Swamp Bugs!

The Wildlife Recovery Association provides care to hawks, owls, eagles, and falcons, as well as other rare and endangered birds.  However, this is not all they do.  Outside of the rehab facility is a swamp and surrounding woodland that has been maintained to provide a safe and suitable habitat for a variety of creatures big and small.  Here at the Little Swamp Sanctuary, a number of rare animals can be found, from Blandings Turtles and Southern Bog Lemmings, to a variety of flycatchers, Cuckoos, and Least Bittern.  In order to maintain this diversity, it has been asked that mosquito spraying trucks not spray around the property, ensuring that all wildlife, including insects, can find a home.  The insects in this sanctuary provide a food source for many species of birds, reptiles and amphibians, and small mammals.  Not only that, but many insects can be surprisingly beautiful.

Here are just a few of the many species of dragonflies that can be seen around the swamp.

A variety of butterflies and moths can also be found; this is only a fraction of those seen in the Little Swamp Sanctuary.

Even some of the more ordinary bugs can be beautiful.  

Flying By

The days have flown by since I have last posted here so I thought I would make a post of some of the other things that have been flying by me here at the Little Swamp Sanctuary.

Here a Great Blue Heron sits and waits patiently in a pond for food to swim past.

Nearby, another soars low over the swamp.

Two Green Herons look at each other after one lands in the other's tree.

A Belted Kingfisher hovers over the swamp as she looks for food,

Before plunging into a dive.

A Yellow Warbler hops through the bushes picking insects off the branches. 

This House Wren was constantly flying back and forth as it fed its young. 

A small butterfly sits on a dandelion.

An adult Bald Eagle soars over the swamp after coming in to feed its young.

A Ruffed Grouse was spotted sitting in a tree not far from the swamp.  

The Little Swamp Sanctuary provides a home to many different species of dragonflies. 

Spring is in the Air

A Red-winged Blackbird tells us it's finally spring.

As a female Red-winged Blackbird gathers materials for a nest.

A Mute Swan chases a goose away from his nest.

Green Darner dragonflies form a mating wheel.

American Toads start to make their appearance.

A Pied-billed Grebe searches for food.