The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.
~Sydney Harris
You may have noticed a lack of posts on this blog the past month. We have been dealing with my mother’s declining health as well as plenty of long-scheduled things here at home. Traditionally, we take a trip somewhere for our birthdays which fall a week apart, but this year had other plans. After another visit to mom’s, I decided we needed a break for ourselves and scheduled a couple of days last week at one of our favorite mountain destinations, the Celo Inn, near Burnsville, NC. The weather was forecast to be perfect – cool and clear (though it turned out that was not the case every day).
–The Celo Inn – one of our favorite places for respite in our mountains (click photos to enlarge)
After a wonderful breakfast at the Inn, we headed to our friend’s place in Burnsville. They are restoring an old cabin that will soon be an idyllic mountain retreat. We had a great time talking and marveling at the work they have done and then headed for lunch and a hike. The weather was changing with clouds and cold air starting to dominate. But up to Carver’s Gap we drove for what turned out to be a very brisk hike on the open balds of the Roan Mountain trail.
–Clouds and windy conditions dominated our hike through the balds
–Fall colors were starting to peak at the higher elevations, but here it is mainly in the shrubs
–Clouds moved in, clinging to the balds and spitting rain (and a little sleet) at us. We took shelter in a spruce grove for a bit during the heaviest rain.
–The Mountain Ash berries are brilliantly colored and really stand out on a cloudy day
–Goldenrod adds a splash of color to the bald. Most flowers had already gone to seed.
–Not the weather we had expected, but a beautiful place nonetheless.
–I like the message but I think someone pulled a photo off the internet (the source of all things accurate – not). I believe these are Sugar Gliders and definitely not one of our species of flying squirrels.
–This was the goal – about 2+ miles out from the parking area – elevation 6169ft.
–On our way back, the clouds started lifting and we even had a few shafts of sunlight in the distance (but not on us, unfortunately). So it was windy and COLD!!
–We ate dinner at a rustic little place in Spruce Pine. Melissa got a cup of hot water (her usual thing for hot tea that she normally brings). She didn’t have her tea bags, but instead cuddled the warm cup and drank some hot water to warm herself…it was that cold!
–The next morning was more favorable in terms of the weather. A view from the Parkway as we headed to the trailhead for Hawksbill.
–Sort of amazing that neither of us had ever been up to Hawksbill. Definitely worth the hike!
–A view of Table Rock from Hawksbill. This was our next hiking destination (another first for us).
–Ruh Roh…as we started the drive to Table Rock, the tire pressure monitor told us something was amiss. A quick look showed this large screw embedded in the tire.
The gravel road was narrow and steep so we decided to drive out rather than change the tire there. We luckily found a “garage” (actually a place that makes bear boxes) that had a compressor and could give us some air until we got to a tire place in Newland. They were efficient and got us out in about 20 minutes with a good patch. But now we had to alter our plans as we didn’t think we had time to drive back to Table Rock and hike the trail. We were close to Linville Falls so Melissa decided we should go there and hike the trail on the opposite side of the river from where most people go to view the falls. It was crowded, but we opted to hit the trail for the plunge basin overlook. Signage for the trail indicated it was strenuous…it wasn’t too bad as there were steps in the particularly steep parts.
–View of Linville Falls from the plunge basin overlook
We still had some time so someone I know wanted to hike the difficult trail down to the river below the falls. In spite of my knee issues, I agreed. We passed a young man hiking back and I asked what the trail was like. He paused and said it is almost vertical and tough, but worth it. Going down was slow as it is very rocky and steep (no steps on this trail), both things somewhat difficult for an old guy with a bum knee. But it was worth it – a truly different perspective on a feature I had seen many times before from a high overlook on the opposite side of the river.
It turns out, going back up the trail was much easier than coming down. We headed into Burnsville for another dinner with friends – a great end to a much needed escape to the mountains.
The responsibilities of life seem to rest lightly on the Goldfinch’s sunny shoulders.
~Roger Tory Peterson
It’s been a very good year for the American Goldfinches in our yard. I haven’t put out thistle seeds this year but the goldfinches seem quite content with the sunflower seeds in the other feeders and, more recently, with the seed heads of various wildflowers scattered around our yard. In late July, they made regular visits to the few Blazing Star (Liatris sp.) plants near the front of the house. Those are planted near one of our water gardens and I have left a screen off of one window so I can open that window to photograph birds coming to the area. Here are a few images from their feeding forays.
-A female American Goldfinch plucks a seed from a Liatris flower stalk while a male does the same in the background. Liatris spikes mature from the top to the bottom, unlike many other species of flower stalks which usually mature from the bottom up (click photos to enlarge)
– American Goldfinches are almost exclusively seed eaters. They are one of our latest nesting songbirds with nesting activity usually starting as late as July or even August in our area
-Male American Goldfinches are brilliant yellow and black in their breeding plumage in spring and summer. Winter birds of both sexes are similar, being a drab olive brown with blackish wings and pale wingbars.
-The jet black wings, cap, and tail of a summer American Goldfinch helps make the bright yellow of its back and belly even more brilliant as it flies across the landscape
–Goldfinches are well`adapted for their seed-eating lifestyle. They have strong, conical beaks for cracking seeds and their legs and feet are extremely strong and agile to aid in climbing on and clinging to plant stems as they forage.
-As the Purple Coneflowers matured, the birds switched their attention to these large seed heads. Almost every afternoon, around 5 o’clock, they descend on that section of the yard and start pulling at the seeds.
-The birds now have a cornucopia of seed types to choose – Purple and Green-headed Coneflowers, Starry Rosinweed, New York Ironweed, and New York Aster, just to name a few.
American Goldfinches are definitely one of the highlights of the bird life outside our windows. Their bright colors, cheery songs, and undulating flight are all another great reason to surround yourself with native wildflowers.
After our moth party last month during National Moth Week, we have put out the moth lights and sheet a few more times to see what new species we might attract to our deck here in the woods. It has been pretty productive and we have recorded many new species for my iNaturalist project where I am documenting all the species of invertebrates we see on our property (more on that in a future post). Here are some of the highlights from our moth nights this month (these species are different from the ones reported in my July post on National Moth Week). I have made identifications based on a variety of sources, including iNaturalist. As always, if you think I made an error, please drop me a note in the comments.
