August 2020: Describe your walk by adding a comment below

Each time you go out and make observations for this project, describe your walk by adding a comment to this post. Include the date, distance walked, and categories that you used for this walk.

Suggested format:
Date. Place. Distance walked today. Total distance for this project.
Categories.
Brief description of the area, what you saw, what you learned, who was with you, or any other details you care to share.

Posted on 01 de agosto de 2020, 03:38 PM by erikamitchell erikamitchell

Comentários

8/1/20. Lightening Ridge Rd, Calais VT, 0.2 miles today, 2696.9 miles total.
Categories: birds, road kill
This morning I walked along Lightening Ridge Rd in search of birds. Unfortunately, I forgot to check my camera battery before I left home, and I also forgot my spare battery. I had just gotten started when the battery in my camera blinked out, so I ended up turning around almost right after I started. Nevertheless, I found an indigo bunting, some chickadees, some song sparrows, some yellowthroats, and a mysterious warbler that is probably not so mysterious to someone who really knows birds. This one was greenish yellow on top and light on the bottom with an eye ring and wing bars. I wonder if it’s actually a female blue-headed vireo. Road kill was a frog/toad and very large, very fresh garter snake.

8/1/20. #10 Pond, Calais VT, 1.8 miles today, 2698.7 miles total.
Categories: bees, birds, road kill

Later in the morning I went out to #10 Pond to meet up with our Saturday morning hiking group. Except, I was the only one to show up. Still, I had a very pleasant walk around the edge of the pond. On my way back, I did the loop around the end of the pond through North Calais village to check out the gardens and invasive plants there to see what might be attracting bees. There were extremely few birds around the pond, especially mid-morning. Oddly, even though this is a pond, bird life here is quite sparse. I did see the loon on the pond, heard 8 red-eyed vireos, and saw a single song sparrow. Down in the village, I saw a robin, and then when I was standing beside a roadside flower garden checking the echinacea for bees, a hummer came right up beside me to inspect the bee balm. That was a thrill! It nearly made up for getting scolded for not wearing a mask. That happened as I walked the dirt road around the end of the pond on G.A.R. road. A beat-up cabin there got sold recently to some out of state folks who put a sign up on it that says “Magic Mirror Lake”. Mirror Lake is the state’s official name for the pond, but locals continue to call it #10 Pond. The new owners of the cabin don’t like the fact that locals keep coming by to swim at the tiny clearing across the road from their pond, as they have for generations. This morning as I walked by the cabin by myself, a bandana around my neck and mask in my pocket in case I actually encountered anyone else on the road, I noted huge piles of junk beside the cabin—apparently, the owners are ditching everything that was indoors. Just then, a woman came out of the cabin, 50’ away growling. She muttered under her breath, “I thought everyone was supposed to be wearing masks today.” Maybe she’s just bitter about vandalism to the cabin over the winter. Or maybe just a bitter person in general. Perhaps the woman lives in a state that has a much more strictly worded mask mandate. I guess I am a little more appreciative of the governor’s wording of the mask mandate that goes into effect today, which says that people must wear masks if they cannot avoid being 6’ away from others, but they don’t have to wear them while exercising outdoors. I thought I was strict about mask wearing, but I guess not strict enough for everyone. In any case, I was quite successful in my bee hunt, finding masked bees on Queen Anne’s lace, honeybees and bumblebees on those blue prickly pointed flowers, and lots of sweat bees and lasioglossum on fleabane. Lots of road kill around the pond: frog/toads, 2 small turtles, a small garter snake, and a short-tailed shrew.

Publicado por erikamitchell mais de 3 anos antes

8/2/20 Marshfield Pond, Marshfield VT, 3 miles today, 2701.7 miles total.
Categories: insects, birds, roadkill

I skipped my morning walk this morning because we kept having rain showers. In the afternoon I drove out to Marshfield Pond with my husband. While he rode up and down the old railroad bed that pretends to be a road on his unicycle, I did a combination bee and bird walk. Except, it was cloudy and barely 70F. The only bees out were a few bumbles. And most of the birds were asleep. I managed to shoot some cedar waxwings, a song sparrow, and a robin. I also found common eastern and tricolored bumblebees, plus a few wasps. The road kill, on the other hand, was quite plentiful, mostly toads, with a perhaps a flattened frog and a very flat garter snake.

Publicado por erikamitchell mais de 3 anos antes

8/3/20. Lightening Ridge Rd, Calais VT, 1.8 miles today, 2703.5 miles total.
Categories: birds, roadkill
This morning I took a walk along Lightening Ridge Rd looking and listening for birds. The birds are markedly quieter now than they were just a few days ago. I didn’t even get 20 species for my ebird list, when just last week I had a day when I got 40. Birds that I saw included blue jays, song sparrows, and chickadees. The road kill today was light, just a single frog.

8/3/20. East Montpelier Town Trails, East Montpelier, VT, 1.6 miles today, 2705.1 miles total.
Categories: surprises
This afternoon I took my weather stations out along the East Montpelier trails in search of a sedge meadow and a hemlock forest. I wanted to collect some temperature and humidity profiles from these community types. I haven’t been to the sedge meadow in a few years, and my recollections of how to get there were hazy. The trail system is extremely confusing, even for someone who walks the trails often. In any case, the first trail I tried took me into a cornfield. Which was fine, since I also want to collect some weather data from anthropogenic habitats, and an industrial cornfield was on my list. After I left the cornfield, I took the next trail off to the right and found the sedge meadow. By the time I collected my data there, I was out of time, so I’ll return some other day to visit the hemlock forest. I found several dragonflies today, including some white-faces and spreadwings. At the sedge meadow I found some water hemlock and an emergent water plant that I didn’t recognize at all with tiny buds and no leaves, sort of rush-like but it appeared to be a dicot. I also found several tiny, tiny spring peepers, less than ½” long.

