Litany of Spring

Dendrocopus kizuki female

                                 

Japanese skink

kiwi blossoms

Nephila maculata

Lady bug pupae

Lady bug larva attaching itself to leaf

After a several week hiatus where "all the sedge is withered and no birds sing", the airborn radiation levels decreased, and many of the birds either returned or became active again. Earthworms are multiplying at last. I was wondering what the fallout of radioactive cesium would do to them, but so far the creatures who aid in breaking down dead leaves, etc, seem to be making a rebound. And so we have the bamboo partridges visiting and looking quite satisfied with the fare.
Aphids are more plentiful than usual, especially on the plum trees, but fortunately the lady bug larvae are also more plentiful than usual. These industrious insects can clean the aphids off a 10 cm length of twig per day.
Skinks showed up late, too, but in abundance. There are no bush warblers in the area this year, but a cuckoo is letting us know he's around. The first year hiyodori male found a mate, and he shrieks enthusiatically about every new discovery.  I got to watch him discover camelia nectar, and then magnolia petals. He practically swims through the trees in joyful exuberance, and loves to hang upside-down like a monkey, and then let go in a free-fall.
We had our spring visitation from the kogera wood pecker, perhaps later than usual, but all the more welcome.
Spider webs are fewer, flies are multiplying in hordes. No honey bees. A few bumble bees and mud wasps.
Fewer cabbage butterflies than last year, but the spangle is back, and so are the "regular" swallowtails. I saw one azure-winged swallowtail in the garden, too, a real treat. Gliders were seen at the next town over. No Painted Ladies as of yet, but the climate has been anything but tropical this year, so far.