Creatures

Cupido comyntas (Eastern Tailed-Blue)

Photograph taken on Sunday, May 16, 2021 by Henry
Cupido comyntas (Eastern Tailed-Blue)

Cupido comyntas (Eastern Tailed-Blue)

Cathy and I went back to the Agricultural Farm Part today after church. There’s a trail we hadn’t been on and wanted to see what it was like. It heads off from the driveway up along the eastern side of Rock Creek. It had recently been mowed and was in very nice shape up as far as a small side stream with a small wooden bridge across it. I guess they couldn’t get the large mowers across that and the trail was a bit overgrown after that. It was quite warm but nice in the shade and we had an enjoyable walk. On the way back up to the car I saw this little eastern tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas). It’s one of my favorite little butterflies.

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Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 15, 2021 by Henry
Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass

Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass

The cicadas (Magicicada species) of Brood X are beginning to emerge from their 17-year subterranean sojourn. Interestingly, this one, near the base of a large oak tree, is one of only a few at this site. Another oak tree at the other end of the yard is absolutely covered with them. I suspect I’ll have a few more photos before their visit comes to an end but I thought for at least one photo I’d include some flowers to brighten what is otherwise a sort of ugly bug. Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) is something of a weed around our yard, but it’s at least a pretty weed.

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Glen With A Duckling

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 01, 2021 by Henry
Glen With A Duckling

Glen With A Duckling

It was duckling rental pick-up day where Dorothy works and we went out to help. Mostly I took pictures but I did help with the actual process for a bit. Cathy did more than I did. But having pictures is nice, of course. This is Luke, nephew of the farmer, and all around cute kid. He and his sister posed for me a few times with ducklings.

The weather was beautiful and we had a great time being out on the farm. It was well organized and went very smoothly, although the place got a little busier when the winery opened. We really enjoyed visiting with folks, especially Glen’s parents and grandparents, and while we were tired by the end of the day, it was a day well spent. Chick rental is coming up, followed by turkey rental. It’s amazing to see how much they grow in a week. Educational and fun. And the kids enjoy it, too!

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Josh, Julia, and Lupin

Photograph taken on Sunday, April 25, 2021 by Henry
Josh, Julia, and Lupin

Josh, Julia, and Lupin

We visited our friends, Josh and Julia today and met their new dog, Lupin. They’ve moved into a nice house and it was great to see them getting settled in. They also helped us with some furniture moving, which was really nice. We’re trying to get a few things moved out of a storage unit and they got a couple other guys and provided the muscle (to go along with my brains?). Seriously, it’s really a lot easier when you have more people. Coming up on their third anniversary (and it’s already past by the time I’m actually posting this). Happy new house, kids!

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Black Snake

Photograph taken on Saturday, April 03, 2021 by Henry
Black Snake

Black Snake

Cathy, Dorothy, Abba, and I went for a bit of a hike this afternoon. We want to walk to a place we call Bluebell Island, although it doesn’t actually have a name. It’s an island and it’s covered with Virginia bluebells, though, so the name seems fitting. The trail we took was quite overgrown, though, with roses, briars, and all sorts of other things. We had brought clippers but between the weeds and the wet, we eventually gave up. We came back by a slightly different route and were just coming out of the woods when we happened to come across this black snake. I’ve never seen this before, but he ‘rattled’ his tail as though he were a rattlesnake. Apparently that’s something they do sometimes. It was a bit freaky. Dorothy and I especially enjoyed Cathy and Abba’s reactions. Let’s just say that they were not big fans.

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Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

Photograph taken on Saturday, March 06, 2021 by Henry
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

We met some friends at Violet’s Lock on the C&O Canal and went for a walk with them, heading southeast on the towpath. It was a cool day, mostly overcast, but it was really good to be outdoors. We didn’t seem herons as we have recently but did get a pretty good view of this black vulture (Coragyps atratus) flying overhead. This outing was mostly to visit with our friends, and I only took a few photos but I’m pretty happy with this one. Vultures are not most peoples’ favorite bird but they have a beauty of their own.