Publicado por erikamitchell mais de 3 anos antes

8/5/20. Tucker Rd, Calais, VT. 2 miles today, 2707.1 miles total.
Categories: birds, caterpillars

I skipped my bird walk yesterday due to rain and never actually got outdoors at all, a first no-observation day in at least a year. But I took advantage of the rain to get some work done on my computer. This morning dawned bright and clear, so out I went to see what I could find on Tucker Rd. It was fairly quiet, but there were lots of hermit thrushes and red-eyed vireos calling, although I didn't manage to see any. I did see a raven, some chickadees and nuthatches, some young yellowthroats, song sparrows, and robins. And as I was walking up the road, there were Jim's horses again, chewing away at a neighbor's nicely manicured lawn. I briefly wondered if I should go back and knock on his door to let them know where the horses were. But last week when I did that, I felt bad about waking up Jim's young Filipina wife, who got the job of enticing the horses back. So I let the horses munch in peace and continued along my way. When I got to the turn-around point of my walk and started back, there were the horses again, now in the back yard of the neighbor's house. Just then, a friend from Adamant drove up, waving to me as she drove by. Her 2 dogs bounded out of her car and began to chase the horses through the neighbor's yard. I continued along my way. When I got back to Jim's house, Jim came out his front door and down to the road to greet me. He invited me to check out the birds near the pond in his field. He assured me that the electric fence is never on. As we were talking, his wife stuck her head out the door and told Jim the neighbors had called to say the horses were out. I told him they were right up the road, in the neighbor's yard. Jim's wife asked if he wanted some grain. He said "What?" She repeated herself. He said "What?" again. I repeated her question for him. He said "No, I'll go get the horses after I finish my breakfast." The wife grabbed her shoes and a bucket of grain and headed up the road. I went down to check out the pond, stepping over the hefty non-electrified fence. No birds around the pond. When I got back to the road, Jim's 6-year-old stepson was standing in the middle of the road in his PJs, fingers in his mouth. Jim was explaining to him that he can't turn the fence on because there are yellow jackets in the control box. The child looked up at him with wide wondering eyes that seemed to say "Whatever you say, Dad. I'll learn those big words someday." My Adamant friend came walking down the road with the neighbor's wife, out for some exercise with their 3 off-leash dogs. They wondered aloud if they would see a bear a little further along, the one I just missed a few weeks ago that hangs out in the darkest part of the wood near the waterfall. The two women had hardly gotten past Jim's house when the dogs at the other neighbor's kennel began greeting the off-leash dogs. I continued down the road, looking forward to getting some breakfast myself. No road kill today, but lots of caterpillars.

Publicado por erikamitchell mais de 3 anos antes

I hate when I forget to charge my camera battery; there's inevitably something I really want to photograph just after it dies.

New Jersey is pretty strict about mask wearing; we cannot go in a public building without one. But even we don't have to wear them while exercising, except when 6 feet can't be maintained (like crossing a bridge by someone else, for instance). But perhaps your neighbor was just looking for something to complain about.

I remember in college in VT once hearing on the radio that horses were loose on Route 7 in Vergennes and then almost immediately coming upon them myself. They get out occasionally around here (though actually cattle are more commonly loose in Warren) and someone always sends the police after them. It's great fun to sit home and listen to the cops on the police band radio running after them through folks' backyards. But there are sure not a lot of roads around here where a 6 year old can hang out in the street in his pajamas!

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-1-20. Finderne Wetlands, Bridgewater, NJ. 0.5 miles today 804.25 miles total
Categories: blooming, insects

I walked here behind my son's trucking home base, as I was interested in wetland plants, plus it was overcast and the area is very open and hot so I can't do it on a sunny day.

There were some odd teasel plants, smaller than usual an with all the flowers blooming at once. I saw a Eustichus stink bug and a small carpenter bee, a slant faced grasshopper, some white chicory, and sweet peas.

When I got back to the parking lot I noticed one of the trees was an Ailanthus. And I remembered that spotted lanternflies are coming up from Philly and like Ailanthus. I'd only seen them in Philly itself on the ground, but I'd heard they gather on the trunks, and lo and behold, there they were! About half a dozen on the trunk and branches of the Ailanthus there. They are horribly invasive, but I was still really excited to see them.

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-8-20 Washington Valley Park, Martinsville, NJ. 0.25 miles today, 804.5 miles total
Category: insects

I took a quick walk at the local park today, just to get out of the house. I found an ambush bug eating a greenbottle fly, a spotted cucumber beetle, and a zabulon skipper. I had my eye out for ramp fruit as I'd seen a large patch of the leaves in the spring, but there was not a sign of them. I did find lesser celandine corms, though.

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-9-20 The Meadows, Highland Park, and Chimney Rock Park, Martinsville, NJ. 1.0 miles today, 805.5 miles total
Category: blooming, insects

This afternoon I drove down to Highland Park to walk at two spots I'd not been to before: around the community gardens and in "the Meadows". At the gardens a woman walked up to me suspiciously and asked what the heck I was doing. I told her photographing lichen (at that moment). She thought I was spraying something. We then had the longest conversation I'd had yet about photographing species for iNat. But I did not find much unusual at the garden, just a very large wolf spider.

The Meadows is actually wet woods. Here I found bergamot and willow oak, but I suspect both were planted. There was also jetbead, some interesting sedges, a whole lot of fungi, and Kentucky coffee tree.

In the evening I walked with Molly at a local park. I was able to show her the viper's bugloss here, which she'd never seen before (though nearly all of it was dug up when someone was clearing the brush with a bulldozer in the past week or so). She spotted ebony jewelwings and some Jack in the pulpit fruit (not ripe yet, though).

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-10-20 Edison Riverwalk, Edison, NJ. 0.5 miles today, 806 miles total
Category: blooming

Molly and I walked this boardwalk along the Raritan River. I'd been slowly working my way downstream, stopping in parks that border the river and this was the latest. It was very hot and sunny, with no shade (though there was a much-appreciated gazebo at the half-way point).

We found a new-to-me species: proliferous pink, Petrorhagia prolifera, I think. Very neat.

I had my eye out for lanternflies, but, though we did find a little Ailanthus we didn't see them.

The path went along the very brushy, 6-foot bank of the river. At one point I stepped a toe into the brush to photograph some mating Japanese beetles, and something "oinked" at me from the brush! I have no idea what it actually was; Molly guessed some bird, but we liked the idea of it actually being a feral pig. Never did see anything, though there was a rustling that sounded like something about the size of maybe a rabbit.

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-11-20. Willowwood Arboretum, Chester, NJ. 0.75 miles today, 806.75 total
Categories: flowering, critters

I met up with Sandy (@sadawolk) today and we walked at Willowwood together. My favorite finds were queen of the prairie (in seed), a red headed bush cricket, thunberg's geranium, Japanese jack in the pulpit, a gnat ogre, a pair of zabulon skippers, some nearly-white bugle, a great spangled fritillary, shellbark hickory, and a baby bunny.