I’m starting with a group of moths that I think would make great models for jackets for British university professors.
-Tephra Tussock Moth – I particularly like the fuzzy leggings in this outfit. Adults do not feed; larvae are on oaks (click photos to enlarge)
-Red-lined Panopoda Moth – nice stripes. Larvae on beech and oaks.
-White Furcula Moth – a nice salt and pepper look with a hint of metallic blue and orange. Larvae often found on cherry.
-White-blotched Prominent – nice greenish cast (and the accessory works with this outfit). Larvae feed on oaks.
-Brown Panopda Moth – distinctive accent in this outfit (one reference described the dark wing marks as looking like a body-less person sitting in a chair). Larvae usually on hickory.
-White-headed Prominent -love those striped socks. Larvae on oaks.
-Orange-tufted Oneida Moth – described s having a “woodsy color scheme”. Larvae feed on oaks and oak galls apparently.
-Oval-based Prominent – for the bold professor – nice shoulder patches. Larval food unknown
-Wavy-lined Heterocampa – a nice greenish tint allows you to blend in with a moss-covered tree trunk on campus – larvae feed on a variety of hardwood trees.
These next moths are a bit bolder in their fashion statements…
-Common Angle – dark, paw-print-looking marks on outer wings. Larvae feed n maples.
-Beautiful Wood-nymph – gotta love moth names – often seen resting with front legs outstretched. This is a bird-dropping mimic. Larvae on Virginia Creeper and grape.
-Genus Antaeotricha – one of the so-called bird-dropping moths. Makes it easy to hide in plain sight. Consider this strategy when venturing in tough neighborhoods. Larvae on oaks.
-Beloved Emarginea Moth – built to camouflage perfectly on a lichen-studded tree branch. The equally-camouflaged caterpillars feed on mistletoe!
-Angle-winged Emerald – another mystery moth. Caterpillars believed to feed on Bald Cypress, but have been raised on fir and hemlock. Some think Winged Sumac is also a host.
-Luna Moth – each time we have put out the moth lights, the large silk moths like this Luna and several Imperials (photographed in an earlier post) usually appear late (after midnight). It is worth the wait.
-Tulip-tree Silkmoth – this species is the exception to the late arrival rule for the big moths. These have been showing up early and usually sitting tight once they land (until the lights are turned off and then they disappear).
As always, there are many non-moths that come to the moth party lights. Here are a few highlights…
-Genus Phytocoris (a member of the Plant Bug family) – this tiny (compare to the size of the weave on the sheet) beauty is a first for me.
-Green Lacewing – a delicate-looking lacy-winged insect with a fluttery flight. Larvae are voracious predators of aphids and often camouflage their backs with lichens or the dead bodies of their prey. Zoom in and check out those golden orb eyes.
-Green Mantidfly – looks like a cross between a lacewing (back portion) and a praying mantis (front). And check out these eyes! Larvae are parasitoids in spider egg sacs.
-Summer Fishfly – related to the larger Dobsonflies, but males lack the tusk-like mandibles of male Dobsonflies. This is a female, as her antennae only have the cob-like teeth on one side (males have feathery antennae).
-Eastern Rhinoceros Beetle – Xyloryctes jamaicensis. A large robust beetle. Three females came to the light on one night. They supposedly feed on ash leaves as adults. Larvae feed on the roots of ash trees and on decaying organic matter. Males have a single horn.
-Genus Parastasia (a member of the Shining Leaf Chafer Beetles). – winner of the cool antennae award. Tthis beetle feeds on leaves as an adult .
-Fiery Searcher – This large (1.25 inches) beetle is an active hunter. In fact, it is a member of the caterpillar hunter group of ground beetles. It can give you a powerful bite, so look, but don’t touch. The metallic colors can be stunning.
-While I was photographing something high on the moth sheet, the Fiery Searcher was busy doing what it does, seeking prey. It grabbed one of the several Rosy Maple Moths that had come to the light. By the time I saw it, it was too late to help the moth. The beetle fed on it the rest of the evening.
-I saved the coolest critter until last. Our friend and Museum scientist, Chris Goforth, had recently posted about this unusual insect when one came to her moth light. It is a tiny moth-like insect known as a Pleasing Lacewing, Nallachius americanus. It is related to antlions. This one is a male as indicated by the very feathery antennae (females’ are more filiform). Not much is known about these minuscule bugs, but the larvae are believed to feed on beetles and ants (especially eggs and larvae) under tree bark.
I have learned from nature that all is equal… all is equal and in balance. I see everything as fitting together.
~Joseph Raffael
Here in our home in the woods, I can look out our windows and see all sorts of interconnections – butterflies on Ironweed and Joe-Pye-Weed, American Goldfinches eating coneflower seeds, and birds searching for insects in the trees. There is another connection that seems to be one of the purest- like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together. That is the link between one of my favorite native wildflowers and one of my favorite summer birds – Cardinal Flowers and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. If you look at their range maps, they overlap to a great degree, owing, no doubt, to the dependence of the flower on the pollination compatibility of these hummingbirds.
-A Ruby-throated Hummingbird at a Cardinal Flower (click photos to enlarge)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is a brilliant red flower named after the red robes worn by Roman Catholic cardinals. It grows naturally in damp soil, often along stream banks throughout much of our state. It is adaptable and grows well in any area with good soil, sun or part shade. The impressive flower stalk can bloom from July into September, with flowers opening from the bottom up. The plants are protandrous, meaning the male parts (stamens and anthers) mature before the female flower parts (style and stigma). The stamens form a tube around the immature female style. When the flower first opens, the style expands and pushes the anthers with the pollen out the top of the tube like a plunger. Thus, when a flower first opens, it has pollen dangling from the tip of that tube, ready to be deposited on the head of a visiting hummingbird. As the flower matures, the style continues to grow, and extends beyond the flower tube, the anthers wither, and the stigma becomes receptive to pollen. On any one flower stalk, you will likely have flowers near the top still releasing pollen while those below have receptive stigmas ready to receive pollen. As a hummingbird visits various flowers, it will pick up pollen on top of its head from some and deposit pollen grains on the receptive stigmas of others.
