This Nature Walk edition continues from #4.3 - Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals.

I've broken this post up into four parts due to the large number of images:

• 4.1 - Arthropods
  
• 4.2 - Birds
• 4.3 - Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals
  
• 4.4 - Plants & Fungi (this post)
  

The images are highly compressed for bandwidth's sake, but you can click on the images for larger versions (and a few are much deserving of an extra click).

As always feel free to give me any species identifications where I have failed to do so or done so incorrectly.

Plants

I have next to zero skills when it comes to identifying plant species.  As such, the following will consist mostly of images with no real description. Don't get me wrong - I love me some botany. However, every time I learn a new plant, at least five other pieces of information fall from my skull. I'm just not that knowledgeable on  plants.

One defining characteristic of the Chapel Hill/Triangle region of North Carolina in the Spring is the blanketing of the land by invasive (but beautiful) Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis). This stuff is everywhere, covering large swaths of canopy, much like the invasive Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) which is also from China.

Wisteria

Wisteria

Wisteria

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) - a perennial Easter visual pleasure

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

Heavenly bamboo (Nandina Domestica) - Okay, so this is an ornamental as well.  It's still cool.

Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina Domestica)

My property has quite a few various native ferns growing wild throughout the woods. I particularly love them this time of year when the new young leaves are still "fiddleheads."

Fern fiddlehead

Fern fiddlehead

Fern fiddlehead

Fern fiddlehead

I found this tiny unknown wildflower in the woods as well (anyone care to ID?):

Unknown flower

I really love these very tiny spring flowers, also found wild in the woods.  They are Azure Bluets or Quaker ladies (Houstonia caerulea)

Azure Bluet (Houstonia caerulea)

Azure Bluet (Houstonia caerulea)

Another ornamental from home - the classic early bloomer Forsythia.

Forsythia

Climbing ivy from my front yard:

Ivy

Ivy

A random pretty leaf growing on the forest floor.  I found lots of these and would love to know what they are...

Unknown leaf

I took this shot just because it was really a quite lovely scene. The sun shone bright as a breeze drifted through a huge expanse of grass on campus.

Grass

A nice unfinished (and apparently abandoned) beaver-felled tree:

Beaver-felled tree

Epiphytic plants growing in a tree (technically these are probably not even normal epiphytes - the tree is basically acting like a pot, so the plants are probably in the ground for all they are concerned):

Plants in a tree

My ornamental peach:

Ornamental peach

The ground of my property is also covered in a variety of mosses:

Moss

Moss

Moss

Moss

Moss

Fungi

Finally, I found a nice set of Puffball Fungi growing on the base of a tree. I have no idea what they are beyond that...

Puffball Fungus

And that is the end of this latest collection of my observations of nature. The reason I love doing this is that it gives me the perfect excuse to do a little research and learn a little bit about the organisms surrounding me, particularly on how to identify them.

Hopefully, you all get a little bit out of it as well.

See the rest of this Nature Walk:

• 4.1 - Arthropods
  
• 4.2 - Birds
• 4.3 - Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals
  
• 4.4 - Plants & Fungi (this post)
  

This Nature Walk edition continues from #4.2 - Birds.

I've broken this post up into four parts due to the large number of images:

• 4.1 - Arthropods
  
• 4.2 - Birds
• 4.3 - Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals (this post)
  
• 4.4 - Plants & Fungi
  

The images are highly compressed for bandwidth's sake, but you can click on the images for larger versions (and a few are much deserving of an extra click).

As always feel free to give me any species identifications where I have failed to do so or done so incorrectly.

Reptiles

One creature that exists by the thousands at the National Institute of Environmental Health Science is the turtle. If my identification skills serve me right, these are Florida Cooters (Pseudemys floridana) - though they could be one of a few different slider turtles. I really love the fact that there are turtles called cooters!

Florida Cooter (Pseudemys floridana)

Florida Cooter (Pseudemys floridana)

Cooters perched on a beaver lodge

Dead cooter. As Steve Irwin would say (in that awesome Aussie accent), "It's nature's way."

Amphibians

I just happened to look in a ditch at the spot where I eat my lunch. What did I see but hundreds of tadpoles.

