tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-101994522026-06-01T09:42:34.328-04:00Thomasburg is a small hamlet in the Municipality of Tweed in eastern Ontario. Behind my home here is a fallow field, swamp, cedar bush, old apple orchard and woods. Almost every day I take the same walk through this territory to see who's been by, and try to figure out what they've been up to.Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.comBlogger357125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-23076460022253963062009-01-21T16:37:00.004-05:002009-01-21T17:07:11.676-05:00

I didn't know how little I knew this plain little bird. Every year I watch for the Pine Siskins, and almost every year, late in the migration or early in the winter I see one or two, or even a few. But that's not enough to learn a bird. I didn't know their flight call, I didn't know their song, I didn't even know how much they vary.The finch forecast was dismal on the subject:Pine SiskinA conifer

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com95tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-37978820542620222042008-12-02T18:59:00.001-05:002008-12-02T19:03:31.610-05:00

Just making a few changes--posting may resume soon.

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-39441785152709060722008-06-03T05:38:00.008-04:002008-06-03T06:46:10.296-04:00

It's been a while, but so much is happening now that spring is well underway (or nearly over) I thought I better start doing some updating.The ceiling of the front porch has been deteriorating rather badly over the last few years, so a couple of days ago I pulled it down to get ready for the new one my brother will be putting up in a few weeks. There was no way to do this without displacing the

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-61530632876410944552007-09-03T13:33:00.000-04:002007-09-03T13:51:22.761-04:00

If it's the end of another month, then it's time for the circus, Circus of the Spineless, a monthly collection of the best of invertebrate blogging from around the world. The latest edition (the 24th!) is graciously hosted by Demented Pixie of Naturalist Notebook. Check it out!Next month the circus will appear at The Annotated Budak.

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-48627873008347922512007-09-03T13:06:00.000-04:002007-09-05T11:35:21.162-04:00

International Rock-flipping Day (IRFD) really was international. The following is a list of blog posts and links to a couple of image sites (courtesy of via negativa), reporting/revealing what went on, what was found, etc. Note, especially, that Fragments From Floyd took the prize for a photo of a non-human rock flipper. Check out also the small but deadly (?) discovery Pablo made at

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-68369048082824224532007-09-02T18:54:00.000-04:002007-09-02T18:44:40.833-04:00

The day started well. I was out in the yard looking for the noisy Blue Jay family I could hear in the elms when I saw some other birds flitting to and fro--turned out to be a couple of Scarlet Tanagers in winter plumage, or young of the year or both. Not entirely unknown in the yard during the migration, but always a pleasure to see them. I moved down the lawn watching them and listening to a

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-7787849985171912262007-08-28T16:04:00.000-04:002007-08-28T16:50:46.298-04:00

Dave of Via Negativa has called for September 2 to be designated International Rock-flipping Day: a day for everybody to go outside — go as far as you have to — and flip over a rock (or two, or three). We could bring our cameras and take photos, film, sketch, paint, or write descriptions of whatever we find. It could be fun for the whole family!I've spent so much time this year looking into

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-65189719915319723002007-08-27T15:46:00.000-04:002007-08-27T17:48:42.154-04:00

I first saw this butterfly on a couple of occasions a couple of weeks ago--"what a big swallowtail that is," I thought to myself, "Not a tiger swallowtail either, and look at that strange yellow body..." Surely such a big swallowtail must be a Giant Swallowtail. But the Giant is a southern species, not known, I thought, in Canada, beyond the Carolinian region. I didn't get a photo then, but I

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-23198939748863769212007-08-24T07:42:00.001-04:002007-08-24T08:25:43.989-04:00

I found this on a baseball cap that was lying on the floor on the porch. On disturbance it started motoring along the concrete floor towards the wall of the house. That didn't seem good, so I encouraged it to climb onto a maple leaf also lying there and moved it into the garden. Then I went into the house to try to find out what it was--it was gone when I returned.Pretty caterpillar, on a leaf

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-41406627528601296202007-08-23T19:47:00.000-04:002007-08-23T19:48:08.165-04:00

This week John (of New Jersey) of A DC Birding Blog tagged me with a birder's meme (originated by Cogresha of Earth House Hold, a new blog to me, and worth checking out). The form is simple, just seven easy birder questions:1. What is the coolest bird you have seen from your home?This is the question that grabbed me. Not so easy when I started to think about it. The coolest bird. When I'd been in

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-19843227837852471212007-08-17T18:51:00.001-04:002007-08-17T18:57:59.205-04:00

Now that the goldenrod is blooming I've been looking for a yellow goldenrod crab spider doing what its name suggests it should. This morning I found one, mature, yellow and working the goldenrod--just in time to board the Friday Ark.If it hadn't been for the fly in her jaws I probably wouldn't have seen her.

