During a family trip to Baltimore we took the opportunity to visit some favorite spots along the Eastern Shore of VA, especially Kiptopeke and Chincoteague, VA. This is as far east as you can go without getting your feet in […]
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Although frost was delayed last fall until Oct. 20 at our VA farm, I am not counting on such luck this year, and am enjoying every day left of the bounty of summer. Of course fall brings its own natural […]
Although many of our favorite birds have migrated south by late August and early September, there is a great profusion of insect life in the fields and meadows. Thus this time of year I spend a great deal more time […]
We have perhaps four pairs of willow flycatchers breeding near our house in VA and recently were able to document two nests in red twigged dogwoods. This constitutes a new record for late summer breeding for VA and allowed us […]
In late summer there is an intense saga playing out between monarch butterflies and the milkweeds in our hay fields. Although monarchs are in a general decline, we are seeing reasonable numbers at our yard flowers and in the fields […]
Sometimes you are surprised by the abundance of life in an unexpected place. One such paradoxical reservoir of biodiversity is the old field, perhaps thought of as a neglected former pasture or hayfield, or a place […]
As the lazy, hazy days of summer are upon us there are distinct changes in the pace of natural life. The bulk of bird breeding activity is over and fall migration has begun. But insect activity […]
Knowledge is a funny thing- you think you know things but often the information comes from books, the internet or other people and you do not have personal experience to confirm a fact. Recently during an interesting presentation on local […]
When caterpillars are toxic, they tend to be brightly colored and some possess painful spines. Tasty caterpillars are usually well camouflaged; some are green to resemble foliage, some mimic bird droppings or twigs, and some have […]
Some of those animals that we consider predators may sometimes become prey in the complex world of food webs. For example the orb weaver spiders are familiar to us since they spin large webs with concentric […]
Now that summer is well underway, you might think that the breeding frenzy so typical of the spring time is over. That seems far from the truth based on my observations lately. Many species are still […]
We would all like to be friends to the birds and enjoy their company. However when a barn swallow builds a nest on your porch you will be tested to the limit by the resultant mess of mud and poop. […]
There is no greater summer pleasure than watching the “flying flowers”, the butterflies. It is wonderful just to appreciate their beauty, but is also an intellectual challenge to learn their names and their habits. Of course […]
Occasionally you have the opportunity to get a new flower for your garden and you wonder if it will provide nectar for your hummingbirds. We discovered a beautiful red tubular flower from S Africa called crocosmia […]
Two years ago with the help of NRCS we planted five acres of native N American wildflowers with the purpose of enhancing the habitat for pollinators. This field is now nearing its peak of flowering and […]
Another example of how the naturalist may find something interesting wherever he/she is. At the post office I noticed this strange moth on the front glass door, obviously attracted by lights the night before. Thanks to Bob Perkins for identifying […]
Modern day families are often widely dispersed so visits involve travel to unfamiliar territory and the opportunity to experience very different flora and fauna, in this case a visit to Utah. The first opportunity to learn about the new […]
We usually choose flowers for our yard that are known to attract birds or butterflies. For example we have in our yard coral honeysuckle, fire pink, cardinal flower, and red buckeye, all native and liked by […]
Here is an interesting moth I found in my yard- a beautiful wood nymph Eudryas grata, a noctuid. This species occurs from Nova Scotia to FL. The peculiar colors are believed to mimic bird droppings and thus escape […]
After spending years unsuccessfully trying to attract barn swallows to various structures placed up under roof overhangs, a swallow recently built a nest on our front porch. In the process it made a big mess of mud everywhere […]