A Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) surprised me this morning. A bird I seldom see, it was at the birdbath quenching its thirst.
This Catbird eats insects and invertebrates when they’re available, also eats fruits and berries.
I’m particularly bewildered because when I do see a Gray Catbird, it is normally during the summer. This is the first time I’ve ever seen one during the winter. Well, in any event, I’m glad I saw it and was able to get pictures.
Coker’s Amanita (Amanita cokeri). A mycorrhizal mushroom, meaning they will share a symbiotic relationship, or mutually beneficial relationship, with hardwoods and conifers. Growing in the soil under the trees that they benefit and receive benefit from. They’ll grow singly or together in groups.
Coker’s Amanitas can be found in eastern US and in the Southeast in particular. Its white cap, which is covered with many pointed bumps, can grow to be six inches across.
I love to find mushrooms in the woods, to capture them in pixels.
This blog gives no information about the edibility or toxicity of any of the mushrooms that are written about.
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Early April. Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) begins to emerge, ready to tackle another year.
Buds that become flowers, arrive soon after the leaves. Flowers that become berries in April will delight hungry birds come winter.
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Until I moved here to the cabin, Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) was just a plant that I needed to avoid. Those three leaves – beware. But now I have learned there is so much more to know about the plant. There are buds in May (in the photo above, left). And believe it or not, flowers in June (in the photo above, right).
Then in July there are green berries (in the photo above, left). By October those green berries are turning to white (in the photo above, right).
Come January those white berries are perfect for tempting Chickadees, and many different species of woodpeckers. Surely there are many other birds that enjoy the berries but these are the ones that I see most often eating them. Of course you have recognized the Chickadee in the picture on the left. And here, in the photo above, on the right, is a Pileated Woodpecker and at the bottom of the that photo, is a Northern Flicker.
Though I’m extremely allergic to Poison Ivy I really enjoy having it around, for the birds.
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Okay, to be honest, I’ve got many favorite birds – but this is one of them. Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe). They are consumers of mostly flying insects, with a few that don’t fly, such as ticks, spiders and millipedes. That’s one reason for my vote as a favorite.
A bird that says its name, “Phoebe!” Almost identical to another bird that also says its name, the Eastern Wood-pewee. Listen to hear the difference, as it says, “Pewee!” Another difference, one that I depend on all the time, is the Eastern Phoebe’s flicking of its tail, up and then down, up and then down, most all the time.
The Eastern Phoebe often returns to its nest site year after year. Here at my cabin, places that have been chosen to build a nest have been under the eaves of the wood shop, at the crook of a down spout near the eaves of the cabin, and atop a light fixture on the porch. And some of these nests have been reused time and again.
My own personal insect eradicators.
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Seems mighty strange but Poison Ivy berries are quite popular with birds. Here, a Chickadee (Paridae) enjoys a snack of what else, Poison Ivy berries.
Chickadees, here at my location are just Chickadees. This area is where the range of two species of Chickadees overlap. Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) and Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus). They are not only extremely similar in appearance but they also interbreed, so trying to decide which species one actually belongs to is useless. Whichever species, they’re often seen at the Poison Ivy vines.
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Lawyer’s Wig (Coprinus comadtus). A fungus found in Europe, Asia and North America and commonly found in areas that suit its needs, in grassy areas, along gravel roads (which is where I found these), and waste areas.
A fungus with an odd method of spore dispersal. As it matures it will slowly turn to a black ink, dripping as it melts. Dripping with those spores. Eventually leaving only its stem. This strange spore dripping is called deliquescence and assures that the fungus lives on, generation after generation.
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Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Soaking up the sun to chase away the chill. A few flakes of snow are a maybe in the forecast for up here. Birds are mobbing the feeders.
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Evasive Agaric (Crepidotus versutus). A very small mushroom with a cap that is kidney shaped, fan shaped or circular. The color is white to gray, with an edge that is scalloped.
Small or very small. Its cap grows to be one inch wide.
These fungi are saprobes, decomposers of dead and decaying wood, leaves, and litter. Doing good deeds in the forest.
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This is a Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) which is another butterfly that you might see fluttering about in the sun on a warm winter day. A butterfly that overwinters as an adult, but enjoys those days when the temperature rises.
Like the few other butterflies that overwinter as adults, the Mourning Cloak finds a crevice in a rock, under a wedge of bark on a tree, or beneath a shingle on a house seeking shelter from the cold, as they go into a state of torpor. These butterflies have chemicals, glycols, in their bodies that work like anti-freeze, which prevent ice crystals from forming. Protection from the freezing cold.
Watch for them when the temperature is much warmer than average. Watch for them on the sunlit side of your house. Watch for them taking a break, stretching their wings, waiting for spring.