Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

Category: Natural History

  • A Cup’s Worth of Birds

    Yesterday morning I sat out by the garden with a cup of coffee to listen and watch for birds – spring migration is in full swing. Here are the species seen or heard in about 45 minutes of sitting and sipping: Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Yellow-billed Cuckoo (first of season), American Crow, Blue Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Black Swallowtail eggs and larvae revisited

    Since I have what might be considered by some an abnormal fascination with caterpillars, I decided to keep track of the development of the Black Swallowtail eggs from the garden. The photo above is what a typical egg looks like shortly after it is laid. Yesterday I was watering the garden and found an egg Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • The Strange Ways of ‘Possums

    ,

    I promised a post on this unusual encounter last weekend at Pocosin Lakes so here goes (I should warn you this may be for mature audiences only)…I started my morning with a sighting of a pair of Virginia Opossums (aka ‘possums) mating at the edge of a field just after sunrise. I have been “fortunate” Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • A Spring trip to Pungo

    ,

    This weekend I decided to get back to my favorite North Carolina wildlife area – Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. When I first started going there back in the early 80’s, it was known as Pungo National Wildlife Refuge and it was centered on Pungo Lake, an important wintering area for waterfowl. In the early Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Black Swallowtail eggs

    ,

    As I was planting some veggies yesterday, I saw a female Black Swallowtail butterfly in her characteristic search and hover mode as she investigated various plants in the garden. I knew from this fluttery flight behavior that she was searching for the right type of plant on which to lay an egg (aka host plant). Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Crested Dwarf Iris

    I have always had a fondness for the wildflowers of spring woodlands and have planted them in shady spots as a harbinger of my favorite season. One of the hardiest of the spring ephemerals is Crested Dwarf Iris, Iris cristata.  I have purchased many of these (and other native wildflowers) over the years from the Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Changing of the Guard

    ,

    Migrations speak to us, not just as observers of nature but as integral parts of it. The world moves and, deep inside, we long to move with it.   Mike Bergin Spring is truly here. I look out the door and see the rapid changes, the appearance of so many new things. But I can also Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Paddling the Black River

    ,

    Last week, my friend, and former co-worker, Jerry Reynolds asked if I wanted to go along with he and another friend on a paddle along the Black River as he prepped for an upcoming program. I jumped at it since it has been years since I paddled the Black (I did go upriver last year Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Wood Duck nest

    ,

    Wood Ducks begin courtship in the fall and continue throughout the winter and into the spring. A couple of years ago I photographed several ducks on the ice at Pungo Lake where you can see several Wood Ducks that appear to have already paired up. On my recent paddle at Merchants Millpond and surrounding swamps, Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Merchants Millpond

    ,

    I enter the swamp as a sacred place Henry David Thoreau Merchants Millpond has always been one of my favorite state parks. When I was the East District Naturalist for the State Parks system oh-so-many years ago (1981-1986), I would go up to Merchants and canoe out after dark to the family camping area after Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn