May is always the most exciting month of the year here in northwest Ohio, and things are really happening now. More flowers are blooming, there’s more variety in insects, and bird migration is in full swing. It’s a bonanza of birds, blooms, and bugs. Even as I’m on my knees pulling bucketfuls of grass from my garden beds, I can’t stop singing, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

Prairie smoke has launched its annual fireworks display, out of its native range, but still welcome in my garden. The closest place that this species is native is the Chicago area.

Golden Alexander is one of my earliest-blooming natives, and it’s one of the host plants for the black swallowtail butterfly, along with the non-native bronze fennel, which I also have here.

And look who showed up today, flitting around the golden Alexander: a black swallowtail! It’s amazing how much wildlife shows up when you provide the habitat they need. Host plants bring in a diversity of fascinating insects, and the birds come in because there are so many seeds and insects. In fact, since my native garden is flourishing, I’ve stopped putting out seed feeders at all. I watch the finches feeding on my garden all winter long, pulling seeds from the flowers I’ve left standing just for them. And since I leave lots of leaves in the garden beds, the birds have a great time flipping leaves over to find yummy bugs hiding below. It’s wonderful to see how the natural world works to keep things in balance and make sure everyone has food.

Some blue jays hung out in one of my serviceberry bushes the other day. There were four of them at one point, and these two were sharing food with each other. They’re such common birds here that I sometimes forget how stunningly beautiful they are!

We have blue jays here all year long but we definitely see them moving in numbers in May. Scientists still haven’t figured out exactly why some of them migrate and others don’t:

Thousands of Blue Jays migrate in flocks along the Great Lakes and Atlantic coasts, but much about their migration remains a mystery. Some are present throughout winter in all parts of their range. Young jays may be more likely to migrate than adults, but many adults also migrate. Some individual jays migrate south one year, stay north the next winter, and then migrate south again the next year. No one has worked out why they migrate when they do.

From https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/overview

Water is another important resource for wildlife, and my pond is bringing rewards aplenty right now as well. Today I was thrilled to watch a Nashville warbler and a white-crowned sparrow sharing the pond for bathing and drinking. After they left, a brown-headed cowbird jumped in the water and splashed around. And American robins have been bathing in the pond nearly every day for the past month or so.

They look like they’re arguing, but everything was fine. They were both present for about five minutes, and the sparrow kept holding his beak open like that for a few seconds at a time, even when he wasn’t facing the other bird. I’ve seen birds do that on very hot days, but today was on the cool side so I’m not sure what was up with him.

Let’s end today with a lovely bug, shall we? This is a gorgeous Eastern boxelder bug — look at his red eyes and striking wing pattern. They’re true bugs who feed on the sap of maple trees, and I’ve got two of those, so I always have large numbers of this species. Today I rescued one out of the bird bath, less than an hour after I filled it for the first time. I told him to be more cautious around large bodies of water, and released him on the ground nearby. That’s one thing that I didn’t expect when I made my pond: the frequent drownings of insects there. I’ve provided lots of ways for bugs to get out of the water, but I still find a surprising number of them floating dead on the surface. I guess that happens all the time in “unseen nature,” so whenever you bring nature closer to home, you’re bound to see the sad parts as well as the joyful parts.

I hope you’re able to get out and enjoy nature, whatever that looks like right now in your part of the world. There’s joy out there if you just remember to go look for it. Happy May, everyone!