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A Noisy Blue Jay
A Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), a member of the Corvidae family. They make a lot of noise. Imitating sounds of human activity around them and sometimes even imitating the sound of the human voice. Other birds are part of their quite accurate repertoire, hawks, chickadees, catbirds, goldfinches to name a few. Some would say that…
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Evasive Agaric, A Beautiful Fungus
I am often awestruck by the beauty of things in nature. Mushrooms come to mind when I’m thinking of what is beautiful around me. These saprobic fungi are a good example, reminding me of something made of delicate lace. Saprobic fungi, meaning they break down organic matter. Lovely to look at and they help the…
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A Very Quiet Afternoon
Outside on a very quiet afternoon. No sounds at all except for a call that is not familiar at all to me. Sort of a quick nasally mewy sound. I’m hearing this sound maybe once every couple minutes. Finally I see the source of the calls. It’s a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) further up in…
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Incredible Sunset
Looking through the trees at the horizon. An incredible display of color reveals itself this evening as the sun is setting. The clouds reflecting the color of the sunset to the ground, and me. A matter of just a few minutes later it is gone. Poof! _______________________ If you would like to receive my daily…
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Ever Present
A friendly little critter that sings to me and scolds me without fail. I have read that this is a shy bird. Hmmm. That doesn’t sound like this bird. This is a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), a bird that is always around chattering away. One that doesn’t hold back. It is said that the male…
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A Dusting Of Snow
This morning. First morning light and I was elated to see an exquisite dusting of snow over everything. Perhaps a promise of more to come over the next few months. Above, delicate snowflakes clinging to a crystalline spiderweb. Captured December 9, 2017. _______________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email,…
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A Raven
A Common Raven (Corvus corax), looking rather disheveled. A flock of Ravens is called an unkindness. Oh dear, that would be hard to take. The length of the Common Raven is between 22 and 27 inches inches and a wing span of 4 feet. They have a distinctive low gutturall croak call, quite different from…
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A BIG Bird Day
Yesterday was a big day for birds, with a list of birds I saw, much longer than usual. There was one though that was a BIG bird. Considerably larger than I usually see. A Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). The second largest hawk found here in Virginia. A species of bird with so many subspecies, that…
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Meteorological Winter!
Mighty cold out there today. But of course it is. It’s the first day of meteorological winter. The temperature here today reached a high of 42º. Some of Skyline Drive, in Shenandoah National Park, has been closed due to icy conditions. Winter, I’m mighty pleased to see you. This picture, ice on Blue Spruce (Picea…
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Eating Berries During The Cold Of Winter
The Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), a small bird that is here all year. During the warm months I love to see the little Phoebe as it consumes lots and lots of insects. As the seasons change and there are fewer insects, the Phoebe will eat berries and small fruits. I’d love to see more of…