Category: Eastern Red Cedars

Robins in the Snow

On Monday, January 3, 2022, nine inches of gorgeous, wet, stick to the trees snow, dumped upon my cabin making a fairyland of the woods around me. And as if to laugh at those who say robins are a sign of spring, today, just a short thirteen days since the start of winter, a large group of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) has descended upon the Eastern Red Cedars (Juniperus virginiana) here and the birdbath which has a water warmer in it to provide them with water devoid of ice.

Some Robins do migrate but many others don’t. What they do is move in large groups to find food, fruits and berries. Those fruits and berries are their food choice during the winter, an easier meal than worms and insects.

These many Robins were the only species in the crowd today. Often though I’ll see them with Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) or Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus). Maybe tomorrow their friends will show up. I hope there are some berries left for them.

Juniper Hairstreak Revisited

Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus) is native to most of North America. Once thought to be two separate species, residents of eastern North America and western North America are now considered to be just one species.

As butterflies, adult Juniper Hairstreaks seek the nectar of many flowers such as Queen Anne’s Lace, Winter Cress, Common Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, White Sweetclover and many more. Here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, males looking for females hang out on Eastern Red Cedars, their host plant in this area. Want to find some Juniper Hairstreaks? Try shaking some branches of ERCs. You might just shake some free. Eggs are laid on the tips of the leaves the Eastern Red Cedar. After emerging from their eggs, the caterpillars will eat the leaves.

Juniper Hairstreaks are little butterflies, generally measuring in with a wingspan of 1 to 1.25 inches. The above photo might help you visualize the size with a Carpenter Bee in the image. Yes, a good bit of brown, and tiny but not to be confused with a moth!