-Five stamens are joined to form a tube around the style and are topped with a mustache-looking brush when the flower is releasing pollen. The brush-like “hairs” may help disperse the pollen more effectively.
-As the flower matures, the style pushes the now receptive stigma out the top of the tube. When a hummingbird sticks its beak into the flower to get the nectar, pollen grains on its head can be transferred to the stigma.
Due to the shape of the flower, the nectar is too deep for most pollinators to reach. Some bees will cut holes in the flower to “rob” nectar. Several large specie of butterflies can reach it with their long proboscis, but they rarely make contact with the reproductive parts of the flower and therefore don’t transfer pollen. But hummingbirds are a perfect fit. As they push their bill into the flower for nectar, the fused tube with either pollen or a receptive stigma, bends down to make contact with their head. Two slow motion video clips below show a hummingbird visiting a cardinal flower outside our window,
Cardinal flowers apparently produce copious amounts of nectar as hummingbirds make regular visits to each flower stalk in between bouts at the various feeders and other nectar-producing wildflowers (they also really like the Jewelweed blooming right now) scattered around the yard.
As much as the hummingbirds and I love these plants, it seems a couple of other denizens of our wildlife-friendly yard do as well, and that creates some conflicts (at least in my mind). Whenever a rabbit sets up territory within our deer fence, it never fails to seek out and cut down any cardinal flower it comes across. I have helped that situation by placing some green wire cages around certain vulnerable plants.
The other critter is more problematic. A few years ago, I started seeing heavy chewing on the leaves of my cardinal flowers. I finally found the culprit after some careful searching – a small green caterpillar the blends perfectly with the stem and leaf petioles as it voraciously consumes all parts of the plant.
-When we go away for a few days, this is often what many of our Cardinal Flowers look like when we return – everything chewed to the nub, including the flowers and seed capsules
The defoliator is a sort of plain green caterpillar, one of these that can be tough to identify because of all the look-alikes. After a lot of searching, I think I finally know what is eating all my Cardinal Flowers…
-The culprit – I believe it is the caterpillar of the Pink-washed Looper Moth, Enigmogramma basigera
If you know anything about me, you know I am very fond of caterpillars. But this one is testing my limits of tolerance. I am amazed that there will often be several different sizes of this caterpillar on one plant, as if a moth is laying an egg every day or two. They are quite difficult to see, especially the smaller ones, as they blend in very well and often hide underneath the leaves. I have also found several of the pupae under the few remaining leaf pieces on a particularly hard hit plant. I have started hand-picking them and tossing them, hopefully to end up as a tasty snack for the many species of birds that scour our yard jungle for food.
-A hummingbird enjoying nectar from one of the remaining Cardinal Flowers in our yard
These moths must have a spotty distribution as I have local friends with plenty of Cardinal Flowers in their gardens that have no issues. But, someone in a local native plant group recently posted a photo of their defoliated plants (both Cardinal Flower and Great Blue Lobelia – these larvae are apparently Lobelia specialists) asking people to help figure out what was happening. They had a rabbit fence around their garden but still suspected some sort of mammal. Various comments suggested deer or a rabbit somehow evading the fence. I commented on their post and suggested they look closely for these little green caterpillars. They quickly responded that my theory was “spot on” and their plants had several of the voracious little larvae.
Ah, the trials and tribulations of “gardening for wildlife”. Guess I’ll just need to keep buying Cardinal Flower plants so that there hopefully will be enough for both birds and bugs.
Making your bed is a simple way to start your day off on the right foot.
~Martha Stewart
Ever since my friend Jerry posted some videos about the ‘possums in his back woods, I have been fascinated by the goings-on of our local marsupials. Because of Jerry’s fascinating footage of his critters, I bought a trail camera, then another, and…I now have seven of them scattered about in the woods hoping to capture anything interesting that my wild neighbors might be doing. But, I must admit, the neighborhood opossums are high on my list of subjects to spy on. We seem to have quite a good population, in spite of the coyotes and bobcats that occasionally show up on cameras. When I discovered a well-worn trail last year at the root ball of a large hickory that had blown over in a storm, I set up cameras to see who was passing by. It turned out to be a lot of critters use the trail, from raccoons to squirrels, but the resident mammals were a group of Virginia Opossums. And I finally got some brief footage of a momma ‘possum with a joey on her back and some young opossums near the den back in May.
I had hoped to get a lot more footage of the young opossums around the den, but they disappeared after only a few days and the adults seemed to have left the den about that same time, although one did occasionally walk by or stop to sniff the area. I decided to leave one of the cameras focused on the den (which is in a hole in the root ball of the downed tree). And it has paid off as the den seems to be active again. A little over a week ago, an adult opossum started some home renovations by gathering leaves to make up a new bed. The process seems a lot less complicated than our recent home remodel efforts – just grab a mouthful of leaves and pass them under your belly to your tail, then repeat. Finally, when you have enough, carry them into the house and make your bed! No plans, no budgets, no contractors, no inspections.
Here are a few clips of the Virginia Opossum gathering leaves for a sprucing up of the old homestead.
The camera captured the opossum repeating this procedure four times. Apparently, that’s enough for a nice new Possumpedic mattress.
One thing that troubled me back in May was the sudden disappearance of the young joeys. I figured they had fallen prey to one of the many predators that roam our woods. But this last week, the cameras caught a young opossum going into that same den twice, both very quick clips. It seems more than one opossum can use the same hole, or at least visit for a spell. I also documented a couple of young opossums crossing a log a few hundred feet from the old den site. Below is a clip showing two Virginia Opossums crossing the same log – note the size comparison between a young opossum and an adult.
