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Phoebe in a Flowering Dogwood Tree
Look closely. In a near perfect camouflage, an Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), is sitting in a Flowering Dogwood Tree (Cornus florida). Though it would seem the perfect spot for a little bird to stock up on some berries, this Phoebe feeds on insects and arthropods. They’ll also dive into water to catch minnows and other…
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Pawpaw Tree
The Pawpaw tree (Asimina triloba), is not the winner of the category “most spectacular color in the woods” during autumn. But it does have a wonderful fruit if you can beat the bears to that fruit. Bears love those Pawpaws. There are many Pawpaw trees here in the mountains, including ones that I’ve planted here…
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Witch Hazel In Bloom
A spot just up my dirt road. Take a hike to the top of Hightop, an elevation of 3587 feet, and you will see lovely Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) blooms aplenty. Each flower with 4 petals resembling yellow coconut flakes. They wait until late October to start their blooming. Much to my delight, adding to…
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Winter Wren
A Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) after a bath. A winter resident. Tiny. Much smaller than a Carolina Wren, weighing in at .3 to .4 ounce. Their favorite foods are insects and arthropods, and eat berries such as Juniper berries during the winter. They’re full of energy as they search through dense underbrush looking for a…
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Few Dogwood Leaves
As the days tick away, the leaves turn more beautiful with each of those ticks. The Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) leaves however, have been turning from emerald to garnet since the end of June and have begun to fall away. Leaving berries, also known as drupes. And those drupes gladden many species of birds, along…