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Indigo Bunting At The Dripper
July 3, 2026 An Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyan) at the dripper, trying to stay cool, showing off his beautiful colors as he hangs on. These Buntings are here in Virginia just for the breeding season. During that time they eat insects and spiders, along with berries, and small seeds. Concentrating mainly on protein rich insects…
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Perplexing Bumblebee
July 2, 2026 In the last couple days I’ve been seeing many Whorled Rosinweed (Silphium trifoliatum) in bloom along the dirt road up and down my mountain, creating a bright yellow pathway. I recently stopped many times along the way and got pictures including several that had Perplexing Bumblebees (Bombus perplexus) at work gathering nectar…
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Worm-eating Warbler
June 30, 2026 Though called Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum) their diet doesn’t include what we would refer to as “worms”, but does include spiders, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, and slugs. Breeding season finds them in deciduous forests in the eastern United States. Their nest is built on the ground, looking like an open cup, among dead…
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Blue Vervain
June 29, 2026 Blue vervain (Verbena hastata). Native to the contiguous United States and stretches up into southern and eastern Canada. Host plant of the Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) Enjoys moist locations. Though this was photographed at Bluemont Park in Arlington, Virginia, I have it in my garden here at the cabin where is…
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Fly Poison In The Park
June 28, 2026 Further up the mountain, into Shenandoah National Park, an interesting plant, one I had never seen or heard of before. The picture above is of Fly Poison (Amianthium muscitoxicum) just before its flowers open. And here, above, many of the flowers are now open. It’s a plant that is native to the…
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Often Heard
June 27, 2026 A bird I rarely see but often hear, with its mnemonic of, “Wheat-a wheat-a wheat-EE-oh”. A Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citron), here during the breeding season, and also in other parts of the eastern US and the most southern part of Canada. Wintering in Central America and the West Indies. They eat insects…
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An American Lady
June 26, 2026 American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) enjoying the nectar of a Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). As adults these butterflies have a short lifespan of approximately 2 to 4 weeks. There are some though, the ones that hatch late in autumn and live in regions with mild, warm winters, that can overwinter as adults. This…
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Soon To Be Queen Anne’s Lace
June 25, 2026 Delicate looking pink feet clutching the fuzzy stem of what will become a beautiful flower. A year round resident, a male Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), has about reached its peak breeding season plumage. Captured here clinging to what will become the bloom of Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus Carota). This flower is an herbaceous…
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Redbud Seedpods
June 24, 2026 The Redbud trees (Cercis canadensis) up here on my mountain in April, reach out with their branches, painting the still black and white landscape with a striking pink hue everywhere one looks. Now it’s June and those pink blooms have become seedpods, waiting to fall to the ground to become more Redbud…