Catching up

During the spring sometimes I get out so often and take so many photos it is hard for me to keep up with myself but I wanted to go back a week and share a walk I took along the Shenandoah River. A lot of the spring ephemerals had already boomed but there were a few still out like this Woodland Phlox.

and Wild Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum) that is ever present on the limestone wall of the trail.

I almost walked right into a dangling jumping spider. I think it had jumped and missed its prey and was in the process of climbing back up its safety line. It has about 4 feet to go so I put my net out and let it crawl on so I could take a closer look. I’m not sure of the species name. I then transported it to a nearby spicebush.

Often I pass people on the trail, especially in the early evening, like that day. It is a good place to come and wind down after work. A gentleman stopped and showed me the box turtle he picked up and said he was going to take it to a stream and let it go. Well, my alarm bells went off since I know Box Turtles are very territorial and they don’t live in the water. I kept quiet and admired this beautiful turtle that some refer to as the gems of the woods. After much gushing over the reptile on my part, he asked if I wanted the turtle and of course I quickly said, “Yes, indeed.” I held the box turtle admiring it until the man got bored and moved on and then was able to set it down and take this photo. I moved it to the side of the trail and walked on with a big smile on my face, knowing I had rescued this gem from good intentions.

Next I took a detour up to the meadow and found a few butterflies.

Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides Marcellus)

Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted this fine specimen of an American Toad (Bufo americanus). I don’t think it was happy with me chasing it through the grass to get a good snap shot but who can resist a toad?

The last flower of the day was a violet. One of the characteristics of Canadian Violets (Viola Canadensis) is the purple tint on the back of the upper two petals. It is very noticeable on the spent rolled up flower on the right. The other thing that sets this flower apart from other white violets is the yellow base of the petals. It is rather pretty even though there are signs that something has been chewing on the underside of the petals on the right. It was a good reminder that I was getting a little hungry myself and it was time to go home and fix dinner.

Panther WMA Brooks Bird Club Sortie

Brooks Bird Club of WV has a sortie each year for a week round about Memorial Day.  This year they went to Panther Wildlife Management Area in McDowell County.  This was an opportunity I jumped at because it is down in coal-county and it seemed best to go with a group who knew where to stay and where to visit.  The facilities were very nice at the park as you can see below. We stayed in the group camp building where we ate and made plans for each day.

One the side of the building I found these old Dobson fly egg cases.  They reminded me of the shell fossils I have found in the eastern panhandle. 

We spent mornings on 10 mile bird runs, afternoons and evening on breeding block bird surveys. The Brooks Bird Club is in the middle of a 5 year survey to revised the breeding bird atlas of WV. We also recorded reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, moths, dragonflies and bees that we saw. Another large part of the observation was spent on plants in an attempt to record at least everything we saw blooming. It was like a mini bio blitz. Here are the highlights for me, not in any particular order.

There was a stream along all of the roads with steep mountains in each side and with a little imagination I could believe that if I stood in the stream with my arms outstretched I would be able to touch each side. At one location there was room for only a one lane road yet the traffic went both ways. Below are views of one of the mosses that I found on the dripping outcrops.

Apple moss  (Bartramia pomiformis)

And liverwort

One evening back at the camp I found this Gray Petaltail dragonfly resting on the side of the tree. They are very docile and not easily frightened so I was able to get very close for the photo. 

A new butterfly for me was Northern Cloudywing – Thorybes pylades. This one I had to catch and then release after identification.

One evening went down the road and briefly stopped at an area where a beaver had made a nice pond. You can see the view of the dam from the road. It was about 4-5 feet high and made a nice place to look for dragonflies. 

A Tulip Tree Silk Moth flew in and I took this photo. It is a little blurry because it just wasn’t used to posing. Later another camper interested in insects and I returned to look for bees and dragonflies.

Fire Pink (Silene virginica) isin the Caryophilacea commonly called the pink family.  There are two recognized varieties of fire pink. Most plants of this species are classified as Silene virginica virginica var. virginica, however and endemic subspecies occuers in West Virginia called Silene virginica var. roobusta and I believe that is what I have here.

On the way back we found this Snapping Turtle on the side of the road.

The leaves were out and the undergrowth was abundant so actually seeing birds was difficult. Most were just heard and I learned a new way to describe the call of a Swanson’s Warbler: “Sweet, sweet, SISTERSVILLE”.  I will be sure to remember it because I grew up near Sistersville, WV.  They seemed to prefer the mountain laurels for hiding

.

Tiger Swallowtails were every where and at time I felt like I was about to trip over them.

The ten mile trips to identify birds began early each morning and for me they were a good way to see the country side before it woke up.  We stopped every half mile for a total of 20 stops and listened for 2 minutes.

One trip led us to a community that was raising roosters.  You can imagine what the sound was like with each cock sitting atop its home crowing with all its might getting ready for the fight that night.  Needless to say we didn’t stop in front of those houses to listen for birds, dogs were on guard and we just moved along, thank you.

Someone gave us the idea to drive up to the fire tower on the abandoned road. Of course we birded and botanized our way up from rut to rut.  We had only two trucks so some up had to ride in the back.

The American Toad (Bufo americanus) is a common species in this area. One of the fun things to see an American Toad do is eat. It closes its eyes when it swallows and will readily take a mean worm from your hand it you hold still and the worm wiggles.

 It was wonderful trip and I look forward to going on the sortie next year.


Be sure to visit Outdoor Wednesdays for other Outdoor adventures.

American Toad (Bufo americanus)

This evening I found this little American Toad (Bufo americanus) outside my basement door. It is raining out now and it was sitting next to the dog door, just out of the rain. The light shines through the door and I believe the toad comes to feed on the insects that are attracted to the light. I raise mealworms to feed birds so I thought the Toad would enjoy an easy treat. I love to watch them catch their food. If the worm is just sitting next to the toad and not moving it is safe but once movement is detected one quick slurp of that toad tongue and the worm is toast. Then the toad looks like it is chewing the worm, I'm not sure how that works. Once it is the right size or whatever measure the toad uses, it closes its eyes, takes a big gulp and it is ready for the next tasty morsel. In addition to mealworms they have a delicious diet of earthworms, ants, spiders, slugs and other small invertebrates.

Cold weather is approaching and soon this little toad, which now resides under my deck, will find a place to dig backwards into soft soil and hibernate for the winter. I suspect it will make its way to my garden because the soil is soft and fluffy. One of my friends often finds them in her compost pile. So this spring I will need to be careful if I dig in my garden early to get a head start on snow peas.

I think the toad at my back door is a female because females are usually lighter in color and have white or light colored throats. Their skin is permeable which enables them to absorb water and oxygen but that means it is also vulnerable to toxins in the air and soil. I don’t fertilize my soil so it is pretty safe here. I wish I could control the air quality as well.

See more camera critters here.