National Moth Week (NMW) is now officially over for 2023. This celebration of the insects of the evening was last week, July 22-30. It is meant to bring awareness to the incredible diversity of the nocturnal insects that many of us only see as something flitting around our windows or porch lights at night. Scientists estimate there are between 150,000 and 500,000 species of moths in the world. Here in North Carolina, there are close to 3000 species and the list is growing every year. That is one of the reasons for the worldwide effort of NMW – to learn about and document moths. We we are still learning so much about this amazing group of insects. Many moths are quite cryptic, and go unnoticed during the day. And there is so much to learn about the life cycles and ecological connections of many species. I am amazed when I finally identify a moth I have never seen to species and then find out online that we don’t know what the larvae feed on. NMW is a chance for “moth-ers” to become citizen scientists and record and share their observations with various online biological data repositories like iNaturalist.
We have a couple of black lights and some sheets that we set up on the front and back of the house to attract night-flying insects (moths are not the only things that come to the lights). Then we go outside and check to see who we have and attempt to photograph and identify them. I compile and submit those observations to iNaturalist. This is also a great way to add many new species to a project I started a few weeks ago to document all the invertebrates that we have here on our property (more on that in a future post).
Last Friday we had a moth party (if it were a dance it would be called a moth ball) and had a few friends over to share in our nerdiness. That same evening we also were one of the presenters of a virtual moth night hosted by Science Across North Carolina. Several people were livestreaming to the SANC YouTube channel from a number of different places. Our friend and museum scientist, Chris Goforth, was helping coordinate the effort and we had a blast.
So, here are just a few of the highlights of our efforts this past week at recording who is on the night shift in our woods. I have attempted to identify these using various apps and field guides and then posting on iNaturalist. But, if you see an error, drop me a note in the comments section. I don’t give sizes here, but photos were primarily taken on a white sheet (notice the weave for size comparisons) or the exterior wooden siding of our house, so you can see many of the subjects are quite small.
-Dimorphic Tosale Moth. Larval host plants are apparently unknown (click photos to enlarge).
-Beaded Lacewing. Okay, a lot of non-moths are attracted to the lights. If I got this ID correct, this critter is related to antlions and other Neuropterans. The larvae supposedly eat termites. And one reference I saw says the larvae (not sure if this is the case with this species) of this group approaches a termite and releases a toxic vapor from its rear end that immobilizes the termite so it can then be eaten. The article said the larvae basically “farts their prey to death”!
-Dotted Leaftier Moth. I love the patterns on various moths.
-Bent-line Gray, another subtle looker.
-Ilia Underwing. Though beautiful as is, the real surprise comes when this large moth opens its wings to reveal a bright flash of salmon color on its hind wings (you can see a hint of it where the wings meet).
-Red-fringed Emerald. This beautiful little moth has a reddish-brown early spring form and this emerald green summer form.
-Another non-moth, a massive Triceratops Beetle. The larvae live in rotting wood.
-Zebra Conchylodes Moth. I had never seen this one before and it is a stunner! Larvae feed on asters.
-The Hebrew Moth. Named for the resemblance of the wing markings to a Hebrew letter (nun). The caterpillar feeds exclusively on species of gum (Nyssa sp.)
-Juniper Geometer Moth. Also called the Juniper-twig Geometer. As the name implies, the larvae feed on Eastern Red Cedar (and possibly pines) in our region.
-Esther Moth. Another one whose larvae feed on pines.
-Oblique-banded Leafroller Moth. Larvae roll leaves of various trees to feed and hide.
–Macrocera sp. Belonging to a group known as Predatory Fungus Gnats, the larvae of which spin a web with droplets of acid fluids which kill their tiny invertebrate prey.
The following pics are from our moth night event last Friday. Again, this is but a sampler of the many species we recorded.
Banded or Sycamore Tussock Moth. I love the subtle pattern and colors of this group (you cannot distinguish between the two species without dissecting the genitalia of the adult moths!)
-Gold-striped Grass Veneer. A delicate little moth whose larvae are believed to feed on grasses.
-Eastern Hercules Beetle. One of my favorite non-moths to visit the lights. One of North America’s largest insects, this is a huge male (note the horns, females lack those). One reference said they are harmless to people, which is true…but they tend to be rather erratic flyers, and a female hit me right in the forehead last week. It didn’t hurt, but, needless to say, it startled me.
-Baltimore Snout. A distinctive moth with its triangular shape, bold markings, and “snout”, which is actually a pair of labial palps.
-Grape Leaffolder Moth. Larvae fold leaves and feed primarily on various species of grape and Virginia Creeper. Adults are day-flying moths but are also attracted to lights at night.
-Yellow-collared Slug Moth (also called the Inverted Y-Moth as its scientific name, based on the wing markings, is Apoda y-inversum. If anyone knows why many species of moths perch with their abdomen sticking up in the air, please drop me a note.
–Calyptoproctus marmoratus, another non-moth – a huge (1 inch long) plant hopper. It looks like a cross between a cicada and a plant hopper. This native species is related to the invasive Spotted Lanternfly.
-Southern Flying Squirrel. This little guy (and two of his friends) were the real stars of the show on Friday. Non-moths for sure (athough I believe they will consume moths that they can catch). One to three flying squirrels have been coming to the bird feeders every night for the past few weeks to dine on sunflower seeds. Even with three of them on the feeder, they don’t cause it to drop down to block the feeding ports as does just one Eastern Gray Squirrel. We livestreamed these to the SANC viewers and managed to get quite close images as this one stayed on the feeder as I slowly pulled it (it is on a pulley system) closer to the deck as Melissa filmed it with her phone. I took one shot with my camera as it happily fed while giving us the side eye.
-Rosy Maple Moth. One of our favorites, this beauty is a member of the Giant Silk Moth family, though it is not nearly as large as many of its cousins. We find the larvae mainly on maples. Adults, like other members of this family, have no functional mouth parts and do not feed.
-Imperial Moth. This was the largest moth (they can reach up to 6 inches in wing span) to visit us on our moth night (unfortunately about 5 minutes after our friends left at 11 p.m.). Their caterpillars are also huge and come in 4 color morphs.
I encourage everyone to seek out your local moth fauna. It can be as simple as leaving on a porch light for a few hours and checking out who flies in. But, please don’t leave your outside lights on all night as many insects get “trapped” by the lights and will remain at that spot until daybreak when they become easy victims for birds, outdoor cats, or other predators.
