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The Journey
Imagine you are a winged, feathered creature, just 3 inches long, weighing in at 0.1 to 0.2 ounces. Imagine too that you spend the summer months in Canada and other parts of eastern North America, and you spend the winter months from southern Mexico southward across Central America to Panama. That’s what Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris)…
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Raspberry Awakening
So many native perennials sprouting their leaves as if little alarm clocks have gone off telling the plants to wake up. One of them, Purple-flowering Raspberry (Rubus odoratus), sending out its maple-like, very crinkled, serrated leaves. It is native to the eastern United States By late May bristly buds appear. The stems and branches of…
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A Transformation
In trying to come up with words to describe the intermediate stage of an American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) transforming from winter to summer garb, I immediately think of “patchwork quilt” but that is not quite right. After all quilts are beautiful pieces of art. This intermediate stage is an unfinished work, still in progress. The…
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Falcate Orangetip
This afternoon the butterfly gods, or maybe it was the butterfly fairies, were taking care of me. I was out refiling the bird feeders when I spotted a small white butterfly nectaring at a Confederate Violet (Viola sororia priceana). Normally this butterfly, a Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea), flutters by occasionally but rarely do I see…
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Spring Azure
Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon). With a wingspan of just 1 inch, it’s a tiny white butterfly that flutters through the woods as an adult beginning in mid-March but in that stage only lives a few days. The larval host plant of the Spring Azure is Flowering Dogwood, Blueberry, Viburnum and there may be others. The…
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First Tiger Swallowtail
I saw it fluttering about today, this afternoon. Checking out the blossoms. Wondering if they were open, but no, not quite. A few more days and the nectar will be there for the taking. It’s the first Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) of the year. Image from 2016
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All Set for Hummingbirds
A feeder went up today in anticipation of the arrival of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris). I’m hoping the first Hummingbird will be here very soon. They’re such a joy to have around. Here you see a female. Those tiny white tips on her tail indicate a female and not a juvenile male. A juvenile male…
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White Wood Asters
Like many things early in April, White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata) is emerging from the soil to greet spring. I’m thrilled to see it in many places in the woods up here. An herbaceous perennial found in the eastern US and southeastern Canada but most often found in the Appalachian Mountains. One of the first…
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Emerging Trout Lilies
We met along the shore of the Rivanna River in the Key West area of Charlottesville. So many things were to be discovered. It was this very day, in April 2010, and it was part of my training to become a master naturalist. That trip allowed the first time ever, for me to see the…
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Virginia Bluebells just Beginning
The air was still today. A very welcome respite from the whipping wind of the past few days. The warmish spring weather and bright sunshine called to me. My camera and I roamed looking for ephemerals making their appearance, and I returned with many images to add to my stash. One discovery, Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia…