Creatures

Bird In The Grass

When I picked Dorothy up from her friend’s house this evening, I got out of the car to chat for a bit before we left. As we were talking I noticed this bird in the grass of the front yard. I’m not sure what sort of bird it is and to be honest, I didn’t pay that close attention. I did get my camera and took a few pictures of it, though. Poor thing probably came out of a next in the tree overhead. It must have been there for some little while, as it was nestled down into the grass quite comfortably. Still, I don’t give too much for its chances. A bird that cannot fly is easy prey for a neighborhood cat.

Genus Lucilia

The mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) is just starting to bloom and there was a wasp or a fly or two flitting about. This is some species of blow fly (Family Calliphoridae) and I think it’s in the genus Lucilia. Most people don’t like flies much and I suppose they have good reason.

Still, many of them are beneficial in one way or another, even if that way happens to be helping recently dead things get broken down into a less offensive form. Blow flies are scavengers and lay their eggs in carrion, which sounds nasty but it’s better than having smelly carcases lying around for days.

On the other hand, blow flies are also one of the main families of flies causing myiasis in livestock and occasionally in humans. If you think laying eggs in carrion is gross, you don’t want to know what myiasis is.

Trichopoda pennipes (Feather-legged Fly)

I went out again today, hoping to get a better picture of a snipe file like the one I bagged yesterday. I did see both snipe and syrphid flies and got some pictures but nothing significantly better than yesterday’s. This is a feather-legged fly, Trichopoda pennipes and I’m pretty happy with the picture.

This is another friendly insect and they are actually used in the control of stink and squash bugs. Considering how many stink bugs we have had the last few years, this is someone I’m very happy to have around.

Snipe Fly

I took some pictures of rabbits in our yard this evening after work. They are plentiful, fat, and happy. I’m tempted to do something about them. Our neighbors on both sides have dogs so our yard is something of a safe haven for them.

I also took some pictures of the onions growing in my vegetable garden. I didn’t actually plant any vegetables this spring but there are onions that came up from seed last year, which are getting quite large now.

Finally, I took some pictures of this little fellow (or lady). There was a little swarm of them but I only had a chance to get a photograph of this one, when it landed for a moment. I’m pretty sure it is one of the many snipe flies (there are about 700 species worldwide). My first guess is that it is either Rhagio hirtus or Chrysopilus tomentosus. This photo was hand held, so not as sharp as I’d like. I’ll try to hunt this little creature again, and with a tripod.

As flies go, these are our friends. Few of them bite and they are all predaceous on a variety of other small insects.

Small Bee

I’m not sure what sort of bee this is. They seem to be fairly common. It’s hard to tell scale from this picture but the bee is not more than 10mm long and possibly a little less than that. It moved from flower to flower fairly quickly so it was a fair job keeping up with it but I managed to get a few that are probably good enough for someone who knows these things to identify it. If I get a name, I’ll update the post.

Update: The good folks at BugGuide.net have identified this as being in the genus Ceratina, the small carpenter bees.

Great Blue Heron

Cathy and I went for a walk this afternoon and as I was waiting for her I noticed there was a great blue heron in the pond between our buildings. I took a few pictures of it standing in the water but knew that as soon as I tried to get any closer it would take off. So, instead of trying to get closer, I got ready for its take off and asked Cathy to walk a little towards the water. I’m often unhappy with pictures i get of herons taking off, usually because I don’t get them at the right moment. This one turned out pretty well.

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

After our busy Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Olney Theatre (and longer than that for the cast and crew of the play), it was nice to have an afternoon at home. When I got home from church I changed into my gardening clothes and planted two apple trees. The first is ‘Arkansas Black’, a dark red apple that is a late maturing variety. The second, which matures even later than ‘Arkansas Black’, is called ‘Goldrush’, a golden apple with a red blush.

As I was working on the deer protection for Goldrush, a brown-headed cowbird came to the bird bath not eight feet away from me. I stood quietly and watched until it flew up into a tree. Then I went and got my camera. When I came back out the bird wasn’t quite so bold as before but did perch in a nearby dogwood tree, close enough that I got a few good pictures.