There are a lot of great resources out there if you decide you want to identify your moths. For our region, I recommend: The Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Southeastern North America; apps like SEEK and LEPS; and to confirm what you have found and learn more, websites such as BugGuide and the Moths of North Carolina.
Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.
~Anne Frank
This past weekend, I drove down to Myrtle Beach State Park (yes, there is such a thing) to visit our good friends Scott and Ann. Ann is a ranger at the park and they both are superb naturalists. The park was the first SC State Park, opening in 1936. It is 312 acres of green and 1 mile of ocean beach in an otherwise sea of human-dominated terrain, the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach. Look up and down the beach front beyond the park boundary and you see buildings, lots of them. The traffic on a summer weekend is insane and the pace of development throughout the region is incredible. The airport runway is just a little way from the park so plane noise and tourist-filled helicopter flyovers are frequent. And yet, that park and the nearby Huntington Beach State Park are some of the best places I know to see and photograph a huge variety of wildlife from birds to alligators to denizens of the ocean. I arrived mid-afternoon and we headed for a late lunch/early dinner before the crowds descended on all the local eateries. It was apparently a good omen when a Roseate Spoonbill landed along the marsh creek off the deck of the restaurant and gave us a good view.
After lunch, we headed over to Huntington Beach SP. This park is unique in that there are 3 large bodies of water inland of the ocean – a freshwater marsh and swamp, a brackish pond and marsh complex, and a tidal salt marsh. The entrance road is on a causeway that cuts between the salt marsh and brackish pond. We headed to the path locals call the Straight Road as there were not a lot of birds in the salt marsh as yet, but the tide was dropping so the action should pick up later.
-A nest of baby Green Herons in the trees along the walkway (click photos to enlarge)
There is a line of shrubs and trees on both sides of the walkway that provide nesting habitat for a variety of birds including night herons, Green Herons, and Anhingas. You might also find yourself sharing the path with an American Alligator as it crosses between the fresh and brackish ponds
-One of several alligators that crossed the path while we were there. This is about a 5-footer. It’s a treat to see them walking on land since most of the time you just see their head and back in the water.
-They often come out of the water and then lay on the path for a few minutes before crossing.
It seems that most people are looking for alligators when they visit this part of the park and we enjoyed helping folks spot them. At one point, a very nice family from France stopped us and asked about where to see the gators. We showed them a couple and several species of birds, They were very interested in nature so we had a great time chatting with them. One of the boys spotted something on the ground and asked us what it was…none of us knew. The father thought it might be a leech, but we naturalists thought it was probably the larva of an insect. It vaguely resembled a Rat-tailed Maggot, the larva of a type of hoverfly, but it was more armored-looking and it was crawling around on the ground next to the freshwater pond. Even our SEEK app just said “Insects”. I took a few photos and we promised we would email them if we found out.
-I posted the photo on iNaturalist which gave the best possible ID as a larva of a type of Soldier Fly, most likely in the genus, Stratiomys. The larvae are aquatic (that “tail” is a breathing tube) but they occasionally do crawl on land, which is where this one was found.
After ending our time on the Straight Road, we headed over to the causeway to see what might be happening at peak low tide, a favorite time for various birds to hunt for food on the salt marsh channel right next to the road. There was a flock of ancient-looking Wood Storks standing along the marsh edge. Some were preening, some feeding, but most just hanging out…what strange-looking creatures with that scaly neck and huge bill.
-A large flock of Wood Stork in the marsh along the causeway
-A face a mother could love (I suppose)
Wood Storks are one of the largest breeding wading birds in North America and our only stork. Their unusual appearance has given rise to some other colorful common names such as Ironhead and Flinthead. Sexes look alike and young birds are similar but usually have some downy feathers on their neck. They have expanded their breeding range northward since the 1970’s when habitat conditions in South Florida started declining. They feed primarily on fish which they capture by slowly walking in shallow water, gently swinging their head with an open beak in the water. They are tactile feeders rather than visual, relying on their sensitive beak to snap shut before an encountered fish or other aquatic organism can escape. They often use foot-stirring to startle fish into their beak as they walk along.
I had really hoped to photograph some of the 20+ Roseate Spoonbills that have been seen this summer along the causeway. Low tide was a great time for them to be feeding but the only ones we could find were in the brackish pond or far out in the marsh, both too far for photos. Finally, a lone spoonbill came flying in.
-Roseate Spoonbills are one of 6 species of spoonbills worldwide and the only one in the New World. Their distinctive pink color and spatulate bill make them easy to identify.
Huntington Beach SP is one of the best places I know that you can reliably see spoonbills without driving much farther south. They are seen here in summer and into the fall months. The pink color can be variable depending on their diet (this one wasn’t as pink as most I have seen in the past). The color comes from carotenoid pigments formed by various algae. Shrimp and other crustaceans eat the algae and the spoonbills eat them. Adult birds tend to be darker pink.
-The spoonbill used its strange bill to gently preen under its wings. There is a slight hooked tip to both the upper and lower bill. This probably helps grab prey items but it must also make it easier to preen feathers.
We had hoped for some late afternoon sunlight to provide that golden hour glow for some photos, but an incoming thunderstorm had different plans. As the light decreased, the spoonbill seemed to get even more energetic in its feeding. I took a few short videos of its feeding style – an intense head swing back and forth while moving swiftly though the shallow water. Video was far more forgiving than trying to take stills of all this motion in the low light.
A Tri-colored Heron came in near the spoonbill and exhibited yet another feeding style – the low crouch and wait. When a fish swam near, the bird snagged it with one quick jab.