Tadpoles

Tadpoles

Back in the swamp behind my house, which is currently flooded and filled with millions of chirping frogs, I came across quite a few Northern Cricket Frogs (Acris crepitans), though it was nigh impossible to get a shot of them.

Northern Cricket Frogs (Acris crepitans)

Northern Cricket Frogs (Acris crepitans)

Mammals

I happened to glance down a swath of land cleared for a high-power transmission line and saw a familiar lone figure staring back at me. It was a White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus).

White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Of course, these are a dime a dozen at my workplace as I've shown you before. Yesterday I managed to get a good shot of a deer's backside as he looked back at me.  You can even see the nubs of his little antlers poking through.

"Take a Picture - It Will Last Longer"

"Get one of my guns too!"

Also in the flooded marsh behind my property, almost every single surface was covered with the shape of deer hooves.

Deer Tracks

If I don't see at least fifty Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in a day...I probably haven't gotten out of bed.

Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

Ain't he cute?

As a rare treat, I managed to spot the elusive Carolina Forest Cow (Bos notrealicus).

Carolina Forest Cow (Bos notrealicus)

And finally, in the wee hours of a beautiful Spring morn, I awoke to the bloodcurdling hungry cries (and annoying paws to my sleeping face) of three not-so-big Carolina wildcats:

The Rare White Ocelot (Felix spoiledieai)

Rare White Ocelot (Felix spoiledieai)

The Marbled Manx (Felix epililepticus)

Marbled Manx (Felix epililepticus)

The Pygmy Jaguar (Felix obnoxious)

Pygmy Jaguar (Felix obnoxious)

Apparently all three of these magnificent beasts are part of some scientific study. You can tell by the radiotelemetric tracking tags affixed to their necks.

See the rest of this Nature Walk:

• 4.1 - Arthropods
  
• 4.2 - Birds
• 4.3 - Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals (this post)
  
• 4.4 - Plants & Fungi

This Nature Walk edition continues from #4.1 - Arthopods.

I've broken this post up into four parts due to the large number of images:

• 4.1 - Arthropods
  
• 4.2 - Birds (this post)
• 4.3 - Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals
  
• 4.4 - Plants & Fungi
  

The images are highly compressed for bandwidth's sake, but you can click on the images for larger versions (and a few are much deserving of an extra click).

As always feel free to give me any species identifications where I have failed to do so or done so incorrectly.

Birds

Other than all the other scurrying, fluttering, swimming, and pulsing critters of the world, birds are my favorite.

I've managed to snap quite a few good bird images over the past few days (though more eluded me, such as the dastardly killdeer that continually thwarted my focusing attempts). Here are some of them.

First, the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis). This bird was hanging out over by the Environmental Protection Agency (near the NIEHS). It was quite a distant shot, but turned out pretty well, considering. I am rarely able to get close enough to bluebirds around here. They're just so skittish.

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

This next is my favorite bluebird image ever. Today I just happened to walk by this birdhouse nestled in in the woods at the treeline (the NIEHS campus is covered with them), and I saw this single eye staring out at me.  Priceless!

"Please don't eat me, please don't eat me, please don't eat me!"

And the cutest thing I've seen this spring: a Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) mother with eleven ducklings.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Swimming among the algal mats - Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Check out the front baby's face! - Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

And to top it off, I even have some video:

As I've mentioned before, one of the great things about the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (and the EPA) is the large lake in the middle of campus. We are a stopping ground for all sorts of migratory water fowl, with several species appearing and dissappearing throughout the year. (see the ruddy ducks from a previous Nature Walk)

One bird that I've seen alot of this year is the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus).

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

So regal!

"Do I look fatter to you?"

Of course, our campus is infamous for the gazillion Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) that stalk the grounds.  Right now the females are mostly nested, with the males hovering nearby - both ready to start a hissy fit (literally) if you get near the nests.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

"Back off!"

"And you think we don't have teeth"

To truly appreciate their menacing display (more hiss than bite) you must see the video:

Don't worry - this goose was not overly stressed by me.  They nest about 3 feet from the walking trail. This female makes this display probably about a hundred times per day as each jogger strolls by.  It's quite hilarious actually. One has to admire their ability to keep up the front (I know of quite a few people who find them dangerous and terrifying - trust me, they are neither once you've figured out their game. It's the same as a defensive opossum: open your mouth and hiss alot - that's it).

