Wednesday, August 05, 2009

backyard wildlife

Max brought in a baby squirrel last week. As you can see in the picture of Ellen's hand, he is tiny. If you want more info on the story go to my facebook page.



Here he is asleep in Daniel's hand


The other night we were in the garden and spotted this beautiful butterfly. We were trying to get close so we could identify him. I reached out my hand and he walked right up on my finger. Daniel ran in to get the camera and tell the girls. The butterfly then moved to each of our fingers. It was amazing. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think we decided it was a painted lady butterfly.


8 comments:

Lesley said...

Wow...exciting! I cant believe that video. did you guys know that Jason is scared of squirrels?! Amazing how tame that baby is. What do you plan to do with it?

I am going to correct you on the butterfly ID - I think it is a variegated fritillary
Major foodplants are violets and passion vines...do you have these?
so beautiful! Was it tasting your salty skin when crawling around?

Cant wait to see you guys in October! it'll be here b4 we know it!

Love, Les

jbulluck said...

I think Lesley is right on the butterfly.

And I know she is dead wrong on the squirrel thing. She's makin stuff up.

But hey, that pup is young enough to become a pet! Are yall ready for that?

Jennifer said...

Thanks Les. I think you are right.chwell

Anonymous said...

Thanks Les and Jason. I'm still too reliant on color for my identifications. I passed right by Variegated Fritillary in our guide because the color didn't match. How do I learn to look past the color? Les, what do teach your students?

Daniel

Kallie said...

Wow! Butterflies are my very favorite creatures. I can't believe that it landed on all your fingers. What a beautiful experience!

Lesley said...

Practice practice practice...the more you look and id, the more details you tune into. Also knowing what other details to look for is helpful - shape, behavior, habitat....

A great butterfly guide is "Butterflies Through Binoculars" byt Jeffrey Glassberg

Stephen Kruidenier said...

Love it.

April said...

I clicked on the link for facebook but I do not have you on my friend list as of yet.

I have a friend that does wildlife rescue and they get a few squirrels a year. She is also on facebook if you run into any questions. I am there under April Hawthorne Kelley. Love to have you as a friend!