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-12-20. Assunpink Wildlife Area and Lake Etra, Allentown and East Windsor, NJ. 1.0 mile today, 807.75 miles total

Molly and I met up with her college roommate today. While they hiked I poked around in two spots and took pictures, then stopped at a pond on the way home as well. Interesting finds included a Halloween pennant, Virginia dayflower, buckeye butterfly, golden tortoise beetle, camouflaged looper, lots of bergamot with lots of spicebush swallowtails, a fraternal potter wasp with its "pot", a blooming cardinal flower, water chestnut fruit, kidney-leaved mud plantain, and my first ever Cabomba caroliniana (a very interesting-looking, invasive, pond weed).

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-15-20. Washington Valley Park, Martinsville, NJ. 1.0 mile today, 808.75 miles total

Carl and I walked down this path along a brook, to the reservoir, and back up, coming across the first spotted lanternfly I'd seen in Martinsville. Other interesting finds were a Lespedeza bicolor, corn mint, an eastern pondhawk and a blue dasher, mudplantain, a Koelreuteria sprout, and Carline thistle.

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-16-20. East Brunswick Art Center, Helmetta Rd., Helmetta Lake, Thompson Park, Monroe Park, Perineville Lake, Lake Etra, and East County Park, in Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset Counties, NJ. 2.0 miles today, 810.75 miles total

I drove down and checked out many different parks in the very northern part of the Pine Barrens area today. First was a municipal parking lot with an unmowed field (and a convenient porta-potty), next two pullouts on a rural road through swampy woods, then two parks on the shores of two man-made lakes, some woods and a wildflower field near a very old public spring, the woods along a baseball field. and two more boat launches on two more lakes.

In the evening I walked with Chuck at one of the parks in town he'd never been to, and was able to show him the spotted lanternflies (funny to write about this now, as just a few weeks later they moved onto our willow tree, just feet from where he parks his car, and we can see them whenever we like).

I posted 636 observations this day. Among them were cat's ear, Strophostyles, buttonweed, Cabomba, slender bush clover, pineweed, snake cotton, bicolored bolete, Virginia St. John's wort, bur oak, a forked tail bush katydid, dwarf St. John's wort, watershield, coreopsis, an Io caterpillar, rabbitfoot clover, sneezeweed, an Ailanthus webworm, sweetfern, partridge pea, bear oak, purplestem Bidens, a blue mud-dauber, hairy Lespedeza, a soft-line wave, Paronychia fastigata, cowbane, and short-leaved flatsedge

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-17-20 Mountain Park, Liberty Corner, NJ. 0.25 miles today, 811 miles total

Just a quick trip to a local park on a gloomy day to escape from the house. No particularly interesting species. Lots of Joe pye, smartweed, goldenrod.

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-18-20. Manesquan River, Allenwood; and Island Beach State Park, Seaside Park, NJ. 0.5 miles today, 811.5 miles total

My husband, Chuck, plus Molly, Katie and I went to the beach today, but stopped briefly at this coastal plain swamp. At the beach I walked the perimeter of the parking lot. Interesting finds included beach plum, marram grass, Gray's flatsedge, rugosa rose, buttonweed, lovegrass, skeletonweed, Amelanchier, groundseltree, trumpet creeper, yucca, bayberry, prickly pear, seaside goldenrod, and bracken

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-20-20. Delaware-Raritan Canal, South Bound Brook, NJ. 0.75 miles today, 812.25 miles total

I walked in two spots along the canal today, in part looking for lanternflies. They were there in the south but not further north. Interesting finds included sweet Annie, soapwort, a black swallowtail, my first ever Sida sp. (I think it's S. spinosa), a pumpkin seed (fish), a cormorant, sliders (turtles), a tiger lily (in fruit), a silktree, and fall webworm.

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-24-20 Millstone River Park and Plainsboro Preserve, Plainsboro, NJ. 0.25 miles today, 812-5 miles total

I had to go get a COVID test before a minor surgical proceedure today. They told me I had to go straight home and quarantine until the proceedure, but I ignored them and visited the two local parks I'd intended to check out today. I was never within 100 feet of anyone else.

I found a clouded sulfur, a great golden digger wasp, and a blister beetle. But the neatest one was a possible crookedstem aster, which is quite rare in the state.

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

8-30-20. Hoffheimer Trail and Dock Watch Hollow Rd., Warren, NJ. 0.75 miles today, 813.25 miles total

I walked the banks of this local pond and then later a little ways up a side road by my house with Molly. I found dace (fish) at the pond, but the highlight of the day was a big pandora sphinx caterpillar covered in parasitic wasp cocoons.

Publicado por srall mais de 3 anos antes

It is so interesting to read about the ailanthus and the spotted lanternflies. There is no ailanthus around here. But a few years ago when I went back in the summer to western Pennsylvania where I grew up, I was overcome by the ailanthus smell. That was the smell of summer in my childhood--I had no idea. As for Kentucky coffee trees, the Norwich professor that I studied woody plants with has one in his yard. I think it's the only Kentucky coffee tree in Vermont, perhaps. It dies back to the ground every year but resprouts. And 636 observations in one day? Phew! That has to be a record! Congratulations!

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/6/20. Chickering Rd, East Montpelier, VT & Mississquoi National Wildlife Refuge, Swanton, VT. 6.8 miles today, 2713.9 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects, woody plants I don’t see in Washington County

This morning I started with a bird walk along Chickering Rd. I found common yellowthroat, robin, white-breasted nuthatch, cedar waxwing, blue jay, white-throated sparrow, winter wren, black-capped chickadee, hermit thrush, goldfinch, red-breasted nuthatch, a hooded merganser on the swimming dock in the pond, northern flicker, and yellow-bellied sapsucker. I also found a red squirrel and a red eft.

After breakfast, my husband and I drove up to Mississquoi in Swanton so I could take some weather measurements in the pitch pine swamp and in the lake grasses. We started at the trail that follows the old railroad bed through the swamp. Special plant sightings were swamp white oak, shagbark hickory, pitch pine, green ash, white willow, silver maple, gray birch, Virginia chain fern, swamp loosestrife, black chokeberry, American groundnut, highbush blueberry, buttonbush, Virginia marsh St Johnswort, and poison ivy. Once we reached the edge of the lake we found side-flowering skullcap, pickerelweed, purple loosestrife, whorled loosestrife, poison hemlock, cornmint, stinging nettle, swamp milkweed. We had a picnic by the lake and saw northern harrier, merlin, and ring-billed gull. I also chased a few insects and found coppery leafhopper, least skipper, bluets, meadowhawks, Disonycha beetle, common eastern bumblebee, honeybee, and Japanese beetle.