Little Spider

I know it looks sort of big in this picture but that’s only because I was pretty close to it. This spider is only about a half to three quarters of a centimeter long. I had been working in the yard and took a break to photograph some flowers (I may post one of those later on). I had set my camera on the glass table on the patio and when I came back to pick it up, this little spider was nearby. I was able to get a few good pictures from the front and behind (as it turned to run away) so I’m hoping I’ll be able to get an identification before too long. I think it may be some sort of jumping spider (Family Salticidae) but I’m really not too sure. I’ll update the post if I get it figured out (or more precisely, if I find someone who can figure it out for me).

Large Ant

When I got home today I noticed this ant on the flagstone walk leading to my front door. It was quite cool out and he was moving pretty slowly on the cold stone. I got my bean bag and took a few photos. I’m not going to pretend to know which of an estimated 22,000 species this is. I imaging with a little work I could narrow it down to under 1,000 but for now, I’ve simply identified it as a drone (male) ant, e.g., a member of the Formicidae family.

Update: I posted two pictures of the ant on BugGuide.net (here and here) and James Trager identified it as being Camponotus castaneus, also known as the reddish carpenter ant.

Geese Taking Flight

As I came down and crossed Lake Needwood this morning I saw that there was a large flock of geese on the near end. I pulled over and got my camera out to take a few pictures. Of course, the geese moved away from me as I walked down to the water’s edge. I ran the last fifteen yards or so to startle them and managed to get them to take off all at once. It’s not as good a picture as I’d like but I do like it, anyway.

Ducks In Flight

I love watching birds fly. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s an eagle, hawk, or vulture soaring high in the sky, a sparrow, finch, or wren flitting between bushes, or a duck, goose, or heron taking off from a pond. Their flights are different but they share a beauty found no where else.

Seeing birds in flight, particularly ducks and geese, for some reason, makes me think of Psalm 139:9–10, “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”

The Black Menace

It wasn’t too many years ago that the crow population around here was seriously diminished by West Nile virus. They seem to have made a pretty decent recovery since then and I see great flocks of them now. Recently there has been a flock moving around in our neighborhood, sometimes in our yard. When they come they are impossible to ignore completely, making such a racket.

On the way home today I saw them at the local elementary school. I pulled into the parking lot and took a few pictures, including this one of “The Black Menace.” If you’ve seen the 1948 movie, Bill and Coo you should get the reference.

Chrysaora fuscescens (Pacific Sea Nettle)

Dorothy and I went to the Baltimore Aquarium today with her friend, Julia. I took quite a few pictures including this one of a Pacific Sea Nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens). Many of them suffered from the thick acrylic I was shooting through or the low light levels but this one turned out pretty nicely. I got a few other good pictures but more importantly we had a good time. It was a nice unwinding sort of outing and except for the drive to and from in the snow and rain respectively, it was quite relaxing.

Maylandia estherae (Red Zebra)

I picked up Dorothy at her friend Julia’s house this evening and stayed long enough to take a few pictures. Julia’s mom, Maureen, has a tank with African cichlids and this, I believe, if a red zebra (Maylandia estherae). It certainly looks right and it’s from the right lake (Malawi). The picture is a bit soft because it is by necessity photographed through the aquarium glass. Still, it’s a pretty fish and shows up pretty well.

Ducks

There is a small pond near my office and there are usually ducks on it so I walked over there today. I love watching ducks take off and land. They start by running along the surface of the water while madly beating their wings. Once they are in the air they seem graceful enough but then their landing is a bit heavy. I also saw a great blue heron. Now, there is a bird that is majestic on take-off and landing. Sort of the VTOL of the animal world. Ducks and geese are more like the C5 Galaxy of birds, even though the heron is considerably bigger. I guess it’s the relative size of the wings that makes the difference.

Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed Hawk)

Well, I initially identified this as a sharp-shinned hawk. I’m not terribly good with the hawks (as anyone who is will tell you). I do know the general shapes and because of that I incorrectly correlated the narrow tail here with the Accipiters and went with the most common of those around here. As I was quickly told by my birder brother, this is a red-tailed hawk, which usually flares its tail. Looking at pictures (which I probably should have done first) I can see he is right. All the patterns on the wings say red-tail, to those who know. So, now I know. At least until I forget, which probably won’t be long.

Anyway, I’ve completely rewritten the text for this post. Purists would say I should have left the old and just added my correction to it. You can do that on your blog. I admitted my mistake. That’s enough.

