Nature Journal May 2010

There is a wide difference between the wildlife of the city and that of woods and meadows less than 30 miles away as the crow flies.  Birds, in particular, are quite different. On a recent getaway at a friend's farm, I identified and recorded thirteen species, many of which I have not seen at my deck feeders.  For example, the Eastern Phoebe, was flitting from the woods to the eaves of the house where it had built a nest of mud and grass.  It is a pretty little bird in shades of bark grey and brown.  I had never seen this bird before, and it took me a couple of days to positively identify it.  The most common flower blooming along the creek and road was a daisy fleabane, but it is pinkish purple and a different species from the white one that keeps popping up in my perennial bed. And then there were the wood ticks.... arrgh!  But no harm done, just a squeamish feeling for the rest of the day after I got them out of my hair.