Yeah, I’m sure I read that a burn was planned for this year, but I can’t find anything specific (like a date…) But your comment set me searching, and I found this interesting update from just over a week ago:
This summer, our Prairie Gardener, Jack, has been cutting down native weeds to prevent them from seeding, whilst allowing more sunlight to reach the prairie plants below, with minimal disturbance to the soil…
…Eleven species, grown in the nursery, have been introduced to the prairie this summer, including white wild indigo (Baptisia alba) , wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) and wild lupine (Lupinis perennis) , an old favourite from the prairie’s first few years.
Safely performing a burn is heavily dependent on weather conditions, moisture levels in the plants and soil, and so on. So they usually don’t set a firm date too far in advance, and they can be rescheduled at the last minute.
It’s interesting that I don’t see goldenrod which has become terribly invasive with our hotter, drier summers. But, given that invasive quality, I can hardly blame the gardeners for keeping it out of your meadow. The purple liatris (aka blazing star) is always a cheerful sight sticking out of the black-eyed susans.
Finally some clarity: We do have beavers in the swamp! Here he comes:
Gets some branches:
And carries them away:
And, alas! we have racoons too:
And a roe deer. Just one, it seems, always alone:
None of the “big” animals come out during the daytime, where the camera takes much better pictures. I have been moving the camera around and those are finally conclusive pictures: not great, but clear enough in the sum.
Still a lot to learn: where do the beavers and the racoons (there are more than one of both) have their dens? Is there really only one roe deer? Is there only one fox? Do the wild boars live here, or do they only come wandering through? I suspect the latter. What path do they use? If they can come and go, how come the roe deer stays put but does not seem to get any visitors or company?
The swamp, btw, is wetter than ever before. It is raining a lot around here. Which is good, I guess. Only trees keep falling down, the soil is so soft.
Now, you have (at bare minimum) connections to Spain, right? I mention this because we’re in Cordoba right now, where there is the strangest microhabitat. The old Roman bridge a cross the river acts like a weir, and downstream of it is Sotos de la Abolafia, a complex of scrubby, wooded islands. We fell into conversation with a couple of birders (they always overshare) - apparently there are 140 species frequenting the habitat, and this in the middle of the city!
Updates: Sorry for the sub par camera. Those are the boars. Biggest animals here:
And the racoon again:
Córdoba? Lucky you, nice place to be. Don’t miss the Plaza de la Corredera, have lunch there and a caña (small beer) or two with the aperitivos, tapas y raciones. I’ve been there only once, but I have fond memories. Should you go in the direction of Seville next, don’t miss the Parador de Carmona. If they still serve it, their lamb in honey sauce (paletilla de cordero con salsa de miel) is to die for.
The @Crane is already there, in february!
They are a couple and can be very loud and spectacular in their mating displays. The swamp, as you can see, is still extremely wet. That bit will be ferns and yellow irises in summer, except the part in the left of the picture where the crane is heading to, which is about 6’ deep.
Cool! There are a few places in the UK where there are stork populations - one of which is (no joke) along the River Parrett in Somerset. We took a few days out that way a couple of years ago, visiting friends but taking a detour to look for cranes. (No luck, of course.)
Is that a crane too? Do albino cranes exist?
Closer up (and blurrier), the same bird:
Compared with the usual crane, same spot, same distance, about the same time:
Same size, same neck, same beak. Is that an albino crane?
I found the Seidenreiher / Little egret (Egretta garzetta) on the net:
But the beak seems to be black even for juveniles and it shows some feathers pointing back from the head the motion sensor camera does not show. Wikipedia describes it should be nowhere near Berlin:
Yes, that seems to be it: the beak colour is right and they are described in the German wikipedia as “guests” (not breeding) in Berlin. The English wikipedia does not locate them here, but the local birdwatchers do report seeing them. Thanks!
New updates:
We finally have ducklings! I was fearing the bird flu had prevented the hatching, as is happening in many other places. Well, here they come, at least six, very freshly hatched:
A great spotted woodpecker! Have only managed to see them from quite a long way away until now, seldom seen so close to the ground:
The beaver remains nocturnal and so far this year without companion:
And I suspect we have a rat, but am not completely sure, the ears seem a big big, the legs a tad too long for a city rat:
Here he comes:
is already there, in february!