Melanerpes carolinus (Red-bellied Woodpecker)

We went over to my mother-in-law’s today to clean out her gutter and do a few other things. I heard and then saw a hawk overhead but by the time I had my camera it was gone. I sat for a while under the carport watching a chickadee bouncing around but couldn’t get any pictures of it. As I waited,though, this big red-bellied woodpecker came and landed very close to me, too close, in fact, to fit in the camera frame. Unfortunately it was a bit dark under the trees and the picture is blurry, but it was cool, anyway. He only stayed long enough for three quick shots and was gone.

Ardea herodias (Great Blue Heron)

In addition to the various berries and leaves that I photographed on our walk around the block today, we happened to see a heron fly overhead. I barely had time to get my camera up and snap off a shot before it went behind a tree and then over my office building and out of sight. It’s not a great picture because I needed to crop it down a bit, but it’s better than nothing. I love to see these huge birds wading in the shallows but I think my favorite thing is to see them take off and fly.

Cathartes aura (Turkey Vulture)

After church this morning I was outside enjoying the beautiful fall weather. The sky was blue, the clouds were puffy and white, and there were turkey vultures all around. They aren’t the most attractive of birds, I know, but I like them anyway. Their huge wings and the way they soar give them a bit of majesty that their bald, red head cannot quite take away.

Cuddles

This is Cuddles. Cuddles is a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and he’s happy this evening because a new heat lamp was bought for him. Now he’s nice and warm. Nothing says “let’s cuddle” like a warm, semi-aquatic turtle, don’t you think?

Halyomorpha halys (Brown Marmorated Stink Bug)

Over the last several years this has to have become everyone’s least favorite insect around here. The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is a serious pest, even for those of us not trying to grow crops. This is the direction most of want to see them going (i.e. away from us) but mostly we like to see them dead.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson’s pernicious book, Silent Spring, which was in large part responsible for bans on use of DDT. As we now know, her book was very poor science and the benefits from responsible use of DDT far outweigh the costs. We can only hope that restrictions on its use can be eased and the poorest countries of the world, those that need it most, can benefit from it’s wonderful bug killing and disease preventing properties.

Bombus impatiens (Common Eastern Bumble Bee)

When I see a big black bee with a blond, hairy thorax, I tend to call it a bumble bee whether that’s really what it is or not. There are plenty of bees of this general size and look, but I think this actually is a common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens). They are actually quite hard to photograph on my mountain mint because they don’t stop moving. Some bees actually stop for short while not and then but not these chaps. Busy as a bee applies to them. This is as good a photo as I was able to get but it’s a bit blurry. Sorry.

Two Piglets

We went out to Rocklands Farm today and, among other things, enjoyed seeing three very young piglets. They were with there mother eating acorns on a large oak tree that came down in the last few days. This picture shows two of them and you can see how small they are. Cute little things, destined to be turned into bacon, sausage, chops, and ribs. If that bothers you, then you probably don’t want to know what’s in my freezer now.

Nemoria bistriaria (Red-fringed Emerald)

Dorothy called me into the kitchen this evening saying there was something for me to photograph. On the sliding glass door from our kitchen into the back yard was this little moth. It’s only about 2 cm across. I got the tripod and put the flash on the camera and was able to get a pretty good shot or two. I also got some extreme close-up pictures that show the hairy scales on the wings, which are pretty cool.

I’m not 100% certain of the identification. There are more than 20 species and they all look fairly similar. Since identification photos tend to be from above (dorsal) and this photograph is from below (ventral) I’m at a disadvantage. Still, that looks right and we’re in the right part of the country for that species.

Archytas apicifer

In general I’m not a fan of flies. Some of them are quite pretty, I know and of course they have their part to play in the natural order of things. Still, it’s hard to think of the common house fly and similar critters as anything other than disease carrying vermin. Close up, I guess, they are beautiful in a sinister sort of way. This is actually a fairly distant cousin of the house fly (Musca domestica) which is in a different superfamily of the Calyptratae. Yes, I know, whatever.

Scolia dubia Blue-winged Wasp

I know everyone is going to be shocked when the learn that I took insect pictures today. Me and insects? Really? Well, I think this is one of the coolest wasps I’ve seen in a while. It’s wearing woolies on its tail end. It is a blue-winged wasp (Scolia dubia) and it’s a big one, over two centimeters long. Males have longer antennae and though I don’t have anything to compare them to, I’m guessing this is a female.