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-66187371601804990472007-08-14T18:30:00.000-04:002007-08-14T18:56:23.196-04:00

I was out in the backyard the other night with a flashlight in my hand when a really big moth flew by in front of me and landed on the edge of a garden bed. Early in the season I saw a big sphinx moth of some kind (judging by the shape of the wings) feeding on petunias in hanging baskets on the front porch on several occasions, but I never had a flashlight handy (kept forgetting about it until I

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-46691183148609423082007-08-10T09:48:00.000-04:002007-08-10T10:35:41.051-04:00

This pretty creature visited the porch the other day, and happily walked all over my hands. If only macro shots of my hands were more flattering I'd post one here. Instead, here it is walking on the edge of the arm of a Muskoka chair (called south of the 49th parallel an Adirondack chair).Much more delicate than the brown Northern Walkingsticks (Diapheromera femorata) I posted about last year (

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-74772530382588504262007-08-07T07:20:00.000-04:002007-08-07T07:48:02.395-04:00

Everyone seemed to be doing it this year, so I gave it a try. I collected a couple of Monarch caterpillars (Danaus plexippus), and a few eggs and brought them in to watch them develop, and take them out of the predator-rich world. The largest of the ones collected turned out to be in its final stage as a caterpillar, and after a few days of rather voracious eating formed a chrysalis.By sheer luck

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-78171151750132935112007-08-01T10:54:00.000-04:002007-08-01T12:07:51.251-04:00

A few weeks ago there was big news (something about a client list) in the DC Madam case--a legal case involving a woman of a different name who ran an escort agency with the rather familiar name of Pamela Martin & Associates. Everytime something happens in the case I get a lot of visitors--oddly enough to the post Happy Birthday, PZ Myers!!Well, I haven't posted for a while, and nothing new has

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com217tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-82632600519541797122007-07-17T19:14:00.000-04:002007-07-17T19:17:40.260-04:00

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-13531805694128909052007-07-14T09:10:00.000-04:002007-07-14T10:44:46.804-04:00

I'm with Clare on this--where does the time go? Another great year of I and the Bird has passed--another year of great collections every two weeks of the best of bird and birder blogging, hosted by different members of the bird blogging community, a community that is still growing by leaps and bounds. The Anniversary Edition, #53, is up at the home of I and the Bird: 10,000 Birds, hosted by the

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-87758784697222085072007-07-14T08:27:00.000-04:002007-07-14T09:10:14.773-04:00

After a quiet period there's been quite a bit of singing lately as the birds who nest again started getting ready. So I was determined to get out for a bit of birdwatching. I did, and saw lots, but everyone looked so big! A common yellowthroat, really? It looks the size of a finch. And gradually I realized that it's the spider eyes. I am learning to pick out spider types by GISS, pulling me into

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-47602873731838097232007-07-10T13:53:00.000-04:002007-07-10T14:05:22.046-04:00

The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta rubria) common butterfly around here, I believe, but this year there have been more than usual.This one looked and acted like today was its first as a butterfly.

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-33404481047801891592007-07-10T07:14:00.000-04:002007-07-10T07:58:56.581-04:00

A July bioblitz of the Rosa rugosa alba in the yard would take hours and hours, and could be done every day and produce new results each day. And this rose bush, about 2 metres high and almost as wide, is mere steps from the front door.I've been watching a number of Misumena vatia over the past few weeks (inspired by Spider WebWatch). These spiders, ambush predators, stay in one spot for extended

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-15789944655156846492007-07-06T07:27:00.000-04:002007-07-06T08:12:40.489-04:00

I'm pretty sure that this is the Acadian Hairstreak (Satyrium acadica). I would be absolutely sure except that the underside of the wings of this butterfly look more light brown than grey (a feature of the Acadian) to me. Pretty butterfly in any case--and to identify a hairstreak at all is new for this novice butterfly watcher.Like so many other critters, this butterfly was found feeding on

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-37495465943389064622007-07-02T06:53:00.000-04:002007-07-02T07:11:25.048-04:00

Circus of the Spineless #22, now up at Burning Silo. Be sure to stop by and take a look; it's a gorgeous collection of the best of last month's invertebrate posts from around the blogosphere. But before you go, enjoy the Northern Cloudywing Butterfly (Thorybes pylades), another triumph of Internet-assisted invertebrate identification.Northern CloudywingAnd look for next month's edition at Words

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-45209782804942311502007-07-01T09:30:00.000-04:002007-07-01T09:36:10.959-04:00

One of the ambassador spiders at Spider Web Watch is the Misumena vatia, or goldenrod crab spider. So far, I've observed ten different individuals of this lovely species, seven of which are living in the front garden. Below a sampling. The first two are spiders I found at the near edge of the far field. The rest, garden dwellers, in a sequence: small, smaller, smallest.In the late afternoon sun,

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-86111189322050759662007-06-30T19:36:00.000-04:002007-06-30T20:08:25.489-04:00

First, it's that time again, I and the Bird #52 is up at The Wandering Tattler. another splendid collection of the best of recent bird and birder blogging: the completely non-geeky edition. Check it out.The next edition, the second anniversary edition, will be hosted by the father of I and the Bird, Mike of 10,000 Birds, as Mike says:Believe it or not, the next edition of I and the Bird is our

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199452.post-79794966905781003512007-06-30T19:00:00.000-04:002007-06-30T19:30:19.976-04:00

Last week I was alerted by a message Bev of Burning Silo sent to the Eastern Ontario Naturelist to look for the Brilliant Jumping Spider (Phidippus clarus) on milkweed. (Here's a link to one of her photos of this spider, click next at the site to get another view)I went to look and almost immediately found one. My success at finding these guys is running about one in ten milkweeds, and better

Pamela Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167132802880894799noreply@blogger.com8