Becoming a Backyard Naturalist

Prior to the onset of the current COVID-19 pandemic, I had big travel plans for 2020, ones where I would travel to far off places to see the landscapes and wildlife. Those plans are on hold now, but I've found that there's a lot of wildlife visible just outside my front door.

During the initial shelter-in-place period, I found myself taking short walks (wearing a mask) outside of my townhouse, past the landscaping between the townhouses. I must admit that prior to this, I hadn't looked that hard or long at the plantings; they were part of the background as I checked on the mail. However, during this time, I managed to take a closer look.

At the end of May, one plant, a type of yucca, started growing a flower stalk. I wondered if it did this every year and I had never noticed, or was this a new development?

Second, I was curious about what was the name of the plant. I've never been that good with flower names, but this was an interesting puzzle. The next day, the flower stalk had continued to develop further.

It appeared that each lobe of the stalk would open up to reveal individual flowers. I had also learned by this time, that this was called a Spanish Blade. It produces more than one flower stalk, as well. Every day, I would walk by and note the progression of the flower stalk:

Each segment of the stalk consisted of several, individual, tube-like flowers.

Not all the flowers opened at the same time. The shape of the flowers suggested that it was designed to be pollinated by hummingbirds and perhaps bees. Sure enough, that same day, the plant was visited by an Anna's hummingbird.

The male Anna's hummingbirds are very territorial and I've since noticed that a male hummingbird will often rest on the plant, chasing away rivals who dare approach.

The male Anna's hummingbirds have iridescent head feathers that glow ruby red, under the right lighting.

It didn't take honey bees long to find the flowers, either:

It turns out that I love taking photographs of both bees and hummingbirds, so the past four weeks have been a lot of fun and only a few steps from my front door! I've also paid more attention to some of the other outdoor landscape plantings in the immediate area and the wildlife to be found there. This western tiger swallowtail butterfly appears to have survived a close encounter with a bird:

Recently, some lavender plants have started blooming, which has brought even more bees and butterflies:

A cabbage white butterfly on the lavender blossoms:

Recently, another visitor came to the Spanish Blade, a flame skipper dragonfly:

Was this just a random visit, or was it looking for a specific meal? Who knows. I have been impressed with the longevity of the blooms, but I suspect that we are approaching the end of the flower cycle. In the last couple of days, I've noticed what appear to be seed pods, indicating that the pollinators have been successful.

This, too, will be worth following in the days to come. It is amazing what there is to see within a few steps of your home, if you only take the time to look.