May 24th.  A visit to the Great Blue Heron roost in Lebanon.  Just two nests seem to be active.  No sign of chicks yet.

 

Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nannyberry or Sweet Viburnum (Viburnum lentago).

 

 

 

Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex).

 

White Clover (Trifolium repens).

 

The froth you see on plant stems this time of year is produced by  the Meadow Spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius or a similar species).

 

Remove the froth and you'll find the pale insect nymph.  The froth is a byproduct of the insect's feeding and serves as protection from predators and dessication.

 

 

 

This looks like a Carpenter Ant to me.  It's tending a "herd" of what I believe are Mealybugs (Family Pseudococcidae) on a birch leaf.  Ants protect the insects in return for a sweet secretion from the bugs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Halictid Bee (Agapostemon sp.).

 

A brief stop east of Route 87 in Lebanon.  Flowers of White Baneberry or Doll's Eyes (Actaea pachypoda).  Red Baneberry is very similar, but the flower stalks on white are much thicker.  In Fall, the difference inj berry color is obvious, naturally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 26th. A male Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) delivering food to the nest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the size of that Longhorn Beetle larva (Family Cerambycidae).

 

 

 

May 30th. A female Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) calling, not far from the nest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) mating.  Lots of splashing and rolling involved.

 

 

 

These turtles were massive!

 

Green Frog (Rana clamitans).

 

 

 

May 31st. Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus).

 

The male Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) foraging just above the nest hole.

 

Another large Longhorn Beetle larva (Family Cerambycidae) will soon feed young woodpeckers.

 

Late afternoon puts good light onto the Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) nest.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) chick anxiously awaits its next meal.