Author Archives: Brenda Clements Jones

About Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

Pinecones Of Pitch Pine

November 25, 2025

Pinecones of Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida), which are usually between 2 to 4 inches long. Its bundles of needles are called fascicles, each of these fascicles normally contain 3 thick, twisted needles ranging in size from 2.5 to 5 inches long. These needles sometimes will emerge directly from the trunk rather than from branches (called epicormic growth). The only other pine tree that has this characteristic is the Pond Pine (Pinus serotina).

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Northern Flicker Yellow-shafted Form

November 24, 2025

This, a Northern Flicker (Yellow Shafted Form)(Colaptes auratus auratus), and many other birds enjoy the berries of Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra).

There are so many things that make me thankful for being surrounded by nature. This magnificent bird is one of those things.

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Robins And Migration

November 23, 2025

A Robin (Turdus migratorius) in late November, here in Virginia.

Ask an American Robin if it migrates and you might get a deep sigh and then a long stretched out, “Well . . .”

Seems it is a tossup, in part depending on food availability and weather conditions. Many stay put in their breeding grounds with no migration at all. Others will head south, but only quite a short distance to spend the winter. What I see here in central Virginia is a nomadic tendency, flocking together to find abundant food and water sources, often with Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum).

So seeing a Robin does not mean it is spring.

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Raindrops On A Chestnut Oak Leaf

November 22, 2025

Raindrops on a Chestnut Oak leaf (Quercus montana). This tree has the common name of “Chestnut Oak” due to the similarity of its leaves to those of the American Chestnut tree (Castanea dentata). Its leaf has shallow lobed edges, while an American Chestnut leaf has ocean wave edges.

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Sign Of A Pileated Woodpecker

November 21, 2025

This morning on my way down the mountain I saw a woodpecker that I often see, a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). The largest woodpecker in North America. About the size of a crow. Measuring in at 16 to 19 inches long, with a wingspan of 26 to 30 inches, weighing about 8.8 to 12.3 ounces.

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) drill holes in trees searching for Carpenter Ants (Camponotus) and wood-boring beetle larvae. Trees they prefer have soft wood, or are dead or dying. Those holes, often large, rectangular or oval, are easy to spot.

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A Classic Pose Of A Nuthatch

November 20, 2025

A White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) in a pose I often see. Quickly going up and down a tree trunk. Surprisingly, going down like this, head first. Searching, hunting for insects.

The White-breasted Nuthatch has strong feet that enable it to grip tree bark without using its tail for support, a technique that some other birds use. This allows it to navigate on the tree trunk and branches as it searches for insects in crevices. They also use this talent to wedge seeds into cracks in the bark, hiding them from other birds.

This Nuthatch is a bird that is easy to find at my feeders. Peanuts, sunflower seeds, suet all attract them, and definitely the birdbath too.

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Juncos

November 19, 2025

Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) are generally migratory winter birds here in Virginia, though I’ve been up in Shenandoah National Park during the summer and have seen that there is a population of Juncos up there both in breeding season and the winter months as well. Doing a bit of research I see that indeed there are some that do their own thing, residing in the higher elevations of the Appalachian Mountains year round, rather than migrating.

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My Buddy The Phoebe

November 18, 2025

Their breeding and wintering ranges overlap here in Virginia, so I’m fortunate that I’ve got Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe) year round. Flipping tail. Often coming back to the same nest year after year. The independent sort. Eating berries when insects can’t be found.

My buddy the Phoebe. 

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Relying On Wind Dispersal

November 17, 2025

Seeds of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).

We’ve had such big winds these past few days, these particular seeds probably have blown long distances thanks to their silken threads. Those silken threads, called floss, act like parachutes taking the seeds to new places to grow. These plants, and other species of Milkweed, help Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) that use those many species of Milkweed as their host plants.

The seeds develop in pods that are 2 to 4 inches in length. Each pod contains on average 200 to 250 seeds. When the seeds are mature the pod will burst open revealing those many seeds in perfect tight rows waiting to be blown away.

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These Are Not Cherry Tomatoes

November 16, 2025

Carolina Horsenettle (Solanum carolinense). Goes from this in June —

— to this in November.

Berries that look very much like they ought to be delicious, much like a cherry tomato. But beware. This fruit of the Carolina Horsenettle has a common name of Devil’s Tomato, which you should take as a warning. Every part of this plant is poisonous to humans as well as livestock.

Horsenettle is in the genus Solanum, which is part of the Solanaceae (or nighshade) family. There are many familiar plants in this family including food that we eat, potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant, and another that we don’t eat, Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna).

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