Striped Wintergreen in bloom!

Hiding right near the base of a beech tree, this little beauty was nestled between some roots, fallen leaves, and spider webs. I almost overlooked it.

Bird Nests

Lots of new life this spring and summer.. here's a few I got to see up close.

Red-winged blackbird on the edge of the creek in the marsh grasses.

Carolina Wren nest in a little hole on the top of a storage tank in the backyard. The nest is made with oak tree flowers, fine twigs, and leaves.

Northern Cardinal nest in a very young tree.

Wood duck nest on wood chips covered in down feathers in a wood duck box (substitute for a natural tree cavity) near a wetland.

Barn Swallow nest made of mud under the dock.

Eastern Pheobe nest on a ledge made of mud and moss.

Grasshopper Sparrow

Talbot County, MD

Marsh Wren

Port Mahon, DE

Spring Babies

Tree Swallow Hatchlings snuggled in their feather bed.

Tiny Spring Peeper leaving the wetland headed for life in the woods.

Young Chorus Frog leaving the wetland.

An afternoon at the pond...

This beautiful, warm, muggy spring afternoon is rich with shy sunshine-loving creatures in every nook at Adkins Arboretum.

Painted turtle with her eyes closed paddles through the murky water causing bullfrogs to leap from their basking spots.

Camouflaged to the nines bullfrogs break up the calm surface of the water with their shiny bright green heads.

Red-winged blackbirds acrobatically catch dragonflies in flight and gorge themselves, one after another. I wonder how long the dragonfly population can last at this rate.

A juvenile red-winged blackbird prances through the wetland grasses, not sure whether it's safe to show himself to the crazy photographer lady.

A robin perches on a cattail with a mouthful of meal worms.

It's that time of year...

A female bluebird brings a neon green caterpillar to her hatchlings...

A female orchard oriole picks off the old fluffy seeds from last years dogbane to weave into her nest...

A tree swallow hesitates to flush from her goose feather nest with four eggs...