-A Tri-colored Heron patiently waits for a fish to swim near…
-A quick jab and the bird speared a nice evening snack of a small mullet
Next morning I woke up to find that Ann had already left (about 6 a.m. I think) to relocate a sea turtle nest. She, and a team of trained volunteers, are on call to relocate sea turtle nests from the heavily impacted beaches of the city to a more protected stretch of sand at the dune line in the park. Scott and I were about ready to head out when she came back and took the Loggerhead Sea Turtle eggs over to the beach to be re-buried. Ann has been doing this for many years and is a real pro at the protocols and instruction training for the volunteers. A couple of young park visitors had joined the group to observe by the time we arrived and listened intently as Ann explained what was happening. The nest had 106 eggs which volunteers carefully placed into a new nest hole they had dug. The nest is covered with sand and then a protective sheet of plastic screening is staked over it to keep out predators like raccoons and foxes. The final step is adding a sign identifying it as a protected spot and explaining how we all can help turtles (and other coastal wildlife) by reducing the impact of our visits to these beautiful shores. It reminded me of my time as a park naturalist and working with sea turtle nests at Hammocks Beach State Park many years ago. Some of the techniques are similar, but we know so much more about sea turtles now and have made great progress in getting the message out about their protection.
-The nest was relocated and protected with screening and information for park visitors
After that, we headed back over to Huntington Beach to look for more birds and other wildlife. Since the tide was high and still coming in, we headed to the north end of the beach to walk out to the jetty at Murrells Inlet. We beat a lot of the crowd out to the beach but it was already pretty hot with little breeze, and my bum knee made the 1.3 mile walk seem a bit longer. As we neared the jetty a couple said they had just seen a mink between the rocks, supposedly a rather common site these days on the jetty. We didn’t manage to find a mink, but the ocean water was exceptionally clear and Ann knew to be on the lookout for juvenile Green Sea Turtles. They are regular visitors to the jetty, having a somewhat more omnivorous diet when young. Sure enough we hadn’t walked far when she spotted one. Now, getting a photo of one, even with the clear water, isn’t easy. They are fast swimmers and usually just poke their head above water once for air and are gone.
-A juvenile Green Sea Turtle pops up for a breath of air
We continued walking and came across a Snowy Egret fishing off the jetty’s boulders.
-A nice snack for the Snowy Egret. Scott thought it might be a blenny of some sort based on the body shape and the fact they are an abundant fish species on the jetty.
Walking back, we saw a second juvenile sea turtle. Notice the barnacles on this one that are lacking on the one in the previous photo. Loggerhead Sea Turtles are the dominant breeder on these beaches with only an occasional Green (or Kemp’s Ridley or Leatherback) laying eggs in this region. But juvenile Greens are frequently seen at the jetty or off the fishing pier from April to November.
-Another juvenile Green Sea Turtle off the jetty…check out those chompers!
As someone said, the walk to the jetty is 2 miles out and 5 miles back. It certainly seems that way on a hot day. We escaped to the nature center to eat lunch in the breezy shade under the deck. The park maintains a bird feeding station and some much sought-after bird diners regularly appear. Painted Buntings are a favorite species for many park visitors and this is a place where you are almost guaranteed to see them. There were two males regularly visiting the feeder along with a Red-bellied Woodpecker, some finches, and, eventually, a stunning Red-headed Woodpecker. It was the middle of the day, the light was harsh, and it seemed neither bird nor photographer wanted to be out in the sun. But it was still fun to see these wildly colorful male birds, considered by many to be the most beautiful bird in North America.
-A male Painted Bunting waits his turn in the deep shade before flying out to the feeder.
-A Red-headed Woodpecker shows off his colors after opening a seed
I headed home before a line of storms reached the beach area, driving through the dense developments, car wash places, and seemingly endless sea of t-shirt shops that characterize this beach town environment. Hard to believe you can find such natural beauty hidden in some remaining pockets of habitat and that so many species are able to co-exist with the crowds, noise, and lights. We should all appreciate folks like my friends that help manage these lands and the wildlife for the rest of us to enjoy…thank you all.
Last month, I dropped Melissa off at the airport at a ridiculous hour (4 a.m.) for her Yellowstone workshop. The upside was that I could make it to my favorite place, Pungo, by sunrise. So, off I went on what was to be a hot sunny day, arriving at Pungo about 6:15 a.m. I headed over to “Bear Road” and discovered 2 vehicles already there. Bummer…it is getting next to impossible to have it like it was in the “good ol’ days” when I could go anywhere on the refuge and have some alone time with the wildlife (who told all these people about this place anyway?:). I decided to drive around in hopes of seeing some critters. My first stop was along a canal to watch an Eastern Kingbird, supreme ruler of its domain. With a scientific name like Tyrannus tyrannus, you know this is one tough bird. I have seen them attack raptors of all sizes that dared to cross the airspace of their territory (even landing on the back of and pecking away at a Bald Eagle once!).
-An Eastern Kingbird scoping its territory and perhaps thinking “I could take you down, you know!” (click photos to enlarge)
But, as always, I was hoping to have some quiet time watching one of my favorite animals, the Black Bears. My first one of the day came out of the edge of a corn field and headed down a grassy road as I drove up. I stopped and watched as it ambled away. The large boar finally stood up to survey the scene, and then slowly sauntered off into the woods.
-A large bear stands up to look around before heading into the woods
I decided to look around for a place to walk (sadly, this is getting more difficult on my favorite refuge as more and more roads are being closed off even during the non-waterfowl season). I slowly headed down a grassy road with no closed signage just to get out and hear the soundscape that Pungo offers. It is a rarity these days to be able to just hear nature without human background noises and it is just one of the many reasons I love this place. After going only a couple of hundred feet, a large bear stepped out of the underbrush and looked my way.
-This large boar bear steps out down the road and checks me out.
-I stood still as it made its way across the road, occasionally grazing on some vegetation. One last look to make sure I hadn’t moved, and it was off into the trees
I drove bck over to Bear Road and saw even more cars so I decided to head to other wild places for the middle part of the day. I drove through Mattamuskeet and got out to walk a short trail, but really didn’t see anything photo-worthy. Unfortunately, the Phragmites grass has blocked much of the viewing areas on the north side of Wildlife Drive and along the causeway. On to Alligator River NWR. Arriving after lunch in the heat of summer lessens your chances of seeing anything and that was the case that day. The one really noticeable critter was an overabundance of horse flies. I don’t think I have ever seen as many, so my time outside of the car was limited. Driving slowly along they were constantly banging against the car windows apparently daring me to get out. I felt sorry for any wildlife or humans that might be out on this day.
