First Butterfly Of Late Winter/Early Spring

March 15, 2025

Mourning Cloak Butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa), native to North America and Eurasia. These butterflies have a remarkable lifespan, living as adults for 10 to 12 months, much longer than the normal life span of 2 to 4 weeks. As adults they feed on sap, ripe and fallen fruits, and honeydew from aphids.

These butterflies overwinter as adults. Favorite spots for spending the winter, tree cavities, cracks in rocks, log piles. On warm days during the winter they will emerge from their hibernation, known as torpor in the insect world, to return to their wintering spot as the weather gets frigid again. One of the first butterflies you may see in late winter, or early spring.

I’ve seen them out and about in the past couple weeks.

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And Now Toad Eggs

March 14, 2025

Yesterday I wrote about Frog and Salamander Eggs. In the picture above are some eggs that are different. They’re the eggs of an American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus). I found them in a small stream running alongside the road further up the mountain.

Frog eggs are always in eggmasses. Salamander eggs are sometimes in eggmasses though occasionally they are laid individually or in small clusters. Toad eggs are always in strands looking similar to strings of black pearls like in this picture.

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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 quickly. They stay at the tadpole stage of development for 8 to 12 weeks when they will metamorphose into tiny versions of Wood Frogs. In the wild the Wood Frogs life span about 3 years.

And also in the vernal pool are the eggmasses of Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). Not as many as the Wood Frogs but easy to tell the difference and easy to spot. Each eggmass contains 30 to 250 eggs. These eggs take from 20 to 60 days to hatch. Then they become, not tadpoles but larvae. In 2 to 4 months they’ll metamorphose into terrestrial juvenile salamanders, living within about 1/2 mile of their vernal pool. Adults can live 20 years or 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 own drum. These five species N. broussonetii, N. cabanillesii, N. elegans, N. serotinus, and N. viridiflorus flower in the autumn. And along with that difference they don’t get their leaves until after blooming.

I’m so glad that all the different species of Daffodils that I have bloom in the spring. What a thrill this afternoon to go out and get pictures. Welcome spring!

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An Orchid At The Table

March 11, 2025

An Orchid (Orchidaceae) greets me as I take a seat at the dinner table. It blooms year after year. Like most houseplants, it’s not a native plant. A kind gesture from a dear friend that I see occasionally at yoga.

It came as quite a surprise to me, as I have become more wrapped up in the environment and the world of nature that there are many orchids native to Virginia. As is the case with loads of things, as I try to find information on the internet, the number is quite variable. One reference site gave the number of orchids native to Virginia as 64. That’s a lot.

You might enjoy seeing a blog post I did a while back with pictures of a few of the native orchids I’ve spotted here on this mountain. You can find it at: https://www.brendaclem.com/orchids-native-to-virginia/

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A Visit From A Crow

March 10, 2025

The past few days I’ve been hearing many American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) making lots of noise out in the woods. This afternoon one came by to enjoy some of the suet that song birds have been enjoying for a long time. This is the first time I recall a Crow eating the suet. I went for my camera but the Crow saw me and immediately flew away. Second time I guess it was ready for getting pictures taken and stayed for many shots.

Scientists in experiments have concluded that some mammals including monkeys and sheep can recognize particular human faces. With more experimenting, they have demonstrated that Crows have that same ability. I’ve read that Crows hold grudges. I’m hoping that I don’t do anything to offend them.

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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 me. I’ve seen very few birds coming to this particular patch of seeds until this morning when two Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) came and spent a good bit of time working at those seeds.

Mission accomplished.

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A Native Stink Bug

March 8, 2025

It’s a bit of a pleasure to talk about a native stink bug given how horribly bothersome the non-native Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) is.

This photo is the nymph stage of a Green Stink Bug (Chinavia hilare) native to much of North America but one that I seldom see. It doesn’t seek refuge in my cabin, like the BMSB, a fact that I am very thankful for. This Stink Bug is an agricultural pest that emerges during the first warm days of spring.

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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 as three Downies wrangling for a place at the feeders.

In the North American world of woodpeckers, the Downy comes in as the smallest. They have a length of 5.5 to 7 inches and weigh just .71 to 1.16 ounces. Like many birds, they are incredibly light in weight because their bones are hollow.

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Red Maples In Bloom

March 6, 2025

A great help to pollinators, the Red Maple tree (Acer rubrum) is one of our first native trees to bloom in the spring, or in this case in late winter.

And also a great help to meet a neighbor down at the bottom of my mountain. This morning I stopped along the road to take pictures of the Red Maple that is blooming now at the edge of his yard. I had never seen him before but soon enough, there was his dog, and then there he was too. Perfect opportunity to meet him.

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