Virginia
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Time Flies
It’s already been a week since we returned from Virginia, where the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) were present in force. Nests had been claimed and birds were mating repeatedly. Check out the Route 301 bridge over the Potomac: as co-pilot, I spotted six nests near it (three were right over the road on sign towers, two…
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Turtles Galore
A foot bridge connects the mainland of Jamestown Island with the original settlement of Jamestowne, the first permanent English colony in North America. On a recent visit we barely made it across the old tar and pitch swamp. Because down below in the muck were four species of turtles: Snapper, Painted, Spotted, and Mud, that…
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Obolaria virginica
A gentian family member not easy to spot down in the leaf litter of early spring. This was poking up less than two inches. We found this one, and others, in an unused, unpaved driveway in Virginia. Appropriately enough, since both its species epithet and common name, Virginia Pennywort, reference the state. (Virginia Pennyleaf is…
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Golden Hour
Sunset on the Piankatank. No, as they say, filter.A Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) in the twilight gold. Some of these birds were well into their breeding plumage, others not at all. The tidal Piankatank, a contest between the fresh Dragon Run and the briny Chesapeake, was also host to Common Loons and Buffleheads last week.…
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Beach Tiger Beetle
This is a Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle (Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis), seen last week in Virginia. The Chesapeake region is their last holdout. They used to live on Long Island beaches, but no longer. Creatures evolved to beach habitat — others include the endangered Piping Plover — never saw the four-wheel drive coming. This was at Bethel…
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Osprey Galore
Are you old enough to remember when there were a lot fewer Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)? By the 1960s, numbers were grim because of a history of assassination, egg-collecting, and finally DDT, which weakened their eggs so much the birds were actually crushing their own young during incubation. In 1969, there were an estimated 150 breeding…
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Wool Sower
Galls are some of the most fascinating things found on the planet. At least in my opinion. And this is one of the most spectacular. This is created by a tiny gall wasp, Callirhytis seminator, the Wool Sower Gall (-maker). But of course that is a mis-leading statement. The gall is actually created by the…
Backyard and Beyond 