At one point, I saw someone standing next to a vehicle holding a camera. I stopped and waited, not wanting to disturb anything he was photographing. I didn’t see anything and he started to get back in his car. As I pulled up, he kindly pointed out a small American Alligator lurking under some vegetation at the edge of the canal.
-A small American Alligator in one of the roadside canals at Alligator River NWR. This is the first time I have see one in the refuge canals ((I usually see them in Milltail Creek or in the canals along Hwy 64)
The horse flies helped make my decision to head back over to Pungo earlier than planned. When I arrived, I saw a young bear out in the road. It kept going around and returning to one spot sniffing. Perhaps someone had dropped some food? When it went back into the brush, I drove on and pulled onto Bear Road. Only two cars (the same ones that had been there that morning I believe). I could see two people on E-bikes headed toward me. I thought they might be leaving which encouraged me to get out and head down the road.
-A young bear out in the road sniffing around. This little guy might be on its own for the first time this summer.
Walking down the road, I spotted a male Blue Grosbeak through the vegetation.
-A Blue Grosbeak partially hidden behind some tall grasses along the edge of Bear Road
It turns out the E-bike riders were just cruising instead of leaving. They continued to go back and forth along Bear Road for the entire time I was there, pausing in one location for many minutes and then moving again. I have to admit, I have really mixed feelings about E-Bikes on this refuge. While they do allow people easy access to dirt roads where vehicles aren’t allowed (especially people that might have difficulty walking considerable distances), I imagine the wildlife (and people like me) feel a bit disturbed by their presence. This is particularly true if they are just cruising back and forth. When someone walking goes down a dirt road, wildlife will often wait in hiding until that person passes and then sneak across the road. It seems all that movement along this well-used bear habitat has the potential to create more disturbance. Anyway, I have a feeling public land managers may need to look at the E-bike use and develop some guidelines in the near future. I am seeing more and more of them at Pungo, especially for people looking to photograph bears. And the fact that so many other dirt roads have restricted access is tending to concentrate more and more visitors in this one area.
-A typical view of a Black Bear feeding in a crop field (this is a soybean field). At this distance, the bears do not seem disturbed by people along the road observing them
After being passed a couple of times by the folks on the E-bikes, I decided to head elsewhere for some alone time. I went back to the grassy road I had walked earlier. I quickly spotted a Wild Turkey and then saw some sort of canid far down the road heading the other way. I think it was a Red Wolf, but I can’t be sure (could have been a Coyote) due to the distance and the tall grasses. Soon, another bear comes out of the woods.
-This is what you see when a bear eases out of the trees into tall grass
I saw it well before it noticed me. I knelt down and watched as the bear sampled some vegetation and moved slowly back and forth along the opening. Suddenly, it stopped and stood up. It was turning its head slightly from side to side so I am guessing it had caught my scent (which might have been significant in that heat and humidity!).
-The bear stood up, sniffing the breeze.
He finally looked my way and probably saw my blob of a form down the road. He dropped down and slowly eased into the woods in the direction he had been going.
After my walk, I decided to end the day by just cruising the roads to see what I might encounter. I got out along D-canal Road to scan the fields for bears and suddenly a Killdeer came zipping by. I think there might have been a nest nearby as every time I drove by this area I would see a pair of Killdeer running around and then flying. I got back in the car and headed out to give them a little peace.
-A Killdeer flies by
My final bear of the day came as I drove along the now one-way section of road south of Pungo Lake. I pulled in to the trailhead parking at Duck Pen Observation Area and soon spotted a large male bear slowly walking toward me almost 1/4 mile away. I got out and sat near the car and waited and watched as the big bear slowly plodded down the road, swinging its huge head from side to side and occasionally sniffing something along the road edge.
-My final bear of the day lumbering down the road toward me
-The bear finally spotted me and the car and paused.. he walked a few more steps and then sidled over into the grass along the road edge before disappearing into the woods
These photos were all taken with a 700mm equivalent lens and cropped, so I am not as close to these bears as it looks. But, being there and being able to watch their behaviors without a crowd of folks was a real treat. When this big guy waked into the woods, I got back in my car and drove off. As I drove past where he had entered the trees I looked but couldn’t see anything in the dense vegetation. Just before I reached the curve at the far end I looked back in my rear view mirror and saw the bear come back out onto the road and continue plodding along.
I ended the day with 15 bear sightings, all at Pungo. Black Bear mating season will be winding down soon and the big males will probably become less visible. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t see any cubs, but with all the big boys wandering around, the mother bears were probably keeping their young ones out of the open areas. The bears of Eastern North Carolina are very special to me. I hope we can continue to coexist with them and preserve these public lands as places we can spend time observing them. To ensure that is the case, we must all take precautions to try to minimize our influence on their daily lives when we are in their habitat. Use binoculars, spotting scopes, and telephoto lenses when watching or photographing bears. Don’t pursue them for a photo, let them go where they want to go. Bears are creatures of habit and often use the same path to cross into the crop fields to feed. Give them space to do that and don’t sit for long periods at those crossover points. And certainly don’t feed any wildlife. If you eat food out on the refuge, don’t leave any scraps behind. I realize that by just being there, we are probably altering their movements and behaviors. But, we can all try to limit our impacts while still having the privilege of witnessing these amazing creatures. Observing bears in the wild is a thrill that I hope future generations of visitors will continue to enjoy…it is truly something that can inspire awe and wonder in anyone lucky enough to experience it.
And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.
~F. Scott Fitzgerald,The Great Gatsby
Things have been relatively quiet on the trail cameras the past month. No coyote sightings in several weeks, and even the squirrels seem to be taking a vacation in our woods (though not the ones learning to get to our hanging bird feeder). But one thing has been showing up – young animals. June and July are the months when many young critters start to get out and follow their moms around to learn the ways of the woods. At our place that means White-tailed Deer fawns and Raccoon kits.
