This geometrid moth seems very variable and in some of the photos that I found, the black stripes are not nearly so distinct. It flies in the autumn and the colours could be mistaken for leaves that have turned. This species of moth, Tetracis jubararia is found in western North America was far east as Saskatchewan.  The larva feed on a variety of deciduous shrubs and trees including willows, alders, birch and dogwood and mimic twigs.  

This attractive shrub is scattered throughout Leaning Oaks. Almost every one of them is perched on a decaying stump or log, which seems to be the best habitat for this species, particularly on the drier side of Vancouver Island. The graceful fern-like growth gives the impression of an evergreen because the stems are green and twiggy, but the species is, in fact, deciduous.   Unlike most Vacciniums, the berries ripen a bright red instead of the usual blue, purple or black.  They  are sought after by birds and mammals, including humans. Red Huckleberry is slow picking because of their small size but they make excellent pies and jellies. 

At Leaning Oaks the recent series of dry summers has hit many of our  Vaccinium parvifolium quite hard.  The largest individuals have died back, or in some cases, they have succumbed.  There has been some recruitment as well, including a handsome specimen on a log that forms one of the edges to our pond.

Every so often a chattering blue and white rocket speeds through the yard, does a couple of circuits over the pond and meadow and takes off again. Most of our observations of Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) are these brief visits, they would be easy to miss if it wasn't for the distinctive calls that this species makes.  
Every once in a while a Belted Kingfisher makes a stop here, usually perching over our pond, but their visits are usually brief.  

It is in the fall when Leptoglossus occidentalis wander into the house looking for a place to winter. They are large and quite spectacular with gold glitters, beautiful art deco patterns and their "leafy" legs. Throughout the summer the adults and the nymphs will feed on the seeds of conifers, and will seriously diminish seed production. 

This species has spread from occurring just in western North American to throughout. That spread over the past approximately 50 years is thought to have been aided by commercial pine plantations and Christmas tree and log transport.   They were introduced to Northern Italy in 1999 -or at least that was when they were first noted and since have been recorded in many areas across Europe, including the United Kingdom. It is sometimes good to remind ourselves that pesky introductions have happened in both directions across the waters! 

Fall is the time when Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum) is most notable, as the fronds turn from green to an attractive tan.  While an attractive native fern, it is a bit of a thug in the garden, where vigorous growth and long underground runners make it a difficult species to manage.  Formerly the fiddleheads (the unfurled young shoots) were picked and used as a spring vegetable;however, the consumption of Bracken has been linked to stomach cancer and breakdown of Vitamin B, so it is no longer recommended for human consumption. Indeed, very little seems to eat Bracken in the wild - I seldom find a stem chewed by any sort of herbivore. Studies in the UK and South America indicate only a small number of insects consume the species -and they tend to be highly specialized.    Bracken is one of the most widely distributed species in the world..we have hiked through Bracken in the highlands of New Guinea and the Andes of Venezuela, the French countryside and cooler areas in Australia.  

And there will likely be more crane flies - perhaps sp 1, sp 2 and so on unless I get better at the identifying! There are 171 described species in 53 genera in BC. and worldwide there are over 15,000 described species making it the most speciose family of Diptera ("flies").   I did figure out that this was not one of the introduced species, but potentially Tipula pseudotruncorum or T. dorsimaculata. I'd be thrilled if there was anyone that would like to weigh in with an ID! 

There was an explosion of the Marsh Crane Fly, an introduction from Europe on the coast a number of years ago and the larvae or "leatherjackets" caused a lot of damage to roots of many plants. 

The crane flies fly mainly when it is cooler -dusk around Leaning Oaks and are a food source for many birds, spiders, amphibians and other insects. They always seem a bit clumsy to me and legs  will break off at the slightest bump. I watched this one for sometime wiggle its long rostrum, drinking what specks of water it could find. 

Domestic honey bees, Apis mellifera were introduced to the east coast of North America from Europe in 1622.  Aided by settlers it took a couple of 100 years before they reached the west coast.  Today they are found across the continent with both domestic and feral populations. Because of their importance to the settlers their path has been well documented. We don't know if the ones visiting Leaning Oaks are from hives or a population that has naturalized.  I have seen estimates that up to 80% of all crops in North America are dependent on bee pollination -both native and non-native.  There are many other groups of pollinators in addition to the bees, but they do play an important role in agriculture. 

