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.
This morning I saw the season’s first Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea). They spend the winter months somewhere between southern Florida and northern South America. No telling where this guy has been. Even spending the winter in southern Florida means he was very far from here.
They find their way over those incredible distances by using the movement of stars, specifically the North Star, and constellations like Ursa Major and Cassiopeia.
Pretty impressive.
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He came by just before lunch today. Splashing around in the birdbath to get those feathers clean. He had enough of the cleaning and went to a perch to shake off the water and get his feathers in order again. A male Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus).
Just a couple minutes later, she must have decided that the birdbath was empty. She came close to be sure, then with no more hesitation got in and started splashing around just like he had done. Then, like he did, she went to a tree branch, shook off the water, tidied up her feathers and flew off in the direction he had gone. A female Eastern Towhee.
I see the male Towhee from time to time but the female is unusual to see. Glad I got to see both of them today!
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Blooming in the lowlands now. Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), a large shrub reaching 5 to 12 feet tall, leafing out early in the spring.
Large, flat-topped clusters or cymes, of five-pointed, white, 1/4 inch wide, mildly scented flowers are emerging now and soon will be in full bloom up here in the mountains. They provide both pollen and nectar to bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and flies.
Berries (actually drupes), reddish-purple leaning toward black, develop in late summer. These drupes are enjoyed by at least 43 species of birds.
Quite the bush for wildlife!
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The Carabus Beetle (Carabus serratus), a ground beetle native to North America, in both Canada and the United States. Ground beetles are a large family of beetles, Carabidae, with around 2,000 species in North America.
A beautiful beetle, shiny patent leather black, with purple edging. They eat slugs, snails, worms, and insects benefitting farmers and gardeners.
I see this beetle every now and then, pleased that I can bring home more photographs of its incredible coloring.
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Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) is blooming right now in my yard, and along trails up here in the mountains. It’s a shrub that reaches a height of 3′ to 6′ and a width of 3′ to 4′.
The fuzzy textured leaves grow opposite each other, and are 2″ to 4″ long and wide, with 3 to five lobes. Those lobes have a serrated edge.
The flowers are arranged in flat-topped clusters, or cymes, which provide nectar and pollen to bees, flies, beetles, wasps, butterflies and skippers.
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Here’s my Dad stretched out on his driveway having a heart to heart chat with a Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). This was a good number of years ago in Florida where Mom and Dad lived. Their house was on a circle and just across the street, the circle, and the tree shaded home of the Tortoise. I don’t recall that they had a name for this guy, but they got to see it frequently.
Gopher Tortoises are native to a small area, from southern South Carolina west through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and south through the peninsula of Florida, including the islands along the Gulf coast of Florida. They have a life expectancy of 40 to 60 years. Gopher Tortoises are solitary creatures with the exception of breeding season.
GopherTortoise entering one of its burrows
During their long life they will dig and use a number of burrows. These can be quite sizable at 15 feet long and 7 feet deep, or as large as 40 feet long and 10 feet deep. These burrows provide refuge from extreme temperatures, predators, and other harsh conditions for the Tortoises themselves and for many other species.
These Tortoises provide great help in their ecosystem, digging their burrows and sharing them with a multitude of other species. This sheltering and providing protection from predators for themselves and at least 300 other species entitles them to consideration as a keystone species. A species whose presence is critical for the survival of many others.
The conservation status of the Gopher Tortoise is threatened to endangered.
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Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron), native to eastern North America, as well as southern Africa. It is a small evergreen fern that grows to between 6 and 10 inches tall.
A fern that I have the pleasure of seeing occasionally as I hike the trails up here in these beautiful mountains. It not only grows in a wide variety of soil types, but it also can grow on nearly bare rocks.
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I see one perhaps once a year. A Luna Moth (Actias luna) with a wingspan of 3 to 4.5 inches, a beautiful pale green color, and a simple pattern on a sophisticated shape. This one is in mighty good shape. Some years, the one that I happen to see looks a bit battleworn.
As adults Luna moths live about 7 to 10 days. During that time they don’t eat, relying on stored fat from their caterpillar days. Their aim at this stage in life is to focus on reproduction.
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I’ve got an Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) that seems to be always hanging around the yard, flying from its perch to catch an insect mid-flight and then coming back to that same perch. They’re solitary birds, not sociable.
If there was any uncertainty of what this species of bird this is, I could always watch for the often flicking of its tail. And that tail, though not forked, certainly is notched.
Glad it’s here on duty hunting those insects. During winter it will eat small fruits and berries, including Poison Ivy berries.
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Putty Root (Aplectrum hyemale), an Orchid native to eastern North America. A raceme comes up out of the soil mid-spring with no leaves. It blooms with multiple flowers, each perhaps a bit less than 1/2 inch across.
The flowers last perhaps 2 or 3 weeks slowly fading away. In autumn a single leaf is produced, green with white pinstripes. The leaf stays green through the winter fading away in March.
So many wonders to find in the woods!
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