After lunch we drove up the road to the boat put-in so that my husband could ride his unicycle along the flat trail there. While he rode, I looked for birds and bees. I found kingbird, song sparrow, and swamp sparrow. Also Pyrobombus, Japanese beetle, common eastern bumblebee, jagged ambush bug, weevil wasp, Prosopsis, small milkweed bug, metallic sweat bees, modest masked bee, Lestica, tricolored honebee, brown-belted bumblebee, Parancistrocerus wasp, Crabronina wasp, Disonycha beetle, least skipper, and Carolina grasshopper. Plus dozens of leopard frogs in the grass right beside the trail, meaning I had to truly stay on the trail for fear of stepping on them.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/7/20. Adamant, VT & Ricker Pond. 3.7 miles today, 2717.6 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects, blooms

This morning I went down to Adamant for a bird walk along Quarry Rd and Sodom Pond. I found a red eft, and then broad-winged hawk, kingbird, black-capped chickadee, robin, Canada goose, wood ducks, hooded mergansers, song sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch, red-winged blackbird, red-eyed vireo, and pewee. It was a gruesome morning for roadkill, with 9 toads, 3 frogs, 4 frog/toads, a yellow-necked caterpillar, and jumping mouse.

Later in the morning I returned to Adamant to meet my two friends for our weekly bug walk. We wandered through the gardens by the ponds and the music school looking for bees and wasps for our bee course. We found augochlorine sweat bee, metallic sweat bee, tricolored bumblebee, honeybee, Parancistrocerus wasp, common eastern bumblebee, sand-loving wasp, northern amber bumblebee, Ichneumon wasp, Pseudopanurgus, Colletes, Andrena nubecula, Lasioglossum, Ectemnius, Zadontomerus, hairy sweat bee, metallic epauletted sweat bee, and ligated furrow bee. Other insects in Adamant were mint-loving pyrausta, sharp-winged drill, monarch, snowberry clearwing, yellow-collard scape, orange mint moth, common wood nymph, black-legged gossamer fly, tiger crane fly, Euthycera flies (mating), Brachyceran fly, muscoid fly, Schizophoran fly, bristle fly, Poecilanthrax tegminipennis fly, Physocephala furcillata fly, thick-legged hover fly, eastern forktail, swamp spreadwing, variable dancer, common whitetail, jagged ambush bug, twice-stabbed stinkbug, tarnished plant bug, white-margined burrower bug, eastern small milkweed bug, Euschistus bug, yellow garden spider, Tetragnatha spider, goldenrod crab spider, sharpshooter, Stictocephala alta, Nemognatha beetle, robust ground cricket, two-striped grasshopper, and short-winged meadow katydid. I noted some stinking chamomile and purple loosestrife in bloom. Birds around the pond were common yellowthroat, Canada goose, and great blue heron.

In the afternoon I went up to Groton with my husband. While he unicycled the rail trail, I took my kayak out on Ricker Pond in search of bees in the purple pond weed. No luck with pond weed specialist, but I found common eastern bumblebee, Donacia beetle, slaty skimmer, skimming bluet, orange bluet, calico pennant, and Tetragnatha spider. I also found common pipewort, purple bladderwort, and buttonbush in bloom. After kayaking, I tried some snorkeling and followed some pumpkinseed fish.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/8/20. Lightening Ridge Rd, Calais, VT & Victory, VT. 4.1 miles today, 2721.7 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects, interesting plants

This morning I took a bird walk up Lightening Ridge Rd. I didn’t get very far because I found a flock of mixed warblers that required my attention. I found Canada goose, robin, hairy woodpecker, mourning dove, goldfinch, chipping sparrow, scarlet tanager, hummingbird, ruby-crowned kinglet, phoebe, chestnut-sided warbler, red-breasted nuthatch, downy woodpecker, blue-headed vireo, mourning warbler, magnolia warbler, house wren, Nashville warbler, alder flycatcher, black-and-white warbler, common yellowthroat, and kingbirds. I also found a red squirrel and a chipmunk.

After breakfast, I drove up to Victory for a Vermont Entomological Society field trip. There were about 15 people who showed up in the parking lot for the outing at the first meeting point, including another friend from the online bee course. So many people…it felt very crowded. My friend from the bee course found lots of bees in the sandy parking lot and never went down the trail towards the bog. I had always wanted to see Victory Bog so I dutifully went down the trail trying to maintain some distance despite the crowd. I don’t think we were at Victory Bog, proper, however, just a short spur trail in the general vicinity of Victory. For plants I found fireweed, tamarack, white turtlehead, marsh cinquefoil, cottongrass, swamp aster, American mountain ash, swamp candles, leatherleaf, winterberry, spotted Joe Pye weed, three-way sedge, skullcaps, water horsetail, poison hemlock, and water horehound. Insects were white admiral, two-striped grasshopper, cuckoo leaf cutter bee, small-handed leafcutter bee, Gymnosoma fly, tricolored bumblebee, orange-tipped wood-digger bee, geometer moth caterpillar, fall webworm caterpillar, bristle fly, smeared dagger, curved-horn moth, Villa fly, Ichneumon wasp, bluets, Pimpla wasp, modest masked bee, Melanoplus grasshopper, meadowhawk, yellow-banded bumblebee, jagged ambush bug, Atlantis fritillary, blackjacket, eastern phantom cranefly, spreadwing, Eutreta noveboracensis fly, Japanese beetle, bee-mimic beetle, gold and brown rove beetle, Canadian owlet moth, viceroy, spotted bee fly, honeybee, Dolichovespula norvegicoides wasp, and a globetail fly, plus Phytomyza plumiseta (leafminer). I also saw a cedar waxwing.

I took a picnic lunch by myself at a roadside pulloff in some bishop’s weed, where I also found Cylindromyia fly, goldenrod solider beetle, and Neotrypetes bee. Then I joined the others at another pull-off where there was a dirt road trail near a wetlands. At that stop there was plenty of field milkwort in full bloom, plus common eyebright, Canada St. John’s wort, Indian tobacco, round-leaved sundew, swamp laurel, willow herb, gray birch, Pellia, and lupine. Insects at the second stop were gray comma, chalk-fronted corporal, twelve-spotted skimmer, white-faced meadowhawk, ground beetle, dance flies, Zelus cervicalis bug, marbled orbweaver, notch-backed cellophane-cuckoo bee, Atlantis fritillary, Tenthredo wasp, burning blister beetle, Callandrena bee, northern amber bumblebee, Diagmites basalis fly, Citronella ants, stink bugs, Philanthus solivagus wasp, banded longhorn beetle, clouded yellow butterfly, Lasioglossum bee, fraternal potter wasp, eastern tailed blue, Osmiini bee, yellow-collared scape moth, crescent butterfly, perplexing bumblebee. And a solitary sandpiper entertained us from across a small pond near the road.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/9/20. Chapin Rd, Calais, VT & Ricker Pond, Groton, VT. 3.3 miles today, 2725 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects, bryophytes

This morning I explored Chapin Rd looking for birds. It turned out not to be a very exciting birding road, but I managed to find goldfinch, chickadee, crow, phoebe, sparrow, robin, hair woodpecker, starlings. I also found a red eft and a green caterpillar in the road. Road kill was an unidentifiable bird, and a frog.