This morning I had a Purple Martin (Progne subis) calling from high over the house, our latest fall record ever.  This species is a conservation success story on southern Vancouver Island.  Nowadays the twangy call of a Purple Martin high overhead is a common noise on southern Vancouver Island, but not very long ago this species had almost disappeared from British Columbia. 
Purple Martins declined in the 1940's likely due to competition for nest sites with European Starlings.  Thanks to the efforts of a group of volunteers, nesting boxes put onto pilings has increased the number of nest sites and the number of Purple Martins has gone up in the province.  It is now the second commonest swallow detected at Leaning Oaks, after Violet-green Swallows.

At dawn this morning the first bird noise I heard was the distinctive "toot, toot, toot" call of a Northern Pygmy-Owl. While Northern Pygmy-Owls ( Glaucidium gnoma swarthi ) have bred not far from us, all of our records are from the fall (late August to October).  We suspect this is because there is a largely undetected post-breeding movement of these tiny owls away from breeding locations.  Unlike most owls, Pgymy-Owls are often daytime active. It is a combination of hearing the birds and finding them as they are being mobbed by songbirds that leads to most of our detections.  Agitated small birds  are almost always a sign that something interesting is going on at Leaning Oaks. 

This subspecies of Northern Pygmy-Owl is endemic to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. 

The flower longhorn beetles feed on nectar and pollen as adults and as larvae will feed on dead or dying wood, the digestion of the cellulose aided by enzymes. They appeared for about three or four days on the pearly everlasting and whether that was their life span or they moved on to other food sources - we don't know.  I believe that this is  Xestoleptura crassipes, one of three of this genus found in B.C..

The end of summer is ushered in by the  erratic flight of dampwood termites just before sunset. This bounty is a source of food for many birds and we have had the pleasure of sitting on the beach watching Bonaparte's Gulls gorging on Zootermopsis angusticollis. 

The winged form is called the alate and when they lose their wings they are de-alate (seriously!). These are sexually reproductive animals that use their wings for dispersal and will drop them upon landing.

The gut of the termite is filled with microbes that are able to covert the fibrous wood material into something that will provide nutrition for the termite.  This process is called acetogenesis. 

The Tarspots are a group of fungi that infect leaves.  This one (Rhytisma punctatum) is a common, but relatively benign,  fungus that infects Bigleaf Maple.  It is most notable in the fall when the leaves of Bigleaf Maple start to fall.  At this time of year one can clearly see the black, tarry areas where the fungus sporulates.  The fungus protects the chlorophyll in the leaf from the usual breakdown by bacteria that an autumn leaf experiences.  This  leaves a green spot in the infected area while the rest of the leaf turns yellow.   The result is interesting and sometimes attractive patterns on the carpet of maple leaves on the forest floor.  Today was the first day I noticed significant numbers of Bigleaf Maple leaves on the ground  - another sure sign that summer is truly over. 

Usually, our annual war on Roof Rats (Rattus rattus) begins in November when the first heavy rains of winter tend to drive Roof Rats into the garage and the house. .  The past two years however, our battle with the wiley and prodigious rodent has started at the end of August as the Roof Rats have turned to our tomato patch and started to eat our tomatoes on the vine just before they ripen.  
 We think we finally have found the last remaining hole that they can gain entry into the house. This small opening along side the chimney required a gymnastic maneuver worthy of a Cirque du Soliel artist.  Steel wool has proven to be the most evective deterrent to the chewing rodents.  Roof Rats have proven to be an expensive species, most notably by eating the insulation off the wiring system of one of our vehicles.  They were also the reason we eventually moved to an all metal garbage can for storing bird seed and entirely metal compost barrel. 

Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus )is a relatively drab thrush that is found here at Leaning Oaks as a summer time breeder.  What it lacks in colour it more than makes up for in its singing abililities.  The ascending spiralling notes of this species song is one of my favourite noises of spring and early summer.  An added bonus is that it is one of the first songs in the morning and last of the day.  The strains of Swainson's Thrushes singing often accompany my "cookie walks" with the dog as we do our last stroll of the day before bed.  Our records here span from the second week of May until the 3rd week of September.

Click here for a Youtube video of a Swainson's Thrush singing.   This photo is a young bird feasting on Himalayan Blackberries, momentarily forgetting that his kind are skulkers that rarely spend much time out in the open.

I'd like to know if Sympetrum madidum is breeding in the pond or not-I suspect not as I have only seen a few individuals around the property. This one may have come from other nearby ponds or lakes and was just hanging around feeding. 

The veins along the top margin of the wings can be a brilliant red, giving it the English name. The red face also makes it stand out.  This is the largest of the meadowhawks that are found in B.C.. They breed in still waters in the southern half of B.C.