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Another Day At The Vernal Pool
February 28, 2025 Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) active in my vernal pool today. Males making their distinctive clacking sound to attract females. They are the earliest frogs to emerge from their winter shelters to begin mating. I see them even before Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer). Their tadpoles develop over the course of two to three…
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This One More Obvious
February 27, 2025 This one, quite a bit easier to tell which species of Sparrow it is, in comparison to the Song Sparrow (Melospica melodia) and the White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) which I mentioned in my post yesterday. The Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina). Only the male Song Sparrow sings. Its song is described by the…
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Master Of Camouflage
February 26, 2025 The Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is indeed a master of camouflage blending in with dried grass near the birdbath. Not at all striking in its coloring, streaks of gray and brown. The Song Sparrow is well represented throughout our continent. They’re said to be “the most common and widespread sparrow in North…
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Concern For Beech Trees
February 24, 2025 I enjoy seeing American Beech trees (Fagus grandifolia) in the winter. They’re deciduous trees but don’t drop their leaves until spring, giving my woods a scattering of soft brown patches everywhere. And if it snows, those soft brown leaves turn into snow cones hanging from their branches. This past Saturday I attended…
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Strong Tail Feathers
February 22, 2025 Woodpeckers’ robust tails help them as the descend a tree trunk or work at drumming a hole into the side of a tree. They have stronger tail bones, lower back bones, and muscles that support those bones than other birds. Here, a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) in the snow a couple days…
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A Hermit Thrush On A Snow Day
February 21, 2025 A winter resident here in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, the Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus). As the snow was coming down steadily two days ago it was in a typical stance flipping up its tail and slowly lowering it over and over again. Though they eat insects during the warmer months, in the…
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Another Snowy Morning
February 20, 2025 It snowed all day long yesterday, leaving 2.5 inches of snow on the ground. This morning it started back up again but didn’t last very long. Today, just a dusting. Among the birds out looking for something to eat, I counted 13 Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis). Beautiful accents of color against the black…