In the afternoon I went up to Groton with my husband. While he unicycled, I took my Kayak out on Ricker Pond. I found pipewort, black chokeberry, checkerberry, Labrador tea, and sheep laurel. I also kept my eyes out for bryophytes and found Ptilidum, Pleurozium schreberi, and Polytrichum juniperinum. Insects on the pond were slaty skimmer, lesser dung fly, lesser maple spanworm moth, and variable dancer.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/10/20. Tucker Rd, Calais, VT. 1.7 miles today, 2726.7 miles total.
Categories: birds

This morning I returned to the bottom of Tucker Rd for the first time since last spring. Birding had been very good here near the wetlands last spring. But it wasn’t so exciting today. I found purple finch, chickadee, blue jay, cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, bluebird, phoebe, and red-eyed vireo. I also found a Pyrobombus bumblebee, a waved sphinx caterpillar, a red eft and some turtlehead in bloom.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/11/20. Tucker Rd, and Frizzle Mountain, Calais, VT. 2 miles today, 2728.7 miles total.
Categories: birds, arthropods

This morning I walked the upper part of Tucker Rd, starting from George Rd. I didn’t find many birds today, just raven, goldfinch, chestnut-sided warbler, blue-headed vireo, chickadee, hermit thrush, and a flock of Canada goose in the big hayfield along Lightening Ridge Rd. Insects were rosy maple moth caterpillar, yellow garden spider, tarnished plant bug, and viceroy. With so few birds, I had time to look for leafminers and galls. I found Calycomyza flavinotum, poplar leaf stem gall aphid, Aceria campestricola, and linden wart gall midge. Road kill was frogs (3), pale metanema moth, white admiral.

In the afternoon I took a bug walk through my wild flower patch in the yard. I found common eastern bumblebee, Zadontomerus, Neotrypetes bee, northern amber bumblebee, Pyrobombus bee, and yellow garden spider.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/12/20. Lightening Ridge Rd, Calais VT & Adamant VT. 2 miles today, 2730.7 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects
This morning I took a walk along Lightening Rd road heading down towards the Lilly farm to count the pigeons on Doug Lilly’s silo. Not only did I see pigeons there, but also starlings and house sparrows. Other birds were robins and a song sparrow. On the road I found Hypena caterpillar, common wood nymph, and saw fly larva. Road kill was a red eft and a frog.

In the afternoon I went down to Adamant for a bug walk. I explored the gardens there, inspecting the hydrangeas and sunflowers for bees and wasps. We found honeybee, Eumelissodes bee, tricolored bumblebee, Zadontomerus bee, dark paper wasp, European wool carder bee, common eastern bumblebee, sweat bee, dark paper wasp, great black digger wasp, European paper wasp, potter wasp, common aerial yellowjacket, metallic sweat bee, ichneumon wasp, northern amber bee, augochlorine sweat bee, confusing furrow bee, and Ectemnius continuus wasp. Other insects in Adamant were leatherwing beetle, locust borer, small milkweed bug, Euschistus bug, Physocephala furcilata, hairy-eyed bee mimic fly, Poecilanthrax tegminipennis,thick-legged hover fly, bristle flies, Malota fly, two-striped grasshopper, yellow-collared scape, crescent butterfly, variable dancer, common whitetail, and a European earwig. Birds by the pond were kingbird and bittern.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/13/20. Chickering Rd, East Montpelier, VT, Nichols Pond, Woodbury, VT, and Frizzle Mountain, Calais, VT. 2.2 miles today, 2732.9 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects

This morning I walked along Chickering Road looking for birds. I didn’t find many, just broad-winged hawk, robin, song sparrow, common yellowthroat, house wren, and a mallard up on the pond. I also found a squirrel and a red eft in the road. Roadkill was a frog.

In the afternoon my husband and I went up to Nichols Pond to swim from our neighbor’s dock. Our neighbor has a cabin on the pond there, and we figured that that would be a good place to access the water without crowds, and it was. I took a bug walk around the pond and found Diogmites basalis fly, black-shouldered spiny leg, Pyrobombus bumblebee, pure green sweat bee, potter wasp, hover fly, and metallic green sweat bee. I also saw a great blue heron fishing along the pond.

In the evening I took a short bug walk around our yard. I found common eastern bumblebee, hummingbird clearwing, and northern amber bumblebee.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/14/20. Quarry Rd, Adamant VT, Berlin Pond, and Berlin Mall, Berlin, VT. 4.1 miles today, 2737 miles total.
Categories: bird, insects, blooms

This morning I went down to Adamant for my walk, but the fog was quite thick, so it was hard to see the birds. I managed to find black and white warbler, cedar waxwing, purple finch, robin, kingbird, blue jay, merlin, hairy woodpecker, northern cardinal, northern parula gray kingbird, mallards, and black-throated-green warbler. Road kill was a frog.

Later in the morning I went up to Berlin Pond to meet my 2 friends for a bug walk along the pond. We found ligated furrow bee, Zadontomerus, honeybee, ichneumon wasp, yellow-banded bumblebee, metallic sweat bee, yellowjacket, epaulette sweat bee, Lasioglossum, common eastern bumblebee, Ectemnius maculosus, Crabronina, Gorytina wasp, and blackjacket for our bee course. We also found spreadwings, eastern forktail, Canada dancer, calico pennant, widow skimmer, eastern calligrapher, variable aphid eater fly, margined calligrapher, thick-legged hoverfly, black-horned smoothtail, hickory tussock moth, geometer moth caterpillar, ruby tiger moth caterpillar, spotted cucumber beetle, tarnished plant bug, and a Panorpa scorpionfly. Other finds were wood duck, cedar waxwing, and pickerel frog. Blooming by the pond were purple loosestrife and common eyebright.