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More Deer

Photograph taken on Monday, February 22, 2021 by Henry
Eastern White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Eastern White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

When I looked out the back door this morning I saw this trio of eastern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the yard. The appeared to have been there some while and were quite comfortable. They were only marginally concerned when I came up to the door and there were even pretty cool when I opened the door a little to get a photo without the glass of the door involved. When I stepped outside they stood up but I was half way across the patio before they calmly and quietly wondered off. They’re much too comfortable for my liking.

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Eastern White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Photograph taken on Monday, February 15, 2021 by Henry
Eastern White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Eastern White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

In the preceding post, dated February 10, I said that we like to seem wildlife in our yard. Then I made an exception for deer. Today, we had a few eastern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the yard. I can’t tell you how much I’d love to get out my bow and arrow and shoot them. But I won’t, because that would be illegal. I actually know someone who once did that, shooting from his upstairs bathroom window. He didn’t have neighbors behind his house, backing on a park. Wrong, but pretty awesome at the same time.

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Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 by Henry
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

This isn’t a great photo but since I’m not taking a photo a day, I have fewer to post than I did for the last ten years. The photo was taken through the glass of our kitchen door and with a mere 100mm lens, so it’s less sharp than it might be. Still, it was a nice view of the bird and we always enjoy wildlife in our yard. Well, almost always. We’re less excited about deer, which can be fairly destructive. And rabbits. Once it gets a bit warmer we’ll have lots of rabbits. But we love birds of pretty much all kinds and are especially happy to see foxes (and even more so if they eat the rabbits).

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Photograph taken on Saturday, February 06, 2021 by Henry
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

We walked on the C&O Canal again this afternoon, returning to Pennyfield Lock but walking southeast instead of northwest. We saw three herons including one in a tree over the canal and this one, wading in the water. It seems like a good time of year for them and it’s particularly nice to see them as close as this. The trees are all bare, of course, which makes things in the trees easier to see. It was cool out today but not cols, so a really nice day for a walk.

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Photograph taken on Sunday, January 24, 2021 by Henry
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

We went for a walk on the C&O Canal this afternoon, heading northwest from Pennyfield Lock. We saw a few great blue herons Great (Ardea herodias), including this one who posed for us very nicely. It was a lovely day and really good to be outdoors. The canal is nice, especially a little ways out from Great Falls Tavern, because it’s open and there aren’t a lot of people. More people than on some trails but not so many it’s a pain, trying to keep our distance from everyone.

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Photograph taken on Sunday, January 10, 2021 by Henry
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

We went to the Tridelphia Reservoir this afternoon to two different parking areas and walked out and back along trails from both. The first wasn’t as nice as we had hoped, although we saw two types of clubmoss, Diphasiastrum digitatum (fan clubmoss) and Dendrolycopodium obscurum (ground pine). The walk from the second parking area was really nice. It was an easy walk except for a few places where there was mud on the trail but it wasn’t hard to get around. We were about to turn around when Cathy spotted this great blue heron (Ardea herodias), who let us get quite close. We just stood and watched it for quite a while.

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Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 05, 2020 by Henry
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Cathy and I went for a walk on the western side of Lake Needwood this afternoon, parking at Needwood Mansion. It’s a trail we haven’t walked on before, although Cathy ran at least one cross country meet here when she was in high school. We saw quite a few eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and some of them were even close enough that I was able to get a reasonable picture or two. I really would like a longer lens for this sort of thing. Relying on the 100mm lens I have leaves me a little disappointed, but this one is pretty good, if I say so myself.

