Lmst

The #Norwaymaple #Acer #platanoides is a native #tree of (Central) #Europe that spread northward after the last #IceAge along with mixed oak forests and is still commonly found in such #treecommunities today. Like all #trees, it offers #habitats for numerous organisms, forming complex macro#ecosystems, e.g., the #leaves, where #aphids feed, while the #ant #Formica #fusca is collecting their excretions (honeydew) as food.
#ecology #evolution
© #StefanFWirth #Berlin May 2025

#Photos
© S.F. Wirth

Leaf of Norway maple in Berlin on a meadow near park Goethepark, May 2025, © StefanFWirth

Aphid on a leaf of a Norway maple in Berlin on a meadow near park Goethepark, May 2025, © StefanFWirth

A Formica fusca worker on a leaf of a Norway maple in Berlin on a meadow near park Goethepark, May 2025, © StefanFWirth

After finishing Saturday chores I went for an evening walk around the neighborhood. The weather is getting warmer, and the snow we got two days ago is thankfully gone now. I hope I don't see more snow until November. But now that I have said that, it'll probably snow in May 😮‍💨

Some of the photos I took today turned out okayish. Streets and people before and after sunset. A Norway maple seedling rising from leaf litter. I saw four Eurasian curlews and even managed to get my first photo of them. Sure, they are just silhouettes in the sky, but I like the photo. The setting sun however… I tried to get a good photo of the sunset, but unfortunately I was not able to find any neat compositions before the sun went below the treeline. Oh well, maybe next time.

#spring
#april
#eurasiancurlew
#numeniusarquata
#norwaymaple
#acerplatanoides
#sunset
#helsinki
#pitäjänmäki
#tali
#finland

A photo of a road, apartment buildings and a cyclist on a sunny spring evening.

A photo of four Eurasian curlews flying in the evening sky.

A photo of the setting sun and and a large building.

Enjoying a sugar hit, I see. Our local Norway maples and silver birches have started to produce sap, but I don't think I have ever seen a red squirrel licking it off the trunk of a maple before. I remember eating a maple sap icicle I found when I was kid. Have you tasted birch or maple sap?

#redsquirrel
#sciurusvulgaris
#sap
#maplesap
#norwaymaple
#acerplatanoides
#spring
#helsinki
#finland

#Norwaymaple

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