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This Caterpillar can Whistle!
Last week I found this little guy crawling on the ground outside the screen porch. I picked it up and it thrashed around until I placed it on a nearby hickory sapling. I recognized it as the larva of the Walnut Sphinx Moth from the unusual angled head capsule and the numerous raised spots arranged Read more
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Cloudless Sulphur
This time of year I often see a bright, clear flash of yellow in the garden and know it is a wanderer, a Cloudless Sulphur butterfly. On my trip to some refuges down east earlier in the week I saw plenty of these vibrant yellow beauties as they are a common species in the coastal Read more
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A Good Day Down East
One of the great things about retirement is the freedom to take advantage of good weather and make a wildlife watching trip on the spur of the moment. Yesterday was one of those days and I spent it in my favorite area in NC – Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. I arrived about 8 a.m. Read more
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Is This a ? Egg?
I glanced out the back of the screen porch the other day and saw a butterfly behaving as if it were going to lay eggs – that typical fluttery flight around a plant that indicates she is searching for just the right spot to lay an egg. The butterfly was one of the anglewings – Read more
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So Many Butterflies… Go FIGure
‘Tis the season… a little later than usual, but the season nonetheless. While I was camping in New England, the figs on the trees outside my garden decided to start ripening in my absence. By the time I returned this past week, they were fully ripe, which had not gone unnoticed by many of my Read more
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Looking for Leviathan
Many years ago I had the privilege of co-leading a week-long whale watching workshop aboard a schooner in Maine for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. It was an experience I will never forget (for many reasons). So, while traveling up the coast of Maine I was looking for opportunities to see whales again. Read more
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Faces in the Forest
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. John Muir I find great peace in a walk in the woods. And I usually find something that causes me to pause and look closer. I appreciate these simple moments of time and reflection and know I am lucky to have the opportunity Read more
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A New Day in New Hampshire
After a day of driving through torrential rains I reached a beautiful Forest Service campground in White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. A few of the campsites had standing water but mine was mainly dry. I could hear the roaring waters of a creek downslope from me as the rain subsided. And then, as Read more
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Mainely Beautiful
I am winding down my camping trip to the north woods and the Maine coast. It has been a glorious week of hiking, camping in almost perfect campsites, and taking in the sights of a stunningly beautiful part of our country. Unlike many of my other outings, this one turned out to be less about Read more
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A Tale of Two Spiders
A friend found this orb spider in the driveway last week. She noticed something wasn’t quite right and called me over. At first glance, the spider looked like it was wearing a white belt. A closer look and I could make out that it wasn’t an arachnid fashion accessory but rather something much more sinister Read more
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Roads End Naturalist 