Hermit! Thrush and Other Spring Signs (CORRECTED)

Yesterday was a great day with sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s.  I saw my first butterfly, the Eastern Comma; and later in the afternoon, I spotted several lovely blue Spring Azure butterflies.  The toothwort was budding--should bloom any day this week.   Spring is here!

 I downloaded the pictures from my wildllife camera and was very surprised to see a Wood Thrush which was captured on St. Pat's day.  The temperature was 25 degrees.  He must have been thinking he came back to early from the tropics where he winters.   I can't wait to hear the sound of wood thrushes in the woods.  CORRECTION:  It's a Hermit Thursh--see comment below.   Some birder I am!

I also saw this Northern Flicker in the garden.  I captured this shot thru the screen window which acconts for the poor quality of the image.

He was looking for insects in this old cherry stump I had used for a flower pot stand in the garden.

The woodpeckers have been here all winter.  It is easy to distinguish between the Downy Woodpecker on the left and the much larger Hairy Woodpecker on the right side of the seed cake.

The temperature is 60 again and mostly sunny--time to get outside and work in the garden!

Lost Post: Wood Thrush and Recent Canon Shots

I have two cameras--a canon SLR and a point and shoot.  I tend to grab the point and shoot more often than the SLR so the other day I was surprised to see what was on my Canon picture card.  The oldest shot was from May...

Wood Thrush    May 16, 2013

I remember walking down the driveway and seeing this wood thrush.  He or she kept circling me and landing on tree limbs.   I thought the thrush was trying to lead me away from the nest.   I photographed the bird several times but this shot was the best.  Only when I saw the photo on the computer did I see the nesting material.

 Wild Geranium   May, 2013

I also photographed one of my favorite native wildflowers, wild geranium, which fills our woods in May.

A close up of the flower shows lines radiating out.  I read that these lines are supposed to guide the insects, usually small native bees, to the center where the nectar is found.  I am not sure how scientists figured that out.

Here's a more recent photo...

Purple Coneflower with caterpillar   July 29, 2013

My coneflowers did better this year, maybe because of all the rain.  I don't know what this tiny caterpillar is but he stayed on this flower most of the day.   I have seen a lot of soldier beetles and crescent butterflies on the flowers but most of the butterflies were on my butterfly bush.

 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail   August, 2013

The butterfly bush grew well also.   On the very few sunny days in August, I counted over a dozen of butterflies, mostly swallowtails but also fritillary, red-spotted purple, eastern pipevine, skipper as well as honey bees and hummingbirds. 

Monarch Butterfly    July 30, 2013

 I spotted this monarch at the end of July--the only monarch I have seen this year in my backyard.  Now, I know why I let the milkweeds grow.   While the monarch butterfly feeds on many different wildflowers, the caterpillar only feeds on milkweeds.  Orange milkweed will probably look best in your garden but I have let the common milkweed grow as well 

Monarch Caterpillar   August 23, 2013

This caterpillar was found on the very same common milkweed plant about 3 weeks later.  He gorged on leaves for a couple of days, then disappeared, no doubt to make a chrysalis so that he can emerge as another butterfly.   For more information about monarchs,  go to the Monarch Butterfly Website .

My lessons from this post:
1. Plant more native wildflowers, especially milkweeds, to attract bees and butterflies.
2. Take my Canon with me more often on walks. It's not that heavy!

Orchid Discovery!

Showy Orchis (Orchis spectabilis) April 20, 2011

Yesterday, I was awakened to the wonderful sounds of a wood thrush at dawn. About an hour later, I walked down our driveway and heard oven birds. To cap a wonderful spring morning, I followed my friend's advice and looked intensely in one area for morels. When I stepped down a steep slope, I noticed an unusual color, at first thinking it was probably a phlox or violet flower. Right away, I knew it was an orchid. I quickly forgot about morel hunting.




The species name "spectabilis" is Latin for spectacular--how appropriate! I can't believe I lived here for 27 years and have not seen this orchid before. But perhaps it finally bloomed for the first time after a long time:

Like other members of the Orchid family, it must have certain fungi present in the soil in order to survive. The seeds' outer shells are eaten by the fungi, while the seeds' inner parts obtain needed nourishment from the fungi. This relationship continues as the seed develops into a com, the bulblike underground part oa a flower stem where food is stored. The fungi delivers minerals and nutrients to the corn, which in turn provides the fungi with stubstances that the growing plant has produced through photosynthesis.
Leonard Atkins, Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains

So far, this is only specimen I've found. I plan to protect it as much as I can.

What a glorious spring!

Flying Squirrel, Trillium, and Wood Thrush

Flying Squirrel (April 26, 2009)

This Flying Squirrel was clinging to the brick foundation of our house one morning. Perhaps he was chilly.


Large Flowered Trillium (April 26, 2009)

That same day, I made my annual walk up to a hard-to-get-to cove that has trillium covering the slopes. I think I will call it Trillium Cove because it is the only place that trillium grows on our land.

Wood Thrush (April 29, 2009)

On another early morning, this Wood Thrush was sitting on our deck. I had time to get the camera and get this shot. I was a little worried she was sick. Then, another wood thrush called from nearby tree and the bird left to join him in the woods. Guess she was ok, perhaps a little chilly.

The hot weather last week brought all the leaves out. The dogwoods have been as full and beautiful as I have ever seen them, same with the redbud. But, alas, I didn't get a good shot of them. Spring happens so fast in Appalachia.

Wood Thursh and Other Sightings

Sassafras Tree in Bloom (April 20, 2009)

He was there--a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, a tiny bird who I see every spring. Had I had my camera handy, I would have gotten a great shot. Oh well--I will just enjoy the lovely colors of the Sassafras blossoms to cherish the memory.