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Smartweed and Mosquito

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 18, 2020 by Henry
Pennsylvania smartweed (Persicaria pensylvanica) and Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus)

Pennsylvania smartweed (Persicaria pensylvanica) and Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus)

Cathy and I walked to the park today and I took a few pictures. This is a very common weed in our area, called Pennsylvania smartweed (Persicaria pensylvanica). I got a bonus in this photograph, of an Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). I’m not really a big fan of either, I’ afraid. Weeds are a common problem in our garden and this one shows up without fail. And I don’t know many fans of mosquitoes of any kind. Nevertheless, they both have a sort of beauty that cannot be denied.

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Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 17, 2020 by Henry
Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

I don’t know if this is the same Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) I photographed at the end of September (see Wednesday, September 30, 2020) but I wouldn’t be surprised. Cathy noticed it on the outside of the kitchen window and I took a few photos of it through the glass. Then she suggested I take it across the street to show our neighbor’s kids, who were quite interested in seeing it. They especially enjoyed when it crawled up my arm and onto the back of my head. I put it on the ground and took a few more photos of it, including this one.

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Junonia coenia (Common Buckeye)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, October 07, 2020 by Henry
Junonia coenia (Common Buckeye)

Junonia coenia (Common Buckeye)

Just a few days ago I mentioned that we were seeing fewer butterflies in the garden. Then I saw and photographed a painted lady (Vanessa cardui), a red admiral (Vanessa atalanta), a monarch (Danaus plexippus), and today a common buckeye (Junonia coenia), all within just over two weeks. So, the summer is going out strong in terms of butterflies. The common buckeye is not particularly rare here, but we haven’t seen a lot of them this year. It’s a pretty butterfly and quite distinctively marked. Like the recently photographed painted lady and monarch, this one is on the Verbena bonariensis.

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Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, October 06, 2020 by Henry
Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

The late afternoon sun was shining on the hawthorn berries and I took some pictures of them before spotting this monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) flitting around the tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis). She flew off for a while but I waited and she came back and I was able to get some pretty nice photos. I figured I can get pictures of the hawthorn again tomorrow. The butterflies are getting to be fewer and fewer, so I want to capture them while I can. We’ve had a pretty steady presence of monarchs this summer, although rarely more than one at a time. This one is in particularly fine shape.

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Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 by Henry
Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Cathy noticed this praying mantis outside our kitchen door this afternoon. When I first went out, it was facing away from me and then moved into the evening primroses off the side of the patio. Rather than leaving it with that, I picked it up and moved it back onto the steps. From there it moved onto the wall, and that’s where my best pictures of it were taken. This is an import, a Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis), which were introduced from China in 1896 to combat pests. It out competes many of the native preying mantises, which are sadly in decline.

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Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral)

Photograph taken on Monday, September 28, 2020 by Henry
Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral)

Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral)

This is the first red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) I’ve seen in the yard this year. It’s wings are pretty ragged but it was fluttering around well enough. We’re seeing fewer butterflies lately, now that it’s cooled off so much, but once in a while we get a treat like this. This one is resting on a rose trellis on the end of our house that used to have a huge, climbing rose on it. That rose died to the ground a while back but it’s finally starting to get up onto the trellis again. Hopefully in a few more years it will be back to its former glory.

The red admiral is cousin to the painted lady (Vanessa cardui) whose picture I posted just over a week ago.

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Harmonia axyridis (Asian Lady Beetle)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 by Henry
Harmonia axyridis (Asian Lady Beetle)

Harmonia axyridis (Asian Lady Beetle)

I went out this morning to bring the recycle bins back from the curb and happened to notice this little Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) on the hood of my car. So, it’s not a terribly natural setting and I’ve have loved to be able to photograph it on a flower or something, but I’m keeping it real and telling it like it is (or was). These are quite common in our area and can be found pretty much throughout the United States and southern Canada. They are native to eastern Asia from the Altai Mountains to the east coast and Japan. Their spot pattern and colors are extremely variable, including the black spots on an orange base, as seen here, but also black on red, red, orange, or yellow on black, and even solid with no spots.

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