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Feather Care
A Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) yesterday at the birdbath. Feather care. Keeping those feathers clean is essential for health. Clean those feather little bird. Keep those feather free of dirt, parasites, and bacteria. Keep those feathers in tiptop shape. The birdbath next to the garden here at the cabin is a busy place even during the…
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Blue Quartz
A good bit of time yesterday was spent roaming a lovely spot in western Albemarle County, Virginia. Me and my camera, spotting new to me Lichens and Mosses. On a meandering trail to the Mechums River. I was pleased to find Groundcedar (Diphasiastrum digitatum) and Striped Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata) along the way but I wasn’t…
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Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). That’s quite the scientific name to remember. Both the male and female Red-headed Woodpeckers look exactly the same. The juvenile has a gray head rather than the red head that his parents have. I’m delighted to finally get a photograph of this woodpecker. Now I’m going to concentrate on getting a…
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Occasional Winter Resident
Little, friendly creature. Doesn’t come to the feeders, but loves the birdbath. An irruptive species that only migrates this way when food supplies dictate. Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis). During the summer the Red-breasted Nuthatch is found in the northern parts of Canada, where like woodpeckers, a nesting pair will excavate a hole in a favorite…
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Frequent Visitor
Captured here, in its classic pose. A White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). It often will start at the top of a tree, going down head first, looking for insects, nuts and seeds, and invertebrates. Sometimes it will stash away what it finds, in a crack or crevice in the tree bark, carefully covering it with moss,…
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Sulphur Dust Lichen
There are many rock walls up here in the mountains, including some that are around my cabin. This one, above, is a tenth of a mile long, reflecting an enormous amount of hard labor to create. These walls are reminders of how intensely farmed this land was. A remarkable thought considering how rocky and how…
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Ruffle Lichen
Lichens, such beautiful and intriguing things. Not a plant, not an animal. A combination of two organisms, a fungus, and a alga or cyanobacterium. This particular one, Salted Ruffle Lichen (Parmotrema crinitum), found growing on a tree branch. _____________________________________________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts, sign up here!
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Woodpecker Colors
My first thought when I think of the color of woodpeckers is black, white, and red. Though that is not always the case. This woodpecker, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), is a good example. Look at it and, “Well, almost,” comes to mind. The breast of the bird, in a herringbone pattern, black and pale…