A Big Skink!

May 3, 2025

A Broadhead Skink (Plestiodon laticeps), trying to blend in with the ledge it is resting on. You might notice that it is shedding its skin, which happens routinely from time to time.

These skinks eat a wide variety of insects, spiders, snails, small rodents and smaller reptiles including young skinks, hunting for meals in trees and on the ground.

They look similar to Five-lined Skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus), even with the bright blue tail as a juvenile. Size in the adults of the Five-lined are 5 to 8.5 inches while Broadheads are 6 to 13 inches. Adult Five-lined Skinks have a red-orange head during mating season.

The Broadhead Skink is native to the southeast United States and is the largest Skink in that region.

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A Treasure Of Nature

May 2, 2025

A Red Trillium (Trillium erectum). One of many treasures of nature. On Hightop Mountain in Shenandoah National Park.

This Trillium doesn’t produce nectar, but flies, beetles, and fungus gnats are attracted to the blossom’s unpleasant scent. They act as pollinators for these beautiful flowers.

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A Female Towhee

May 1, 2025

This afternoon, a female Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) came by to take a dip in the birdbath.

I so seldom see a female Towhee that it took a moment for me to realize what it was. When males and females of the same species of birds are different in appearance like this, it is called sexual dimorphism.

And you know the mnemonic for Towhees, “Drink your tea?” The female rarely sings that song. I hear that so very often. I’ll have to figure out what song the female sings.

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The First Turtle

April 30, 2025

On the way to yoga today, I saw my first Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) of the year. Something that I always do with such a sighting, particularly on my mountain road with hardly any traffic, I stopped, pulled out my camera and took pictures. Having a record of the markings on the turtle’s carapace, the domed upper portion of its shell, allows me to identify a turtle if I happen to see it again. The markings on its shell are, like a fingerprint, unique to the individual. Then I took it across the road, in the direction it was heading and put it on the side, and off the road. It was at least for this crossing, safe from any traffic that might happen along.

A few years ago my granddaughter, who was 7 at the time, found a baby Box Turtle here at the cabin. Oh my! Was that ever exciting!

That made me think of their home range, which is typically around 2 acres. It is that small area where they spend their entire life. If picked up and moved to another location that turtle will spend the rest of their life looking for home.

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They Are Back!

April 29, 2025

They arrived this afternoon. At least that’s when they came by to enjoy the bird baths. A male and female American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) adding their bright colors to the woods around the cabin. The image above is the male Redstart in his rich black and vivid orange.

And this the female Redstart in her very different color way, soft gray and lemon yellow.

These colorful Redstarts eat mainly insects, and occasionally will have small berries and fruits.

Very pleased to have them back!

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Brilliant Color Is A Warning

April 28, 2025

This is a Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) wearing a red-orange color as a warning to predators. In all stages of their lives they are poisonous. Their skin secretes tetrodotoxin, a potent poison. During their land dwelling juvenile stage in life they are particularly toxic, therefore the warning.

They start out living in fresh water habitats as an aquatic larval stage, much like a tadpole. They emerge from the water, still in the juvenile stage (as in this picture, above), to live on land sometimes under leaf litter for 1 to 3 years before returning to the water as an adult.

Here, a Red-spotted Newt living again in the water as an adult. Notice its new coloring. Fading from the juvenile, orange-red, to an olive green or yellowish-brown. The Red-spotted Newt can live for as long as 12 to 15 years.

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Seldom Seen

April 27, 2025

This blog post title, it is not the bluegrass group, The Seldom Scene, it’s about a bird that I hear often but rarely get an opportunity to capture in a picture. The Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus).

Both male and female make a call that sounds like a Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) saying, “Myaaah!” The male sings a melodious song, that I use a mnemonic to remember, “Here I am! Where are you?!” Thanks to that mnemonic I’m able to know with great confidence that it is a Red-eyed Vireo singing that song from the tops of trees as he looks for insects.

Several years ago in what seemed like a moment of *magic* a Red-eyed Vireo nest was found in a Flowering Dogwood tree (Cornus florida). The nest was watched for a few days until the hatchlings fledged.

A super sighting.

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Someone Is Looking!

April 26, 2025

The past couple days there has been a male Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) that has been coming to the backdoor. He sits on the ledge, and moves from side to side, while peering in. He has also come to the front door, peering in.

The female Bluebird of this affectionate couple is building a nest in a birdhouse that is between the cabin and the woodshop. When she emerges to get more pine needles and fine grasses for the nest, the two of them fly and sing their soft songs together.

He’s not being aggressive, as if defending his territory from an intruder. I’m wondering if he’s trying to ask that I pick up some mealworms or has some other meal suggestions.

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Philadelphia Fleabane

April 25, 2025

Blooming everywhere now. Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus), with blooms perfect for a doll house. Native to North America this Fleabane is found in almost all our states and Canada.

Each bloom has many threadlike ray flowers, or petals, perhaps 150 to 400 that are white and also pink. The yellow center contains disc flowers. Butterflies, bees and moths are the Fleabanes’ pollinators.

The name Fleabane originated long ago because of the inaccurate belief that the dried plant would repel fleas.

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In The Neighborhood

April 24, 2025

There have been Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) hanging around in the front of the cabin for quite some time. This afternoon I happened to spot this pair at the birdbath, and the male was checking out one of the birdhouses at the back of the cabin.

There has been a Bluebird family in that house before. Got my fingers crossed!

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