Luna blessing

During the thunder storm last night I noticed a large Luna Moth (Actias luna) clinging onto the screen door just outside of my kitchen. It had probably just emerged and managed to get to the safety of the overhang before the sky let loose with large pellets of rain. Notice how the two eyes make a face that is almost other worldly, like someone seen in the Star Wars Cantina talking with Luke Skywalker.

Luna moths are members of the Saturniid family and one the largest moths in North America with a wingspan of up to four and a half inches. In my area the adults live only about a week and produce two generations a year. The first ones show up in April and May and in the case of this one it was April 25.

Here is a photo of the caterpillar that I took at Sleepy Creek WMA August 16, 2008. It is almost as pretty as the moth. Notice how it blends in with the background.

I felt really blessed to be visited by this delicate moth with its creamy green color and regal purple trim. The gold feathered crown adds to the splendor giving it an over all magical aura. It made me think of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, who gently lands to offer advice to Dorothy. I imagine the Luna tapping’s its wand over our heads and reminding us, as Dorothy was, that we already have the answers we need – just follow our hearts and click our heels together.

This morning it was gone and I suspect if followed its own heart as it caught the scent of a mate and flew off.

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Spotted Salamanders

Just a sliver of the moon was showing and the stars were abundant Thursday night when I drove up to Sleepy Creek to find Ambystoma maculatum mating. The time of year was right and the air temperature was right but there was no rain. Since I had been there just a few days ago and the ground was covered with snow and running water I was hopeing that it would still be moist enough but no, the leaves were crunchy under my foot steps. I was looking for Spotted Salamanders mating and they only do it once a year in mass, much like the Wood Frogs.

Not to be deterred I began lifting bark and logs in search of these chubby mole salamanders and Eureka! I found one. And it was in the same spot that I found one two years ago! They can live to be 30 years old so I wonder if I found the same salamander.

First I just saw a little bit of its tail curled up but I knew right away because those bright yellow spots are a dead give away. It inched away as if to say, “Didn’t you get the memo? Not tonight, there is no rain, come back when it rains and we will ALL come out and strut our way to the pond wearing our yellow spotted outfits.”

I was persistent and uncovered the sleepy cold-blooded salamander for a better photo.

Spotted Salamanders like this one are about six to seven and half inches long. The dark background is mostly black but can be bluish black like this one or dark grey or even dark brown. The spots are the amazing part. This little critter spends most of its life beneath ground and will only exit their underground homes on warm rainy nights in spring to breed and hunt.

You can see the tail looks intact. They have the ability to drop their tails, to distract predators. In fact if something bites off its leg, tail or even parts of its brain and head it can grow it back. There have been moments when I wish I could grow back my brain and remember what I was just looking for.

They also have large poison glands around the back and neck, which release a toxic white liquid. Fortunately I didn’t get it riled up trying to corral it for a nice photo and was spared the toxic stuff.

Six years ago at Rust Sanctuary in Virginia I attended a workshop on salamanders where I photographed this interesting salamander for the first time and I was captivated by the almost perfect round spots.

With the question, “Why yellow and why spots?” on my mind as I drove home in the dark, I couldn’t help but notice all of the yellow signs with black lettering pointing my way, telling me there was a curve up ahead or a cross road. They were like beacons in the night. I imagine those spots help Spotted Salamanders find each other and warn others to keep away.

It is supposed to rain Monday. Wish me luck.

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Spring has just begun

Last night just before going to bed I took a look outside to check the weather. “Oh, wow! It’s raining. Yeah!” Quickly I grabbed my camera, coat, hat and keys and jumped into the car to drive up to the small pond where the Wood Frogs in my area congregate to have a frog orgy. They call it explosive breeding. I have seen it before at this location but it isn’t something one can tire of.

I was in luck! I wasn’t even at the location before I found Eastern American Toads (Bufo a. americanus) crossing the road. They looked young. Several were dead on the road and I will spare you those photos but it looked like a lot of them probably made it to where they were headed. I’m not really sure where they go except to vernal pools scattered thorough Shannondale Springs Wildlife Management Area.
I didn’t  hear them calling their usually high-pitched trill. Probably this weekend if it isn’t raining and I am out hiking I will hear that call. It is a really neat sound.

Back into the car I drove to the pond where the Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica) were breeding last year. Sure enough, I begin to see them crossing the road. I had to drive very carefully to make sure I didn’t run over any. Fortunately, there was no traffic on this rainy night at 11:30. Most sensible folks were in bed already and the frogs and I had the road all to ourselves.

They were heading to a pond that is surrounded by stickers so climbing through them in the dark and rain to the waters edge was no easy task. Like the female frogs, I was drawn to the males quacking call. Most of these frogs also looked young. Click on the photos for closer views and check out the eye shine. I never noticed before how blue it is.

Here is a pair that found each other. The male is on top and has his front legs wrapped tightly around the female.

Sometimes they get mixed up and two males will approach each other like these two. I saw them quickly touch, squabble and leave all with in a second or two.

By now I was pretty soaked because I grabbed the wrong coat, it was midnight and the 4:30 a.m. alarm goes off pretty soon, so I headed back home. One last stop to move another American Toad off the road.

It felt cold and very thin. I placed it to the side of the road so we could both rest easy the remainder of the night.

Last year I blogged about the wood frogs if you want to read about my experience a year ago you can click here.

This morning while waiting for the train near the C & O Canal I head Spring Peepers.
Spring is here for sure.

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Due Day

This fall we all anticipated this big snow. The word on the train was that we were due for a big snow. Well today is “Due Day”.

Yesterday I stayed home because I knew I would be trapped in DC if I went to work. This gray squirrel was out eating as much as it could and gave me a look as to say, “you had better stock up”. I took its advice and brought in more wood just in case the power goes off. So far so good on that front.

Last night I took this photo and the snow was already up quite a bit.

This morning around eight this was the scene.

I cleared a path to the railing so I could put out some loose suet and the much loved meal worms.

You can see from my reflection how high the snow was then. 26 inches and more on the way. In fact now it looks like there are 2 more inches out there. On December 21 I had twenty three inches. We are getting about an inch an hour and I think it is supposed to continue the rest of the day. So I will probably get the 30 inches they predicted for the Blue Ridge Mountains.

These are the stairs leading up to my deck.

I have the dilemma of should I go out and clear off more space for more food and scare the birds away or let it alone for a while. A white crown sparrow was just here but I didn’t get a good photo. This Starling just showed up

along with these finches. I think the word is out, “Squirrel Café is open”.

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Snow Birds

This week I have been reading Louis J. Halle’s Spring in Washington and when talking about the thrushes he said it was “remindful of lizards, with which they share a distant common ancestor”. Many times I have read this but could never really see it until now. When I looked at some of the birds that were at my feeder this snowy day I could see that stare and indeed they do look like lizards.

HERE are a few that came to my feeder today during the snow storm. I have included a little information about each of them that I found in Bird Tracks & Signs by Mark Elbroch and National Geographic Society’s Song and Garden Birds of North America.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Toes 1 and 2 are much shorter than toes 3 and 4, which is true for all woodpeckers. The tracks look to me like a “K”. I read that they like to dig into ant hills and you can see their tracks around the dig site as well as beak marks. Notice in this photo you can see the yellow shafts of this eastern species. When I am in California during the winter I see the red-shafted flickers. The male has a black moustache.

You can see the yellow shaft of the feather in the photo above.

This is a female

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

I am fortunate to live in an area that has this wonderful large woodpecker. They are very cautious when visiting the feeder and look around a great bit so as to not be caught unaware. The smaller birds all flock around the get the dropped bits of the suet. It is especially helpful when the suet has been out for a long time in the cold and it hard to break into. Wingspan of 24-30 inches. The males have a red moustache.

