Author: 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.

A Slow Moment In The Snow

During the snow yesterday, at a slow moment with very few flakes dropping from the sky, I was pleased to see several Bluebirds (Sialia sialis). Most of them were further up in a tree out of my range for getting a photo without disturbing them. But I did manage to get this one sitting in a Flowering Dogwood tree (Cornus florida).

While preparing to write this post I had thoughts of using the word for a group of Bluebirds. After all there is a murder of crows, which is 3 or more crows. Not 1, not 2 but 3 or more. Or a parliment of owls. And many other interesting words for describing a group of one species of birds. But for Bluebirds, what did my search provide me with? A flock.

What a disappointment that was. But all the various birds that showed up on a wondrous snow day, pure pleasure!

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Flickers In Today’s Snow

What a terrific day for me. It snowed the majority of the day. Coming down fast and furious sometimes with huge flakes. Other times it was slow and gentle. The snow didn’t stick very well. I’d say that there was just a hair short of an inch when all was said and done. So lovely!

While this was going on there was much bird activity including this pair of Northern Flickers (yellow shafted phase)(Colaptes auratus). The one above is male. See his mustache?

This one, here and below, is a female. Notice she doesn’t have a mustache.

And here she is showing off the patch of red at the back of her neck, called a nuchal patch, which is something that both male and female have.

Snow and many birds today. Excellent!

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One Grand Woodpecker

The Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is an impressive creature. Nearly the size of a Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). I have fond memories of one landing, and working on, a tree within a few feet of my bedroom window when I lived in North Arlington many years ago. It sounded like a human, up in the tree, pounding on it with a heavy hammer.

This Woodpecker is the largest Woodpecker on our continent, unless of course, you still consider the Ivory Billed Woodpecker to still be alive and well.

The ivory-billed woodpecker is a woodpecker native to the bottomland hardwood forests and temperate coniferous forests of the Southern United States and Cuba. The US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing it as extinct September 29, 2021.

Caution As You Bring In The Christmas Tree

As you bring in the Christmas tree, a word of caution. This is the egg case of a Chinese Praying Mantis (Tenodera sinensis). Check your tree for it before you bring in the potential to have up to 400 tiny Chinese Praying Mantises wandering around in your house. If you happen to discover the egg case after the tree is set up and being decorated, clip the egg case off and destroy it. Chinese Praying Mantises eat many good insects as well as our native Carolina Praying Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina).

This egg case, called an ootheca, is attached to a beautiful red stem of a Blueberry Bush (Cyanococcus). It’s a tiny bit smaller than a ping pong ball.

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A Strange Looking Caterpillar

A picture from October of a unique looking caterpillar, a Crowned Slug Moth caterpillar (Isa textula). This little one grows to be 1/2 inch long. They eat the leaves of Oaks and Cherry, Maple, Basswood, Elm and Beech trees.

I’ve made it my practice to avoid picking up most any creature that I find in nature. This is a good example of why. See those hairy spikes sticking out all around? This caterpillar’s sting results in itching and great pain. I’m sticking to my policy!

It sure is fun to find unique creatures of nature. I just won’t pick any up.

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Holly Jolly Time For Mincemeat Pie

It’s that time of year, when the wind whips like crazy and temperatures drop from 57º in the early morning to a chill of the 30s as the sun goes down. At least that’s how it was here today.

Time to think about mincemeat pie, made with many more McIntosh apples than are called for. That’s how I prefer it.

A bit of extra crust for the top, cut into the shape of holly leaves with tiny berries, sprinkled with green and red sugar, makes it perfect.

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A Noisy Blue Jay

A Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), a member of the Corvidae family.

They make a lot of noise. Imitating sounds of human activity around them and sometimes even imitating the sound of the human voice. Other birds are part of their quite accurate repertoire, hawks, chickadees, catbirds, goldfinches to name a few.

Some would say that the word “raucous” would be an appropriate descriptor.

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Evasive Agaric, A Beautiful Fungus

I am often awestruck by the beauty of things in nature. Mushrooms come to mind when I’m thinking of what is beautiful around me.

These saprobic fungi are a good example, reminding me of something made of delicate lace. Saprobic fungi, meaning they break down organic matter. Lovely to look at and they help the environment too.

These are Evasive Agaric (Crepidotus versutus).

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A Very Quiet Afternoon

Outside on a very quiet afternoon. No sounds at all except for a call that is not familiar at all to me. Sort of a quick nasally mewy sound. I’m hearing this sound maybe once every couple minutes. Finally I see the source of the calls.

It’s a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) further up in the woods making the sound. They’re here for the winter. Drilling sapwells into trees that provide sap for their consumption and those sapwells also trap insects which they eat too. Another bird that benefits from these sapwells, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird will also sip the sap in early spring before there are many flowers in bloom.

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Incredible Sunset

Looking through the trees at the horizon. An incredible display of color reveals itself this evening as the sun is setting. The clouds reflecting the color of the sunset to the ground, and me.

A matter of just a few minutes later it is gone. Poof!

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