I had a picnic lunch by the pond at the end of our bugwalk. Then I drove over to the Berlin Mall for my Prius service. While the mechanics worked on the car, I went out behind the building to see what other bugs I could find. There was more purple loosestrife blooming in the ditch. I also found Japanese beetle, variegated lady beetle, common ringlet, tawny-edged skipper, common drone fly, jagged ambush bug, --yellow garden spider, and some bees and wasps: Melissodes bee, tricolored bumblebee, Therion wasp, common eastern bumblebee, honeybee, sweat bee, ligated furrow bee, potter wasp.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/15/20. Lightening Ridge Rd, Calais VT & North Branch Nature Center. 2.2 miles today, 2739.2 miles total.
Categories: birds, arthropods

This morning I went up to Lightening Ridge Rd for my walk. I first headed east to check the big hay field, where I found turkeys and ravens. Then I turned around and headed west, intending to walk up to Adamant Rd. But the warblers distracted me and I didn’t get very far. I found hairy woodpecker, blue jay, robin, common yellowthroat, chestnut-sided warbler, chickadee, black and white warbler, magnolia warbler, red-breasted nuthatch, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, goldfinch, and cedar waxwing. I also paused to examine some red nail galls, and a leaf miner on burdock, plus a cluster of clusterflies. I found some fireweed blooming in the ditch and pulled out a tiny sprout of Japanese knotweed from recent roadwork, the first knotweed I have seen on this section of Lightening Ridge. Roadkill was a toad, a frog/toad, and an identifiable bird.

After breakfast I went down to the Nature Center in Montpelier for the first of a 2 day workshop with Charley Eiseman on insect tracks. The Nature Center had learned a lot from our feedback on the in-person amphibian seminar, in which masking was lackadaisical. This time our classroom was in an open tent, with large individual desks arranged along the margins and a comfortable distance between desks. Everyone was masked throughout the workshop, including Charley. In between lectures, we had time to wander through the nature center property looking for insects and tracks for Charley to identify. I found jagged ambush bug, honeybee, geometer moth caterpillar, Virginia tiger moth caterpillar, bicolored striped sweat bee, Homaemus aeneifrons bug, red-cross shield bug, white-banded toothed carpet moth, Zadontomerus bee, goldenrod soldier beetle, great black digger wasp, Japanese beetle, and a potter wasp. I also found a leafminer on Joe Pye weed and a jewelweed gall.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/16/20. Lightening Ridge Rd, Calais VT & North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, VT. 1 miles today, 2740.2 miles total.
Categories: birds, arthropods

This morning I returned to Lightening Ridge Rd for my bird walk since I had had such a good time here yesterday watching the warblers. My luck wasn’t quite as good today, but I found blue jay, goldfinch, chestnut-sided warbler, yellow-bellied sapsucker, and black-and-white warbler. I found phlox and Joe Pye weed blooming. Road kill were a toad, a frog/toad, and a chipmunk.

After breakfast I went down to the nature center for our second day with Charley Eiseman. Between lectures I wandered the property and found Ectemnius maculosus wasp, green stink bug (larva), a woolly bear, an Agromyza vockerothii leafminer on a raspberry leaf and a dead northern short-tailed shrew in the trail.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/17/20. Lightening Ridge Rd, Calais VT & Adamant, VT. 1.9 miles today, 2742.1 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects

This morning I walked along Lightening Ridge road looking for birds. I found hairy woodpecker, alder flycatcher, chestnut-sided warbler, chickadee, and goldfinch.

In the afternoon I went down to Adamant to pick up supplies. While I was there I looked around the gardens for insects. I found pug moth caterpillar, widow skimmer, Melanoplus grasshopper, ferruginous cranefly, autumn meadowhawk, variable dancer, black-horned smooth tail flower fly, grayish jumping spider eat an eastern calligrapher, orange mint moth, common wood nymph, oblique-banded pond fly, honeybee, tricolored bumblebee, dark paper wasp, common aerial yellowjacket, bald-faced hornet, potter wasp, Eumelissodes bee, cloudy-winged mining bee, European wool carder bee, Pyrobombus bumblebee, and maple trumpet skeletonizer moth. I also saw some geese, a song sparrow, and a Cooper’s hawk.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/18/20. Tucker Rd, Calais, VT, Groton State Park, Groton, VT, and George Rd, Calais, VT. 5.6 miles today, 2747.7 miles total.
Categories: bird, insects, leaf miners, galls, amphibians

This morning I walked along Tucker Road looking for birds. There weren’t many compared to other mornings lately. I found mourning dove, cedar waxwing, goldfinch, song sparrow, raven, and black-capped chickadee. I also found a red eft in the road and some galls on basswood leaves. Roadkill was a pickerel frog and a frog/toad.

Later in the morning I went up to Groton with my husband. I walked the rail trail while my husband rode it on his unicycle. I found a black-throated green warbler, a red squirrel, monarch caterpillar, meadowhawks, Japanese beetle, cloudy-winged mining bee, pale green assassin bug, ichneuomon wasp, Agrilas beetles (mating), potter wasp, spotted tussock moth caterpillar, Lasioglossum bee, metallic sweat bee, raspberry crown borer moth, field ant, spread wing, and bristle fly. I found leafminers on beech, hazelnut, wild sarsaparilla, cherry, whorled wood aster, goldenrod, hobblebush, bluebead lily, blackberry, grape, and winterberry and galls on flat-topped goldenrod, grape, sumac, and alder. Blooms along the trail were silverrod and Indian tobacco.

In the evening we had a little rain, and I thought conditions might be good for some amphibian crossings along George Rd. I went out with my headlamp and found 6 toads, 1 green frog and 1 bullfrog crossing the road. I also found 1 dead green frog.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

There's a spot about 30 minutes from me that gets lots of amphibians crossing in spring. They close the road and everything. I've always meant to go down and check it out, but not yet. Maybe in 2022? (I don't think they're welcoming visitors this spring).

Publicado por srall cerca de 3 anos antes

8/19/20. Lightening Ridge Rd, Calais, VT, and Nichols Pond, Woodbury, VT. 3.6 miles today, 2751.3 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects, leafminers, blooms

This morning I walked along Lightening Ridge Rd heading east past the Lily farm. It was dark and foggy, but I managed to find black-capped chickadee, common yellowthroat, song sparrow, cedar waxwing, European starling, and house sparrow. Crossing the road were red squirrel and red eft. Roadkill was a bullfrog, and 2 other frogs.

