Often Heard

June 27, 2026

A bird I rarely see but often hear, with its mnemonic of, “Wheat-a wheat-a wheat-EE-oh”.

A Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citron), here during the breeding season, and also in other parts of the eastern US and the most southern part of Canada. Wintering in Central America and the West Indies.

They eat insects found in dense vegetation in the woods, or they will fly out and catch insects mid-air. Though they don’t come to my feeders, on occasion I’ll see one at my birdbath.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

An American Lady

June 26, 2026

American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) enjoying the nectar of a Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea).

As adults these butterflies have a short lifespan of approximately 2 to 4 weeks. There are some though, the ones that hatch late in autumn and live in regions with mild, warm winters, that can overwinter as adults. This gives them several months to migrate or reproduce in the spring.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Soon To Be Queen Anne’s Lace

June 25, 2026

Delicate looking pink feet clutching the fuzzy stem of what will become a beautiful flower.

A year round resident, a male Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), has about reached its peak breeding season plumage. Captured here clinging to what will become the bloom of Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus Carota).

This flower is an herbaceous biennial that has large umbrella-like clusters of tiny individual flowers, called compound umbels, which are usually 2 to 5 inches across with the look of white lace. This plant is not native, having arrived in the early 1600s, after being brought to our continent by European colonists as a medicinal herb and food source.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Redbud Seedpods

June 24, 2026

The Redbud trees (Cercis canadensis) up here on my mountain in April, reach out with their branches, painting the still black and white landscape with a striking pink hue everywhere one looks.

Now it’s June and those pink blooms have become seedpods, waiting to fall to the ground to become more Redbud trees.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Raising Little Hummingbirds

June 23, 2026

Here, a Ruby Throated Hummingbird (Archilochusus colubrid) seeming to dance as she approaches a Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma).

These Hummingbirds are here for their breeding season and soon we’ll be seeing a population explosion thanks to all the fledglings that will be arriving at the flowers that seem to call to them. It is the female that does all the work of motherhood, from building the nest (between mid-May and mid-June), to incubating the eggs, to raising the little ones. All on her own.

She will usually lay 2, very tiny white eggs, and here in Virginia, she will most often raise 2 broods (up to 3 broods in warmers parts of the state). She will incubate those eggs for between 12 and 14 days. Then the nestlings will be cared for in the nest for between 18 to 22 days, until they are ready to fledge.

And then BOOM! there will be many many many Hummingbirds flying to my feeders! I can hardly wait!

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!


A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher In The Garden

June 22, 2026

A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) showing off the length of its extra long tail.

Impressed by the small size of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)? Perhaps the size of this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher will surprise you as well.

Their weights are quite similar, weighing in at a bit lighter than a few pennies. The Gnatcatcher is about an inch longer than the Hummer, but you have to consider its extremely long tail. That tail is about 2 inches in length and the bird’s body length is 4 to 4.5 inches. That is nearly one half of its total length.

The Gnatcatcher’s wingspan at 6.3 inches, is almost 50 percent wider than the Hummingibrd’s 3.1 to 4.3 inches.

All in all, both mighty little birds.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

A Hummingbird At The Beebalm

June 21, 2026

I’m so pleased to have Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) blooming again. They’re dependable perennials. With brilliant red flowers that call to Hummingbirds and other pollinators.

Blooming with perfect timing. It won’t be long until there will be multitudes of these birds flying, as the nestlings fledge. Beebalm petals have a long, tubular shape, perfect for the Hummingbird’s beak and tongue.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Great Spangled Fritillary On Common Milkweed

June 20, 2026

Yesterday Great Spangled Fritillaries (Speyeria cybele) and several species of bees were found on a patch of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) up here.

Oh, what a fragrance those flowers have! That scent must be an invitation to pollinators all around, a plea perhaps, to come drink the nectar and help spread the pollen to other plants here in the patch.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

An Indigo Bunting On Its Perfect Perch

June 19, 2026

An Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), here for the summer, has found the perfect perch for posing.

I used to often bike along the W&OD Trail, in Northern Virginia, where I’d frequently see these beautiful birds sitting on utility wires, singing their, “what! what! where? where? see it! see it!” song, as I peddled past. I loved seeing them there, and now I get to see them right out my kitchen window.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Wild Berries

June 18, 2026

Black Raspberries (Rubus occidentalis).

They’re beginning to ripen up here, much to the delight of oodles of animals including many bird species like catbirds, finches, wild turkeys, robins, blue jays, and cardinals. Mammals such as raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, deer, bears, mice, opossums, and foxes also enjoy the berries.

The stems of Black Raspberry bushes have a unique color of bluish-green, with a coating of powdery, waxy whitish-gray, called a glaucous bloom, making it easy to identify during the offseason.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!