Fieldnotes
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Single Swallowtail
Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) female. Missing one of her “swallowtails,” perhaps lost to a bird.On Joe-Pye Weed (genus Eutrochium), that pollinator magnet.
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Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is amazing inside and out.Some of the specimens collected by Alfred Russel Wallace himself. This year is the centenary of his death (he lived to be 90).
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Night Walk
A downy woodpecker patrols the trunk of a tree, the white strip down its back almost glowing as the light turns to dark. Above, a blue jay is remarkably quiet as it works out some issues before roosting for the night. As predicted, a young raccoon ambles out from the bushes to start pulling plastic…
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But wait, even more…
At the Totnes Rare Breeds Farm, while I was waiting for a steam train I found this Old Dutch Capuchine Pigeon, a fancy breed once thought extinct.There were also a number of rehab owls at the Farm. This Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) is nine years old. This is the most common owl in Britain.And this…
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All the birds
A Buzzard (Buteo buteo) and an unidentified raptor battling it out over Fenworthy Down. Buzzards, akin to our Red-tailed hawks and no relation to our buzzards (vultures), were frequent distant companions on my long walk. In the same place, another flew sentinel in the face of the wind swooping up the Down, seemingly hanging in…
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Some say in ice
But they would be premature.From late January, ice on Prospect Park Lake.
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Weekend Dragonflies
Got a grip. The handsome Painted Skimmer (Libellula semifasciata), with his conspicuous orange wing pattern. Note the appendages at the tail-end of the abdomen: this is a male. He uses these to grasp females right behind the eyes (damselflies grasp by the neck). More on the wild kingdom of dragonfly sex can be found here,…
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Instar Light, Instar Bright
According to the good bug people at Bugguide.net, this is an instar caterpillar of the Grey Hairstreak (Strymon melinus). Here’s the adult, also seen at BBP. The caterpillar was munching away on some Desmodium trifoliatum. There is some variability in the coloring of these caterpillars; this one was pretty much the color of the flowers,…
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British Birds 3
A fledgling Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes). Wrens are the most common species of bird in the UK. I heard them everyday, but saw them much less frequently. Sly.Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinera), seen with some frequency along and on the rocks of fast moving streams and rivers.White/Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba). Wagtails are named because of their very…
Backyard and Beyond 