In the afternoon, my husband and I went to our neighbor’s cabin on Nichol’s Pond to hang out in their lawn and swim. I took a bug and leafminer walk around the edge of the pond while my husband rode his unicycle on the very dirt roads near the cabin. I found Virginia tiger moth caterpillar, Pyrobombus bumblebee, Diogmites basalis fly, Ectemnias maculosus wasp, hickory tussock moth caterpillar, confused haploa moth caterpillar, Alaska yellow jacket, blackjacket, spreadwing, Ancistrocerus adiabatus wasp, and fall webworm caterpillar. I also found leafminers on hazelnut, wild sarsaparilla, maple, goldenrod and galls on American elm, willow, sumac, and jewelweed. Blooming were Indian tobacco, pearly everlasting and marsh skullcap.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/20/20. Chickering Rd, East Montpelier, VT & Ricker State Park, Groton, VT. 4.8 miles today, 2756.1 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects, leafminers, galls, blooms

This morning I walked along Chickering Road looking for birds. My fitness tracker reports that this was my fastest time along this route—it was dark and foggy, and there were few birds to see. I managed to find a common yellowthroat. I also saw a snowshoe hare and a red eft. Road kill was a red eft, and a garter snake.

After lunch I went to Groton with my husband. While he unicycled the rail trail, I walked through Ricker State park searching for bees, other insects, leafminers, and galls. I found a patch of pickerelweed along the pond and managed to find one of the pickerelweed specialists, at last, pickerelweed shortface bee. Other insects for the day were autumn meadowhawk, Gargaphia lacebug, shield bug, jagged ambush bug, common aerial yellowjacket, blister fly, Melanoplus grasshopper, lesser peach borer moth, goldenrod crab spider, spurred carpenter bee, slender spreadwing, Diogmites basalis fly, Carolina grasshopper, hover fly, slater skimmer, potter wasp, locust borer, Lasioglossum, ground beetle, Ancistrocerus adiabatus wasp, dragonhunter dragonfly, yellow-legged mud dauber, Calandrena bee, variable dancer, imported willow leaf beetle, black-faced hornet fly, Japanese beetle, metallic sweat bee, Ichneumon wasp, and a spider wasp. I found leafminers on sugar maple, yellow birch, thimbleberry, bunchberry, meadow rue, trailing arbutus, asters, mountain holly, Canada mayflower, winterberry, wild sarsaparilla, white ash, goldenrod, and red maple, and galls on alder, blueberry, flat-topped aster, and sumac. Blooming were turtlehead, meadowsweet, flat-topped aster, silverrod, and pickerelweed. I also caught a cedar waxwing, gray catbird, robin, and red squirrel.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/21/20. Quarry Rd, Adamant, VT & St. Augustine’s Cemetery, Montpelier, VT. 2.8 miles today, 2758.9 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects, leaf miners, galls, blooming

This morning I went down to Adamant for a walk along the pond. Although it was a little dark and foggy, I had much better luck finding birds than I did yesterday. I found cardinal, goose, wood duck, American bittern, hermit thrush, phoebe, common yellowthroat, blue jay, chestnut-sided warbler, mallard, pied-billed grebe, great blue heron, gray catbird, sandpipers, and cedar waxwing. I also heard a loud munching in the woods and looked up to see a porcupine gnawing away at a tree branch. Blooming were Indian tobacco and turtlehead. Roadkill was a toad and a red eft.

Later in the morning I went into Montpelier were I met my 2 friends for a bug walk through the cemetery. We had a very successful walk, finding lots of bees and wasps, including Alaska yellowjacket, eastern yellowjacket, common eastern bumblebee, ichneumon wasp, Agapostemon bee, honeybee, braconid wasp, Pseudopanargus bee, hairy-banded mining bee, dark paper wasp, European wool carder bee, Drury’s long-horned bee, Colletes bee, Ectemnius continuus wasp, blackjacket, Ancistrocerus antilope wasp, pure green sweat bee. Other insects were green stink bug, two-horned treehopper, Tylozygus bifidus leafhopper, tarnished leaf bug, brown marmorated stinkbug, pale green assassin bug, Euschistus bug, Graphocelphala gothica leafhopper, Japanese beetles (mating), locust borer, ragweed leaf beetle (covered with mites), tortoise beetle, agrimony anacampsis moth, diamondback moth, buff-tipped eucosmia moth, tawny-edged skipper, cabbage white, white admiral, brown-hooded owlet caterpillar, hitched arches caterpillar, waved sphinx caterpillar, Virginian tiger moth caterpillar (dead), wooly bear (dead), eastern calligrapher, Campiglossa albiceps fruitfly, aschizan fly, long-legged fly, bald-faced hornet fly, marsh fly, Condylostylus fly, Gymnosomatini flies (mating), scorpionfly, meadowhawk, eastern forktail, common whitetail, and tawny cockroach. I found leafminers on burdock, goldenrod, milkweed, and dock and galls on oak, goldenrod, jewelweed, and asters.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/22/20. Lightening Ridge Rd, Calais, VT & Chickering Bog, Calais, VT. 4.1 miles today, 2763 miles total.
Categories: birds, blooms, bees, roadkill

This morning I walked along Lightening Ridge Rd heading east looking for birds. Although it was dark and somewhat foggy, I had good luck with the warblers, finding common yellowthroat, robin, cedar waxwing, black-throated green, black-and-white warbler, blue-headed vireo, bay-breasted warbler, chickadee, phoebe, rose-breasted grosbeak, blue jay, red-breasted nuthatch, and goldfinch. I also saw a red squirrel. The road was a scene of pure carnage with dead herps everywhere. I found 2 garter snakes, 8 frogs, 8 toads, 2 frog/toads, and 4 red eft.

Later in the morning I returned to Lightening Ridge Rd to meet 4 friends for our Saturday morning hike up to Chickering Bog. I tried not to slow folks down for photos, so I snapped a few blooms (Indian tobacco and Kalm’s lobelia), and a few insects (Pyrobombus bumblebee and ichneumon wasp).

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/23/20. Peck Hill Rd, Calais, VT, North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, VT, and Wrightsville Dam, Montpelier, VT. 3.8 miles today, 2766.8 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects, blooms

This morning I walked up Peck Hill in search of birds. I found common yellowthroat, black-capped chickadee, song sparrow, wild turkey, and goldfinch. I also found white-tailed deer and common eastern bumblebee, and galls on grape.