Wood Thrush (April 22, 2009)

On Earth Day morning, I saw my first Wood Thrush, under the feeders acting a whole lot like a Robin--what a reminder to appreciate the wonders of the good earth. This morning I heard his wonderful song for the first time.


Garlic Mustard

Another sighting was not welcome at all--garlic mustard. I thought I had rid my yard of this troublesome invasive two years ago. I pulled up some last year and thought I was done with it. Evidently, I missed a few because there were small stands along the edge of our yard and into the woods. So, I have been pulling them up by the roots. Now is the best time to get rid of them because the ground is moist and the white flowers are easily seen.


The seed pods of the Garlic Mustard will pop out hundreds of seeds from a single plant. That's why I was determined to pull out every plant I could find. I also learned not to put them in the compost pile or let them lay on the ground--they can still do their dirty work. So, I have a 5-gallon bucket full of the plants in my shed--I will let them dry out and maybe put them on one of our bonfires later this year if we can stand the garlic smell.

Last Sunday, I put up my hummingbird feeder and within an hour, I saw a hummer at the feeder. I usually wait until the Columbine blooms but this year it is very late, perhaps because of the cool weather.

Spring is racing along....

Zebra Swallowtail, Wood Thrush, and Hummer

The weather has been sunny, warm (80s) during the day but cool at night fortunately. The Butterfly Weed (or sometimes called orange milkweed) is still attracting lots of butterflies.


Photo: June 21, 2008

Yesterday I was delighted to see this Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) on the butterfly weed. It is not very common because the caterpillar only feeds on the Pawpaw tree. I think I have seen only a couple of these trees on our land.



Photo: June 21, 2008

Here, a Pipevine Swallowtail feeds with the Zebra Swallowtail. I also saw a Tiger Swallowtail this morning along with the numerous Fritillaries.

The easiest way to grow Butterfly Weed is to find a good stand of them in the wild (along roadsides and old fields). Late in July and early August, you can collect a seed pod which has hundreds of seeds. Plant these in average soil (not too rich or wet) and they should come up next year.


Photo: June 17, 2008

I spotted another Wood Thrush nest only about 50 feet up the driveway from the previous one from the post My Promise to Wood Thrushes. That nest is empty now but at the time of the photo, there were a couple of birds in the nest, ready to fledge.


Photo: June 19, 2008

I caught this hummer in flight as she fought with the others for a place at the feeder. I have been filling up the feeder once a day because the hummers are sucking it dry. Previously, there was a lull at the feeders of about two weeks when the Japanese honeysuckle was in bloom.

My Promise to Wood Thrushes

The weather has been intermittently rainy for the past week. As I walked down our driveway this morning, the woods were steamy as the temperature began to climb quickly.

Almost every day, I look for wood thrush nests.


Photo: June 4, 2008

This nest looks very much like what a Wood Thrush would make. It's new this year but I have not seen any bird on the nest. The nest is right next to the driveway and very exposed so I am wondering if the Wood Thrush changed his mind.


Photo: May 29, 2008

About 25 feet from this nest is this one where a female Wood Thrush has been incubating the eggs for over a week now. This nest is well hidden in a Witch Hazel, a common understory tree here. One evening I saw the male sitting right next to the female on the nest, perfectly still as I approached (the photo came out too blurry to post). Could the male have built the empty nest as a decoy?

While I was photographing the empty nest above, a couple of birds landed on a branch nearby. I first thought they were goldfinches but no, they were a pair of Hooded Warblers! I thought I had seen them before but this time, I knew for sure that's what they were. They called but then left after a minute before I could photograph them. I don't think they were the ones that made the empty nest. I also have seen the Worm-eating Warbler near this same spot.

The Wood Thrush on the nest looks so innocent and fragile that I want to protect her from the Blue Jays who might steal her eggs or the Cow Bird who might lay an egg in her nest. The baby cowbird would muscle out the others.

My husband and I have probably done the best to protect wood thrushes and other forest-dwelling birds by putting a conservation easement on our land.



Every time I pass by our easement sign, I remember that this land (79 acres of the 83 we own) is protected forever from development which poses the most threats to wildlife. The warblers, ovenbirds, tanagers, and barred owls will always have a home here. So too does the box turtle which probably is the most threatened on our land. To be sure, we benefit from the easement as well. We received tax credits and we still can enjoy our land until the time when we must move someday--hopefully not anytime soon. But, I am most comforted to know that wildlife will always have a home on this Appalachian mountain long after I am gone.

Wood Thrush Memories

The temperature plunged to 7 degrees this morning--too cold for me to go out. In looking back over some pictures I took last week, I came across a photo of a Wood Thrush nest. On that walk, I counted 6 Wood Thrush nests on one side of our driveway. Two nests were still here from the summer of 2006 but unused because wood thrushes never use the same nest twice. The rest were from last summer. Most were out on a limb only about 10 feet from the ground. But one was at least 50 feet up in a yellow poplar tree. I only discovered it late last summer because I found a piece of an eggshell below and then looked directly above me to discover the nest. When I took the shell piece back to the house to identify (via Peterson's Eastern Birds' Nests), I determined that it was a Wood Thrush nest.

I remember discovering one nest in particular on a walk down my driveway in July. Suddenly, a Wood Thrush landed only a few feet in front of me, frantically trying to get me to chase him. So, I looked in the opposite direction and up in an Eastern Redbud tree. There, I saw a Wood Thrush on a nest. Luckily, I had my camcorder with me and took video. Click on play button or ">" below...




The sound from the video is of wood thrushes but earlier in the summer. The first picture was from last week while the video is from July, 2007.