right show the tell-tale 'swallow's tail' that marks a swallowtail butterfly.  The bright blue and orange markings give away its spicebush name.

Hot Weather Adaptations

Hot Weather Adaptations

As temperatures continued into the 90s this past week (which is a little unusual for our region, especially so early in the summer) I wondered how the flora and fauna in the Park were faring.  Everyone I knew was staying in the air conditioning, hitting the beach and/or pool, or visiting movie theaters to help keep cool.  But these options aren't quite available for our wild friends, so what DO they do on days like this?



This young tuip poplar tree enjoys the shade of the older tree behind it.

Ferns are shade-loving plants; this fern bed was a beautiful sight with dappled sun shining through.

Having a clean water source is key to animals' and plants' survival, especially in the heat.  I found the Park to be relatively quiet, as most animals were simply keeping still in the shade, waiting for the sun to set a bit before they foraged for their meals.  Mill Creek is very low at this point in the summer, although still running cool and clear, which is a great asset to the park.  It was also noted that several species of trees and plants, specifically those with more access to the sun, were curling their leaves.  This curling is due to transpiration, or how leaves "sweat".  Transpiration occurs from the underside of leaves.  The curling of leaves in the heat is how the plants are trying to retain water for survival. Some leaves are even turning yellow and dropping early in an effort to conserve water. 

While I did not see much action from the mammals, I did see very active dace swimming in the stream and the insects seemed ecstatic.  While I was less than enthused about the deerflies, other species, especially the dragonflies and other water-loving insects, were thrilled with their high population.  It was a perfect buffet for them. 

Female Black-winged Damselfly

I was, however, very curious to what the birds were doing at this point in the day.  Normally they are very cheerful and noisy in the Park, and it was relatively silent.  How do birds deal with high humidity and heat?

Mill Creek running low, but cool and clear

It turns out birds have great adaptations just for occasions such as today.  Check out this link for more details - http://birding.about.com/od/birdingbasics/a/howbirdskeepcool.htm.  Birds, like mammals, will sit quietly in the shade, if possible.  They are not capable of sweating, but they will open their beaks and pant to lower their body temperature, along with spreading their wings to allow better air circulation.  Again, a favorite cooling activity is bathing/playing in cool, clean water.  If you enjoy watching birds, or would like to give them a hand in survival during a heat wave, consider installing a bird bath or mister.  Just be sure the water is in a safe place from any predators, household or otherwise:)