This is a female.

Woodpecker have a zygodactyls foot pattern with two toes forward and two backward. It is the second most common foot pattern among birds. Toes 1 and 4 point backward, and toes 2 and 3 pint forward. You can see how this would help them balance on the side of a tree.

I’m sure you have noticed the elongated holes that they make into trees. Often mice use then more nests. The Pileated is after the carpenter ants that feed on the interior wood that provides structural support to the trees. We can’t see them but the Pileated can hear them.


Red-bellied Woodpecker (Centurus carolinus)


Feeding on berries and corn it is one of the few members of the woodpecker family that eat more vegetable matter than insects. In Florida it eats the pulp of oranges. The male has an all red crown.

This is a female.

Here is a male. You can see the red goes from the back to the front without a break.

You can see the red bellie better in this photo.

Hairy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos villosus)

The Hairy is larger than the Downy but it is hard to tell if you don’t have them side by side. One way is to look for the outer tail feathers, is they are solid white it is a Hairy, the Downy has black spots in that location. I learned to tell the difference by the bill length because the Hairy has a much longer thicker bill. The Hairy woodpeckers drill into wood more often that the Downy and the holes are larger and deeper which makes sense because of the bill size. They also drill into harder wood.

This is a female Hairy.

Downy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos pubescens)

This little woodpecker has a tiny sharp pointed bill and often drills into Goldenrod Galls that can be found this time of year.

This is a female Downy. Compare the size with the Hairy in the previous photo. Notice the bill size and the overall body size in relation to the feeder.

Goldenrod Gall drilled into by a Downy Woodpecker

The males have the red on the back of their heads. Here is a photo of a Downy and a Nuthatch both in typical poses.

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

These guys are hard to photograph because just as they get into focus they fly off with a bit of food in their mouths. Their habit is to choose one spot and take seeds or nuts there to be opened over and over again. Now if that spot was in view I would be all set to watch it feed but alas it is to the side of the house and I cannot see it. They like to jam the food into a crevice of a tree and open it there.

Dark -eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

The tracks of the Junco are side by side because they hop around on the ground. Here is a photo of a Junco tracks in deep snow and you can see where it’s tail was dragging.

This is a male.

The female is lighter and has more brown color.

Carolina Chickadee (Parus carolinensis)

This is the most common Chickadee in my area. North of me and at higher altitudes in West Virginia the Black-capped can be found but we only have the Carolina in my neighborhood. They often feed on the underside of twigs and leaves and find insects and caterpillars that other birds miss. They build their nests in old woodpecker holes, decayed stumps, bridge supports and small birdhouses to name a few. The nest is made up of grass and bark and lined with fur, feathers and thistledown. According to the National Geographic source they often they build one side of the nest higher than the other to make a flap to cover the eggs when away.

Tufted Titmouse (Parus bicolor)

They like to build their nest of moss, hair and bark shreds in a tree hollow and sometimes in a bird box. In a story about Opossums that I recently read this brave little bird was pulling hair from the live Opossum for its nest. That would be like me jumping onto a Rhinos back to pull out a few hairs…I don’t think so. I’m not that brave.

Carolina Wren (Thyyothorus ludovicianus)

This little guy loves to sing year round. Currently I am having trouble keeping them out of the basement. I know it is cold outside but each morning I see them in the garage. They are one of the hardest for me to photograph because they are in constant motion like a little chattering windup toy. But I would dearly miss them if they were not flitting about.

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Thoreau said that this bird “carries the sky on its back.” I would have to agree. They like to nest in boxes and like my friend in the valley tends to. She draws them to a platform feeder at her window with mealworms.

This is the male and in the spring he will be even more brilliant.

The female is not as blue as the male but has subtle colors.

Hope you enjoyed seeing and learning about these birds as much as I did. By they end of the day I had six and half inches of snow and lot and lots of photos.

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