December 31st,
2012. I’ve never done a year-end review of the year’s posts before but we’ve
had some interesting finds and it’s fun to look back on them. So here goes…
January
A Dimpled Troutilly (Erythronium umbilicatum) was blooming at the Piedmont
National Wildlife Refuge in Jones County, Georgia. It has been a dry year and
we didn’t see many lilies here.
February
Roundleaf Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa) flower on the embankment above Mill
Road in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area in Dawson County, Georgia.
We spotted the leaves in the Fall of 2011 and returned to photograph the
flowers. We almost missed them.
March
A Zebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus). We see a lot of these
in the Spring but they rarely settle. This butterfly was getting trace metals
from the sand and stopped long enough for me to get a good shot. It was early
in the season and its colors were still brilliant.
Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides).
We found these plants blooming in the full afternoon sun in the Piedmont NWR.
This was the first time I’d seen the Rue Anemone and I was surprised to see it blooming in the full afternoon sun. I had expected only to see it blooming in shaded areas.
Devil’s Urn or Black Tulip fungus (Urnula craterium). We found a
couple of patches of these growing on fallen branches above Stalking Head Creek. Another
first for us this year.
Little Sweet Betsy (Trillium cuneatum). We found these at the Scull Shoals Experimental
Forest wehre they were blooming on the hillside above Sandy Creek swamp. We
also found them at a couple of spots in the Piedmont NWR.
April
Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium acaule). I visit this particular Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchid each
year. It’s growing by the trail south from the Fishing Area in Fort Yargo State
Park in Barrow County, Georgia. And I mean right by the trail. There are two orchids only a few inches apart but
they are unimposing and I suspect that few people see them.
Atamasco lillies (Zephyranthes atamasco). Therse were growing in a wet area where we
turned from GA-83 onto Starr Road in Jasper County, Georgia, to drive south
into the Piedmont NWR.
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum). We found a stand of plants above Stalking Head Creek in
the Piedmont NWR that developed fruit later in the season. Most of the
Mayapples we’ve found have been growing in deep shade that defies getting a
good photograph in natural light.
These
plants, however, were lit by late afternoon sun that allowed a good
natural-life photograph.
I still
can’t resist taking photos of these flowers wity artificial light.
This year
extended a love affair with milkvines. In 2011, we stumbled upon the Anglefruit
Milkvine (Matalea gonocarpos) at the Scull Shoals Experimental Forest. In late
Fall, we spotted seed pods in Hancock County, Georgia. When we returned in Spring, we found not only
two different Matelea sp. but also a variant of one of these species.
Carolina Milkvine (Matalea carolinensis),
a
nonpigmented Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis), and,,,
Yellow Carolina milkvines (Matelea flavidula) growing in a small area. We found more
M. carolinensis and M. flavidula vines in the Piedmont NWR and followed them
through the year.
May
Canada geese (Branta canadensis).
This was one of those lucky shots. We’d driven to a bridge over Fishing Creek
in Greene County, Georgia. We’d visited this crossing many times when we were
recording frog calls; It’s a, among other frogs, home to Cope’s Gray treefrogs(Hyla crysoscelis), Bird-voiced treefrogs (Hyla avivoca) and to hybrids of
these species.
As we were
driving away, we spotted this pair of Canada geese that had found a secluded
spot to build a nest. They weren’t particularly concerned by our presence as
they swam in this quiet backwater.
Spiked WildIndigo (Baptisia albescens). It’s easy to overlook the Baptisia species. I’ve only
seen the white-flowered species in this area but I’ve seen fascinated by the
species I’ve seen in different counties. This was photographed in Hancock
County, Georgia; we’ve also seen this species in Jasper County
Canada Goose goslings. On a trip up
the Oconee River, we were treated to a pair of Canada Goose goslings exploring
the world. Dad is standing on the top of the bank as the goslings came down the
embankment into the river, swam around for a little while, and then scrambled
back up to re-join Mum and Dad.
American Snout (Libytheana carinenta). Another first for me this year. These are fascinating butterflies that we've seen in Jasper, Jones, and Oconee counties.
Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica). We saw these in the
Piedmont NWR in Jones County, and in Hancock and Wilkes counties. They
‘hide’ in the grass but their brilliant red gives them away.
A female Spangled Skimmer (Libulella cyanea) with lunch. It wasn’t a good year for dragonflies with the
very dry weather we had but… We rounded a bend in the road beside Sandy Creek
swamp in Greene County, Georgia and found a grassy area alive with Spangled
skimmers. One female had a prime hunting spot that was accessible to us too.
Hence, this wonderful opportunity to catch her munching on a katydid.
Appalachian Fameflower (Phemaranthus teretifolius). In southern Greene County, Georgia, there’s a
small granite outcrop right beside the road. It’s only about 10 yard by 20
yards but has several of the small granite outcrop wildflowers: Appalachian
Stitchwort (Minuartia glabra), Elf Orpine (Diamorpha smallii) and the
Appalachian Fameflower. It was worth lying on my back on the rock and gravel to
photograph this flower.
Boykin’s Milkwort (Polygala boykinii). We’ve only seen these in Jasper County and in the
Piedmont NWR. We saw our first flower on the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Trail in
2011 and then spotted them on Starr Road just north of the Piedmont NWR and on
the west-facing wall of the dam on Pond 2A. I’m still surprised to see these
delicate flowers thriving in the full afternoon sun in 90+F temperatures..
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