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Frogs And Salamanders
March 13, 2025 They have partied and now there are eggmasses in my vernal pool. These two clumps are the eggs of Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). They contain from 1,000 to 3,000 eggs each. They hatch 9 to 30 days later, in part depending on the temperature of the water. Warmer water encouraging hatching more…
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Here Comes Spring
March 12, 2025 Daffodil (Narcissus). No Daffodils are native to North America. They’re native to southern Europe and North Africa, with the main concentration being in the Western Mediterranean on the Iberian Peninsula. Most species of Daffodil bloom in late winter to spring, but there are five species that march to the beat of their…
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Goldfinches At The Maryland State Flower
March 9, 2025 I’ve been waiting. There is a relatively new planting of Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), the Maryland state flower, on the back hill. I never clean up my gardens until late spring. That leaves the seedheads there all winter long for birds to come and enjoy a tasty treat through no effort by…
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Thank You For The Pose Downy!
March 7, 2025 Looking like it is taking a pose at an awards ceremony, a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) sits in a Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida). It’s waiting for a turn at the suet feeders where it competes with Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus), Tufted Titmice (Baeolophus bicolor), and Chickadees (Poecile). Sometimes I see as many…
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Bigger Than A Hummingbird But Still Mighty Small
March 5, 2025 The Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis). Measures in at 3.1 to 4.7 inches in length. Mighty small and actually the smallest Wren in North America. They’re only here in my part of Virginia in the winter and they normally frequent areas more dense than I have here. It’s wonderful to see one and…
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Soon There Will Be Hummingbirds!
March 4, 2025 I’m delighted to say and a bit surprised that it will be occurring again in what seems such a short amount of time — next month Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) will be arriving again. The tiny clowns of the avian world. My first sighting last year was on April 17th when three…