December
31st, 2014. I was browsing some posts a few days ago and realized how many
wonderful things I’d seen this year and wanted to share again.
January
Birdwatching.
I did a lot of that this year. I joined the Cornell Lab of Ornithology –
Audubon Project Feederwatch and spent a lot of time watching the birds around
our feeders. Identified 20 different species that came to the feeder area… and
they didn’t include the Brown Thrashers, Eastern Bluebirds, Yellow-bellied
Sapsuckers, and Mockingbirds that stay out in the field.
Several
White-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) would make one or two trips
daily to feed on the ground below the feeders.
February
We
installed a couple of log feeders that I’d seen (on a webcam) attracting Pileated
woodpeckers successfully. Within 24 hours, we had our first Downy Woodpecker
(Picoides pubescens). It took a while before the first Red-bellied Woodpeckers
(Melanerpes carolinus) found the feeder but, once they did, they came through
several times each day.
This
possum (Didelphis virginiana) came through several times. We’d seen them an
night but this was the first time one came through in daylight.
One of my favorite photographs of the
year; a feast of colors. On the log feeder (from top to bottom) Chipping
Sparrow (Spizella passerina), male Downy Woodpecker, Pine Warbler (Setophaga
pinus), Chipping Sparrow. On the branch, male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
and a Chipping Sparrow.
March
A Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus).
Not a colorful bird but it looks so wide-eyed and innocent. Looks. I watched it
steal food that a Yellow-rumped Warbler had fetched from the log feeder and
deposit on a branch to eat leisurely. The only thing I can say in its defence
is that it had a lot of trouble getting food from the log feeder.
A Pine Warbler. This bird only came to
the feeder for a few weeks but it was thrilling to see it.
April
We made a trip over to Oconee Bells
State Park in South Carolina specifically to look for two wildflowers: Oconee
Bells (Shortia galacifolia) and Pygmy Pipes (Monotropsis odorata). It was late
in the season but we did find…
some nice Oconee Bells flowers.
Pygmy Pipes proved more elusive. They
announce their presence with an intense fragrance. We smelled them once but
couldn’t find them search as we might. We spoke with some fellow hikers who
placed a flag on the trail to point us to a patch. It still took some effort to
find them but we did.
On a hike to nearby Station Cove
Falls, I spotted this Luna Moth (Actias luna) ‘drying out’ before going in
search of a mate. I’ve seen several Luna moths but it’s always a treat to see
another one.
On the way home, we detoured and drove
up to the headwaters of the Tallulah River. We found some embankments ‘covered’
with Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) in bloom; others thick with Rue
Anemones. I have to confess that I had never seen Bloodroot in bloom in the
wild; I’d only seen plants with seedpods later in the season. Sweet Little
Betsy trilliums – purple and green variants – were also thick in some areas.
May
And then came May. I broke my arm when
I tried to climb an embankment. I launched myself up the embankment – or that
was my intention. I did go up, but then backwards and free fell about six feet
to the road below. I landed on my right shoulder. Not good. I did avoid surgery
but spent a couple of weeks in a hanging cast (a tool of the devil) and then
six weeks in a sling.
At that point my orthopedist sent me
to physiotherapy for a month to regain the range of motion of the shoulder and
recommended that I start to ‘do the things I liked to do’ that didn’t involved
strength. ‘Taking photos’ was good.
But that’s when I learned in no
uncertain terms that cameras are right-handed. I’m left-handed but taking
photos with a right-handed camera is quite challenging. I did try holding the
camera upside-down so that I could see through the viewfinder but trying to
focus and take a photo was more than it was worth. So… I ‘retired’ from
photography until mid-July when the fracture had healed sufficiently that I
could start regaining strength in the arm again.
July
In July, we made one of our
pilgrimages to the Piedmont Wildlife Management
Area where…
we found one of my favorite
wildflowers, Rosepink (Sabatia angularis), in bloom. At the same location,
I saw my first Golden-winged Skimmer
(Libellula auripennis).
Back home, we were treated to a
White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus
virginianus) that browsed her way across the area in front of the house
early in the morning. She browsed on a few things that we would have preferred
she hadn’t but…
August
I noticed an unusual gall on a
blackberry near the mailbox. A little bit of sleuthing determined that it was a
blackberry knot gall produced by a small wasp.
Another treat was regular visits by a
Raccoon (Procyon
lotor)
mum and her kits. They started coming by the feeders in the late afternoon and,
then, earlier in the day. We’ve seen the kits becoming more independent with
time, often coming by themselves. Mum was adept at getting onto the platform
feeder and helping herself to seed and suet cakes. So now I bring the suet
cakes and the log feeders in at night.
September
A late-season visit to Boggs Creek
Recreation Area found a Great
Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) feeding on
ironweed flowers. These fritillaries are impressive; about two to three times
the size of the Variagated or Gulf fritillaries we see locally.
October
I resumed riding a recumbent trike
which doesn’t require arm strength and have spent many hours exploring road in
the eastern part of Walton County as well as some road in Oconee and Barrow
counties. Being so close to the ground allows me to see a lot more and even
take photographs without having to get off the trike. Yes, I’m spoiled. Among
the treasures I found were several mushrooms including Old Man Of The Woods
and…
the delicate Fragile Dapperling (Leucocoprinus fragilissimus).
I found a couple of wildflowers I
hadn’t seen before – Rough Mexican Clover/Florida Pusley (Richardia scabra)
and…
Tievine (Ipomoea cordatotriloba).
Morning glories are fairly common here but this species is really a coastal
plain native and unusual here.
We had seen a male and female
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) at the feeders during their
migration north in Spring. We were treated to the sight of two juvenile
grosbeaks as they migrated south for the Winter. They stayed around for a
couple of days and then were gone.
I found a partial ‘fairy ring’ of the American Eastern Yellow Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria
var. guessowii) and followed them daily for a week or more.
November
We occasionally see Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterflies out in
the woods but rarely at home. We were treated to approximately half a dozen
feeding on Thorny-olive (Elaeagnus pungens) as they migrated south.
I’m one of the many people who stop
and move turtles off the roadway into the grassy verges to the side of the
pavement. The only turtle I saw on the road this year was this beautiful
Eastern Box turtle (Terrapene
carolina carolina) that was sunning on the roadway. Needless to say I moved it
off the pavement.
Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus)
are common around here and we hear the youngsters calling as they learn to fly.
Rarely, however, are we treated to close-up views of these birds. At least one
decided it would try its luck at our bird feeders. I don’t think it had much
luck but we were lucky enough to get some photos when it stopped by. A rare
treat.
December
It’s bird-watching time again.
This
year, the Purple Finches (Carpodacus
purpureus) not only changed their name (formerly Haemorhous purpureus) but showed up at the feeders early
this year and, it appears, in larger numbers.
In
spite of having to sit out a couple of months, all in all it’s been a very good
year. Looking forward to another great year in 2015.