Here are a few clips of forest cuteness from our property…
The most common baby animal footage was of deer fawns. The well-known spots on baby deer help them blend into the sun-dappled forest floor. This is especially important when their mom leaves them in one place as she goes off to feed. Lying on the ground motionless, and virtually scentless, they are difficult for predators to find. Fawns typically lose their spots after 3 to 4 months. One online resource said the average number of spots on a fawn’s coat ranges from 272-342. And each spot is between about 1/4 to 1/2 inches in diameter…now you know.
In addition to the mammal babies, there are lots of insect and spider youngsters in our wildflower beds and the bluebirds have just laid another set of eggs. You gotta love the abundance of summer!
-This is the third bluebird nest this season in the box in our yard
This is the final post about our trip in May. After leaving South Dakota, we headed for another favorite – the Sandhills of Nebraska and the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest (still seems surprising to find a national forest in the sandhills!). We had camped in this area before and decided to take a couple of side “roads” (sandy two-rutted trails through the grasslands) to check them out for a possible new camping spot. After driving a bit, we decided we preferred the scenery at our previous campsite and headed that way.
-A type of beardtongue (Penstemonsp.) growing in the grasslands of the Sandhills (click photos to enlarge)
-One of the prairie wildflowers known as puccoon (Lithospermum sp.). The common name comes from the Powhatan word, poughkone, which refers to the dye produced from the roots. The genus names translates to “rock seed” and refers to the very hard seeds of this plant.
As always, we heard and saw a lot of birds as we traversed the open grasslands, especially Grasshopper Sparrows. They were seemingly everywhere, singing their buzzy songs.
-A Grasshopper Sparrow putting what seems like a lot of effort into its song which is more like an insect-like buzz than a bird sound
-A new bird for us was the Upland Sandpiper. When we looked it up in our online field guide it said… “A distinctive sandpiper found in areas with short grass, frequently seen perched on fence posts”. Yup, that’s it. Melissa wrote in her journal that these birds “have the best song, like Prairie Warblers, but more musical and with a scream at the end!”. Listen here…one reference says the song ends in a “wolf whistle” (photo by Melissa Dowland)
-A panorama from our campsite in the Sandhills. A highlight was the next morning, I looked out and saw three Pronghorn staring at us from several hundred yards away. It was great to see such an iconic open grasslands animal in this habitat. Now, if only Bison could return…
-Not your typical national forest dispersed campsite
-Looking back at camp from our hike into the grasslands that surrounded us
-A windmill and stock tank for providing water for cattle grazing on the public lands. We walked over to take a look and found a surprise…
-This beautiful Ornate Box Turtle had somehow climbed into the stock tank (from the overhanging shrub?), but had no chance of getting out and was floating in the water. I gently placed it on the ground and it scurried away through the grass. Populations are declining in its range due to habitat loss and fragmentation. We helped another as it was crossing a road the next day.
From McKelvie, we traveled a short distance to re-visit another wildlife refuge, Valentine NWR. The wind was gusting so many of the birds were sheltering in the many roadside thickets. Yellow Warblers and Orchard Orioles were abundant, but tough to photograph in the shrubs. I was standing near some willow trees trying to get a photograph of an oriole when I saw a Common Nighthawk swirling in the wind and dropping into the tree next to me.
-A Common Nighthawk with its distinctive white patches on the wings. This is probably an adult male due to the white tail band and white throat patch, both of which are usually lacking or indistinct on adult females
The name is a bit misleading, as it seems, due to population declines, this species is no longer that common over much of its range (although we did see and hear them feeding on aerial insects at sunset at a couple of our campsites). And it is most active at dawn and dusk (not at night) and is not related to hawks, but rather is a type of nightjar related to birds such as Whip-poor-wills and Chucks-will’s-widows.
-The Common Nighthawk landed on a tree branch, aligning itself with the length of the branch (most birds sit perpendicular to a branch). Its cryptic coloration really helps it blend in.
On our last visit to this refuge we had seen some Sharp-tailed Grouse scooting across one of the dirt roads. They had quickly vanished into the grasses and brush as we had approached. On this trip, refuge staff had recently conducted prescribed burns, and as we drove along we spotted a grouse hiding at the base of some burned shrubs right next to the road. These birds are a bit larger than our Ruffed Grouse that we have here in the East.
-A Sharp-tailed Grouse trying to hide in habitat recently burned
After Nebraska, we pointed the truck to familiar sites on our long drive home – Brickyard Hill Conservation Area in Missouri and Shawnee National Forest in Illinois. These areas have been reliable spots for us on each trip out west, so no need to change now.
-Our campsite at Brickyard Hill Conservation Area. One big plus is that it is near Loess Bluffs NWR, which we visited the next morning on our way south.
Loess Bluffs NWR is a favorite stop on our westward trips as it is conveniently located along I-29 in Missouri, a route we often take coming or going on these truck adventures. The refuge has an excellent auto tour road that passes through numerous habitat types. Unfortunately, on this visit about half of the road was closed for repairs, so we had a shortened stay. Still, birds were numerous (but most were not very cooperative for images).
-An Eastern Wood-peewee was one of the few birds that posed for us (photo by Melissa Dowland)
-A male Dickcissel singing. Males do not assist with the care of young but rather spend the breeding season vigorously defending their territories. Dickcissels are somewhat solitary on the breeding grounds but gather in huge flocks (sometimes numbering in the millions) on their wintering grounds in Venezuela.
Our final night was spent dispersed camping near Jackson Falls in Shawnee NF. Lots of bird activity at sunrise with the sounds of Great-crested Flycatchers, Wood Thrushes, Kentucky Warblers, and Ovenbirds floating through the trees. We made a stop in Asheville for dinner at 7 Clans Brewing and had dinner from the best food truck I have ever sampled – The Garden. We highly recommend both venues.
That last day is always a long one – about 11 hours plus the dinner stop. We got home well after dark but still could see the adequate rains in our absence had transformed our yard into a jungle. It was another glorious adventure, covering 5656 miles in 18 days. The bird life was incredible as was the scenery. And Melissa worked her navigating magic again finding us wonderful remote dispersed sites and snagging some excellent campground locations. Until next time, I’ll leave you with a map of our travels…(ignore the letter codes).
-Our route from May 9 – May 26, 2023 (the lower leg was on the way out) – 5656 miles
Roads End Naturalist 