As I was walking along, a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) plopped down right next to me.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) coming in for a landing

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Back at the homestead, I captured another priceless avian expression: an American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) suddenly noticing that I had snuck up behind the feeder.

American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)

Nearby, a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) skittered up the huge poplar tree in my front yard:

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

A Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) perched as well.

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Finally, I managed to capture a far away American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) scoping the farmland below for tasty treats. I grew up calling these "Sparrow Hawks," which is apparently a common misnomer - they are actually falcons (not hawks).

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)

Who says the dinosaurs went extinct?

See the rest of this Nature Walk:

• 4.1 - Arthropods
  
• 4.2 - Birds (this post)
• 4.3 - Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals
  
• 4.4 - Plants & Fungi

Days like these remind me what I love so much about the South...warm Springs exploding with life.

This edition of my series of Nature Walks is a big one. I took all of the following images over the past few days - some on my lunch break, some at the NIEHS campus, some at home, and some simply next to the road on my daily commute. So perhaps "Nature Walk" is a misnomer for this edition, but it suffices. Even while staring at the lake through my windows at work I am walking nature in my mind (unless I'm sectioning brains).

I've broken this post up into four parts due to the large number of images:

• 4.1 - Arthropods (this post)
  
• 4.2 - Birds
• 4.3 - Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals
  
• 4.4 - Plants & Fungi
  

The images are highly compressed for bandwidth's sake, but you can click on the images for larger versions (and a few are much deserving of an extra click).

As always feel free to give me any species identifications where I have failed to do so or done so incorrectly.

Arthropods

The first thing I'd like to note is that if you haven't visited Bugguide.net before, you should check it out.  It is an utterly indispensable online reference for everything arthropod. I almost never fail to identify insects using it (and it has quite a few experts and educated amateur entomologists always willing to help in identification).

My wife walked into the house white-faced a couple of days ago. She had gone into my shed for a tool.  This is what she saw:

Dolomedes tenebrosus spider

"Go ahead - touch me - I dare you"

Dolomedes tenebrosus spider

It's a Dolomedes tenebrosus spider. She's a lovely beast. She keeps my shed relatively bug-free.

I saw this next spider at the pond back behind my property today. It's a Six-Spotted Fishing Spider (Dolomedes triton). Interestingly, I learned that it is of the same genus as the monster above, though they are massively different in size, color, habit, and habitat. They both belong to the family of Fishing Spiders (though the first one does not live on water).

Dolomedes triton spider

Dolomedes triton spider

While turning over some leaves, I found this brilliantly colored orb-weaver, (I believe it's a Marbled Orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus)).

Marbled Orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus)

At lunch I struggled to capture an image of this stunning beauty of a Coleopteran. It would sit still as I focused, then dart about a foot forward in a blink - I would move, refocus - rinse and repeat... It's a Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata). What luck! Two different species with "Six-spotted" in the common name (the beetle and the spider above).

Spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

Spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

Of course, the Azaleas are in full bloom at the homestead, and are of course covered in bees, flies, and butterflies.

Here's a Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus).

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Next is the Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica). I know they are carpenter bees because they drill into my wood-paneled house. This is followed by hungry red-bellied woodpeckers drilling into said wood to retrieve the hymenopteran snacks.  This is followed by me patching and repainting the woodpeckers' hack job. It's a semi-circle of life.

(Note: If you haven't seen it, you must check out my story from earlier today: The Carpenter Bee and Her Mate: A Heartwarming (and Dissapointing) Tale of Rescue.

Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica)

A bee (Anthophila (Apoidea) - Bees) of unknown identity (I couldn't even peg it to a family - help please? It was about half the size of the carpenter bees.

Unknown Bee

And some Ants (Formicidae) on a flower. I didn't even realize they were there until I checked out the image on my computer.  It was a tiny flower.

Unknown Ants

Finally, I found a nice specimen of what I believe is a Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) ootheca (egg case).

Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina)

Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina)

See the rest of this Nature Walk:

• 4.1 - Arthropods (this post)
  
• 4.2 - Birds
• 4.3 - Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals
  
• 4.4 - Plants & Fungi
  

Today I had a half an hour to kill while waiting for a Western blot to run at work, so I took a quick drive around the NIEHS campus, which is typically covered with wildlife (see my last Nature Walk).

I was fortunate to see our local White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) herd out munching the new grass.

White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Run away....

Should I be frightened?

Check out my new antler nubs

"Hey Doey, get a load this guy..."

The moment of the spook

I have nothing intelligent to add to these. This herd has about 10 individuals or so and can be seen several times a week.

Previous Nature Walks

1. Hawks, Epiphytes, Woodpeckers and Orchids
2. Birds and a Burger

Unfortunately, I did not see the otters, though I will most certainly be attempting to capture them on digital film next week... I did see the following... (FYI: I am not an experienced birder - if I misidentify, feel free to let me know. Also: these are highly compressed images to limit bandwidth - click for higher res).

Beautiful lake between the NIEHS and EPA campuses

First up, a flock of ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis):

Sleepy...

so my tail's stiff...what of it?

Get back to work...

And of course, our ubiquitous Canada Goose (Branta canadensis). We literally have hundreds of these birds all over campus year round, covering every surface with green refuse. I look forward to nesting season when they develop severe huffy attitudes that involve a lot of loud hissing (but they're really all talk).

A while back they hired a company to capture most of them and relocate them...yeah...that didn't work (too many geese leads to many problems, environmental and otherwise).

Bring it on Cobra Kai

Walk on by...

And the less exotic, but still wonderful American Robin (Turdus migratorius) far away and HIGH up in a tree (I was surprised this photo even turned out at all.

Fluffed in the wind

After my walk around the lake, I went for a burger at Wendy's (I know - horrible - but they're so tasty). All of the following were taken from my car in the parking lot and at my parked eating spot.

Every year about this time, a huge flock of Ring-Billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis) shows up in this fast-food district. You coastal folks may bore of them, but we are pretty far inland, and I grew up in landlocked Arkansas, so I still find gulls utterly fascinating.

Give me fries!!

Call me Narcissus...

Beautiful Eyes (mature vs. immature)

One sad bird had a severely gimpy foot. But it seemed to be surviving...thanks to fast-food throw aways. I must say that it looked to be in some pain walking.

Victim of a fisherman (tangled line and rig)

And finally, I retreated to my favorite natural spot to eat, parked near a tiny copse of pines. Despite the fact that I always pay attention to nature, I somehow had never managed to see the following bird. I could tell it looked like a nuthatch - I'm very familiar with the White-Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) as we had hundreds on my property in Arkansas - but I had no clue what it was and had to look it up when I got home.

It's a Brown-Headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla). He was pretty cute - he would look in the hole and poke around, then jerk his head around to make sure no one was watching, then do it again and again.

The Paranoid Nuthatch

The Brown-Headed Nuthatch in action...

Shortly thereafter it was back to the lab...

Previous Nature Walks:

• Nature Walk #1 - Hawks, Epiphytes, Woodpeckers and Orchids

The point is: I love nature. Paying attention to it is first-nature to me, having been raised as a country boy in the Ozark mountain forests. It is for this reason that I also consider this a "nature blog." In fact, I recently joined the Nature Blog Network - THE community for nature bloggers - which was created by the wonderful Mike Bergin of 10,000 Birds and I and the Bird fame (note: Mike is in Guatemala at a birding conference right this minute - be sure to look out for what is sure to be an amazing photography collection and story when he returns).

In tribute to  my own inclusion in the Nature Blog Network, I give you the first in a series of posts consisting of my own observations from taking walks into nature. I've been posting similar things for a while now (check out the SWEET footage I got of a Great Blue Heron with a catfish recently), but I'd like to make this a formal posting event for me - especially since spring is looming and I will no doubt be making many forays into the natural world.

Although it is still very wintery here in North Carolina and wildlife is relatively sparse (I miss the bugs and other invertebrates...) there is still much to see if one looks closely enough.

Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

In fact, I had barely stepped outside my front door when I saw one of my all time favorite creatures: the red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus). When I was a small child I read some tale of a now-forgotten Native American and his spirit or guardian animal - the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Ever since then the hawk has been one of my favorite animals. If I had a "spirit animal" it would be a hawk. Yes, it's insanely silly, but I always pretend like it's a good luck sign when I see one - the key word here is pretend. Really, I love all raptors.

As I walked down my driveway, I heard a squawking sound coming from my neighbors yard. When I looked up, I saw two red-shouldered hawks - one in a nest and the other in a nearby tree. I quickly tried to photograph them, though they were still about 40 yards away. I have a great digital camera, though it is NOT a professional DSLR. However, the 12X optical zoom and decent manual options are more than good enough for me until I have cash to burn.

As soon as I snapped the pic above, both of them took flight. I tried to get an in-flight shot, but the one below was the best I could do in the 1.5 seconds I had before they were gone. Luckily, it was good enough for me to identify it as a red-shouldered rather than a red-tailed. My neighbor (Flyzeyes, who has some pretty awesome nature photography himself) and I both hope that the nest is theirs and that they will return - we shall see.

Red-shouldered Hawk in flight - barely got it.

I mosied on past my neighbors house and through the woods behind it, where a small pond lies hidden within the forest. The pond is surrounded by beaver-chopped trees from last spring. Here are two shelf fungus-laden remnants of the beaver's work:

To my mycologist friend, Southern Fried Scientist: Please identify...

Years of growth, felled by one small furry creature.

The pond overflows over a small levy into a large swamp below it.

Swamp

Flitting throughout the trees, flocks of tiny birds surround the entire marsh. I managed to get one decent picture (they tended to keep a good distance between them and me), and through my trusty bird guide I'm almost certain they were Swamp Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) Note: I had it wrong initially - so much for my bird ID skills... thanks to Mark Shields! The lateral eye-mark and streaked breast with dark spot in the middle is the give-away sign.

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

The swamp was also surrounded by one type of bush (I have no idea what kind) covered with cool looking pollen pods (see my non-existent botany lingo and knowledge?).

Pollen pod? I'm sure there's a proper word for this... Update: their called "catkins" - thanks to Inoculated Mind (see comments)

One of my favorite things about wet areas (like swamps and marshes) are that there tend to be various epiphytic species everywhere (epiphytes = things that live on other things - usually on plants. Most are not generally parasitic, but just use plants for structure, though parasites like mistletoe are still considered epiphytic in habitat. Small plants, algae, fungi, and lichens are among the most common - or visible anyway - epiphytes).

I believe this is a lichen - I could totally be wrong.

Amazing structure...

I also managed to snap two different woodpecker species - both from fairly great distances, so the images aren't superb. I'm almost 100% certain of both of their identities. The first is a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber), and the second is a Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus).

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

After watching the birds for a while, I made my way to my own back yard, where I found a returning Lamb's Ear (Stachys sp.)

Lamb's Ear (Stachys sp.)

And finally, I took a few photographs of one of two native North Carolina orchid species I've found on my property. The first is the Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor). What's interesting about this species is that they only bear one leaf - and only in the fall/winter. Once flowering season arrives in the summer, the leaf dies and they send up a shoot filled with tiny flowers. In the fall, the flower stem dies back, to be replaced by the single lone leaf, which has a bright purple underside.

Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor)

Purple underside

Unfortunately, after a while of searching I was unable to find any of the second orchid - which I know I had several of last year. This second native orchid is quite a beautiful plant - and it has an awesome name: the Rattlesnake Plantain - or Rattlesnake Orchid (Goodyera pubescens). We've had 2 years of pretty bad drought, and an unseasonably cold winter - so I am hoping they have not all died. Perhaps I will find more in the spring. Here's a picture of some I took last September. Pretty amazing foliage pattern, no?

Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens). Extinct on my property?

And with that, my first nature walk of the year is concluded. I cannot wait for everything to start blooming and for all the insects and other crawly critters come out of the woodwork. Keep an eye out here for more nature photos and stories to come...

If you know the identity of anything above, or if I've misidentified something, please let me know.