How does our garden grow? With sun and over 10.73 inches of rain so far in July.

Joe Pye (Eutrochium fistulosum) now stands about 12 feet tall in comparison to our wind sculpture, well above the normal 5-7 feet.

7-6-24 Pollinators at Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)

Joe Pye with its massive blooms attracts pollinators like crazy. They're always buzzing around and getting into the flower heads. A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was seen chasing some tiny insects on these flowers.

  7-06-24 Small Carpenter Bee on Purple Coneflower

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is another pollinator favorite. A tiny carpenter bee (Ceratina spp.) visited this bloom. There it is on the upper left side of the cone.

7-08-24 Downy Skullcap (Scutellaria incana)

The pale blue flowers of Downy Skullcap are showy right now. It attracts small bees and hummingbirds, and is deer resistant. It's just out of my usual view, so I'll have to keep an eye out for hummingbirds around it. 

7-06-24 Paw Paw fruit (Asimina triloba) 7-8-24 Hazelnuts (Corylus americana)

Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) and American Filbert or Hazelnut (Corylus americana) are expanding in size every day. Some of the largest paw paw fruit have already been taken, a favorite of opossums and raccoons. 

7-06-24 Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis) 7-12-24 House Finch eating Elderberries

American Elderberries were nearly ripe a week ago, an Eastern Phoebe and House Finches were going after them yesterday. 

7-8-24 Gray Catbird juvenile in Rough-leaf Dogwood for berries 7-8-24 Gray Catbird juvenile in Rough-leaf Dogwood for berries 7-11-24 Gray Catbird in Rough-leaf Dogwood The biggest draw has been the berries of the Rough-leaf Dogwood (Cornus drummondii). A young Gray Catbird has been fed by one of the adults the last few days. Notice the gape on the young bird in the first two photos.

These dogwoods were in the seed bank, so to speak, we didn't plant them. Dogwoods feed 94 species of Lepidoptera or moth and butterfly caterpillars. These caterpillars in turn feed birds during spring and fall migration and during the nesting season. The flowers benefit many pollinators and now the fruit from that pollination is feeding birds. What a great example of a hard-working native plant!

7-11-24 American Robin hidden in Rough-leaf Dogwood 7-11-24 American Robin immature in Rough-leaf Dogwood

American Robins with their speckled young are there throughout the day, sometimes grabbing a berry on the fly.

7-11-24 Eastern Bluebird immature in Rough-leaf Dogwood 7-11-24 Eastern Bluebird immature in Rough-leaf Dogwood

Eastern Bluebirds, also thrushes like their American Robin cousins, love this fruit! The lighter the berry, the riper it is and some will continue to ripen into October.

7-11-24 Brown Thrasher immature in Rough-leaf Dogwood 7-11-24 Brown Thrasher immature in Rough-leaf Dogwood 7-11-24 Brown Thrasher immature in Rough-leaf Dogwood

A young Brown Thrasher came in on its own to feast on the berries. It's a bit tricky balancing on a bobbing branch and grabbing the berries! Like the Gray Catbirds, the Brown Thrashers are known for their secretive, stealthy behavior. It made my day to know that this young bird felt safe and comfortable enough to come out in the open to feed. 

As I checked my photos, I found that this was the first time I had photographed young birds of both of these species. 

7-11-24 Brown Thrasher composite photo

This composite photo shows the plumage differences in the adult and immature birds. This little one has to grow into that tail!

6-28-24 Northern Cardinal immature
7-1-24 Tufted Titmouse immature
7-6-24 Eastern Phoebe immature -2

Young birds are frequently seen at the bubbler, finding their own way around. A Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse and Eastern Phoebe are just a few.

7-12-24 Blue Jay immature 7-12-24 Red-bellied Woodpecker immature

Young Blue Jays and a Red-bellied Woodpecker are learning the ropes, too. Finding water and food is now essential to these young birds. They will soon be completely on their own! They're fun to watch as they scratch their heads and figure things out.

7-13-24 Gray Catbird juvenile Rough-leaf Dogwood berry 7-13-24 Gray Catbird juvenile "catnap"

The immature Gray Catbird was back this morning, grabbing berries on its own steam. It's hard work, and it took a wee "catnap."

7-11-24 Eastern Bluebird at fountain
Dan repaired the copper fountain so it's up and running again. The male Eastern Bluebird had gotten used to the simple bird bath and wasn't so sure about this fountain at first. But, it has gotten comfortable with it again. The bluebirds are busy with their nestlings now, carrying insects often to the nest box.

Stay cool...Oh, wait!

Just finished the blog post when I went downstairs and found this bird in the Rough-leaf Dogwood. It's a juvenile Northern Mockingbird! That makes a third species of young birds that I've not photographed before, and all three are in the Mimidae family, or Mimics.

7-13-24 Northern Mockingbird juvenile 7-13-24 Northern Mockingbird juvenile 7-13-24 Northern Mockingbird juvenile

That's a lot to smile about...