Halictus bee at school & birds near home

Took more pictures of the Halictus sp. bees outside the school building this afternoon.

So much pollen on its hairy legs!

"Botanizing" for the last few days - Part 1

This week, we visited several sites from past years so that we know the current flowering species, as well as what species to expect flowering.  This year's abnormal Spring had messed up the phenology of the flowering plants leading to many species flowering at the same time when they shouldn't.  I also observed the similar trend in other organisms too, such as frogs and insects.

On Monday, we visited the site closest to Trent University - Lady Eaton Drumlin.

King-devil (Hieracium caepitosum) in the Aster (Asteraceae) family.  The genus name, Hieracium, means hawk (hierax, Greek).  The orange-coloured flower cluster belong to a different species H. aurantiacum (Orange hawkweed or Devil's-paintbrush).