At noon I went down to the North Branch Nature Center for a special in-person meeting with members of our online bee class. Spencer Hardy was our instructor, and we had about 7 members of the class out hunting for bees and wasps in the community gardens and throughout the nature center property. We (Spencer, mostly) found Zadontomerus bee, honeybee, common eastern bumblebee, Eumelissodes bee, tricolored bumblebee, sunflower mining bee, broad-footed cellophane bee, metallic sweat bee, broad-handed leafcutter, dark paper wasp, sunflower mining bee, ichneumon wasp, aster mining bee, Pseudopanurgus andrenoides bee, five-banded thymnid wasp, Drury’s long-horned bee, dark paper wasp, Callandrena bee, blackjacket, Ancistrocerus antilope wasp, oblong wool carder bee, cloudy-winged mining bee, great black digger wasp, and Heriades bee. Other insects were Alydas eurinus bug, Carolina grasshopper, Poecilanthrax tegminipennis fly, fall field cricket, cabbage white, two-striped grasshopper, tomato bristle fly, thin-legged wolf spider, short-winged meadow katydid, Sparnopolius confuses fly, gnat ogre fly, Graphocelphala gothica leafhopper, jagged ambush bug, lesser vagabond webworm moth, four-lined hornet fly, great spangled fritillary, northern crescent, freeloader fly, goldenrod crab spider, locust borer, common ringlet, spotted tussock moth, Colleida punctata beetle, and spiny shield bug, and a gall on goldenrod. The New England aster has started to bloom. Flying overhead was a turkey vulture.

When the bee walk was done, I headed home, stopping at Wrightsville Dam for a late picnic lunch. Beside the reservoir I found white admiral, turfgrass ant, and a yellow garden spider.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/24/20. Pekin Brook Rd, Calais, VT. 2.5 miles today, 2769.3 miles total.
Categories: birds

Yesterday the town finally finished work on the culvert across the bottom of George Rd, so today I celebrated by taking a walk along Pekin Brook Rd, the first time I could access that part of our neighborhood in a month. I found belted kingfisher, wild turkey, common yellowthroat, red-eyed vireo, white-throated sparrow, American crow, and cedar waxwing. I also spotted a white-tailed deer and a red eft.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/25/20. Tucker Rd, Calais, VT & Frizzle Mountain, Calais, VT. 1.8 miles today, 2771.1 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects

This morning I took a walk along Tucker Road looking for birds. I didn’t see many, finding just hairy woodpecker, Canada goose, hummingbird, kingbird, and blue jay. Road kill was a frog/toad, and pickerel frog.

Before lunch, I took a break from work and went out for a bug walk in our wild flower patch. I found hummingbird clearwing, ichneumon wasp, Melissodes bee, honeybee, Euodynerus foraminatus wasp, Peck’s skipper, ligated furrow bee, Zadontomerus, common eastern bumblebee, and cabbage white, plus a rose-breasted grosbeak.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/26/20. Chickering Rd, East Montpelier, VT and Frizzle Mountain, Calais, VT. 2 miles today, 2773.1 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects

This morning I walked along Chickering Road looking for birds. Again, I didn’t have much luck. I found just yellow-bellied woodpecker and chickadee. Mornings are getting dark, the birds are sparse and hard to see, and even when I see them, I have trouble identifying them. I’m much better at identifying bird calls than identifying birds by sight. Road kill today was a red eft, a toad, and a garter snake.

In the afternoon, I took a break from work and went out of a quick bug walk through the goldenrod in our field. I found pug moth caterpillar, olive arches moth, Pyrobombus bumblebee, Gymnosoma fly, common aerial yellowjacket, Lasioglossum bee, sweat bee, Ancistrocerus wasp, hairy-banded mining bee, white admiral, and cloudy-winged mining bee.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/27/20. Pekin Brook Rd, Calais, VT. 2.1 miles today, 2775.2 miles total.
Categories: birds

This morning I walked along Pekin Brook Road heading east looking for birds. I found a small flock of turkeys by the culvert work site. I wonder if they were drawn there by the large flock that our neighbor is raising in his green houses. His flock is very noisy. The wild ones that I saw were silent. Other birds of the morning were a robin, a chickadee, and an indigo bunting. I also found some sumac galls.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

I have never seen a live porcupine, how exciting! Your Alaska yellowjacket reminded me of a comment someone made about trying to find species named for each of the 50 states. They had nearly 40 I think. I have far fewer. I wonder if the loud turkeys are loud because they feel safer than their wild counterparts?

Publicado por srall cerca de 3 anos antes

8/28/20. Quarry Rd, Adamant VT & Dog River Fields, Montpelier, VT. 2.4 miles today, 2777.6 miles total.
Categories: birds, insects

This morning I went down to Adamant for a bird walk along Quarry Rd and Sodom Pond. I found chickadee, goldfinch, robin, wood duck, raven, great blue heron, red-breasted nuthatch, blue jay, catbird, mallard, song sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler, and yellow-bellied sapsucker.

In the afternoon I met my 2 friends for a bug walk at the Dog River Fields in Montpelier. We found Cerceris insolita wasp, honeybee, square-headed wasp, American sand wasp, spider wasp, eastern yellowjacket, flat wasp, Ceratina bee, blackjacket, downy yellowjacket, dark paper wasp, Callandrena bee, Augochlorine sweat bee, Pyrobombus bumblebee, ichneumon wasp, common eastern bumblebee, bronzed tiger beetle, goldenrod soldier beetle, metallic flea beetle, Japanese beetle, Acalymma beetle, lady beetle, viceroy, skipper, cabbage white, spotted tussock moth caterpillar, hickory tussock moth caterpillar, bot fly, Eupeodes americanus fly, green stink bug, two-marked treehopper, Euschistus bug, twice-stabbed stink bug, jagged ambush bug, scorpionfly, and a harvestman with mites. We were also mystified by a half-white grasshopper. Brandon Woo suggested it was an ordinary red-legged grasshopper that had gotten in the way of a line painter on the ball field. I also found some galls on elm, box elder, and sumac and a cedar waxwing. Blooming was purple loosestrife, Alleghany monkeyflower, water plantain, dwarf St. John’s wort, broadleaf arrowhead, yellowseed false pimpernel, and American groundnut, and fruiting was wild cucumber. We found the beaver had tried make a dam across the river with the dominant plant in the area, Japanese knotweed.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

In my brief experience as a turkey farmer (we grew turkeys for ourselves several years ago), turkeys make noise to complain about conditions, too cold, not enough food, not enough water. A happy turkey is a quiet turkey. So maybe the wild ones approached the farmed ones to see what the commotion was about. That's one theory. Another might be that they were simply walking down the street and ignoring the caged birds.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/29/20. Chickering Rd, East Montpelier, VT. 2.3 miles today, 2779.9 miles total.
Categories: fungi, amphibians

This morning I met 2 friends on Chickering Road for our Saturday Morning hike. One of the friends is into mushrooms, so we stopped to admire a common earthball, Hericium, and spiny puffball. Instead of going all the way to the end Chickering Road, we turned left down a trail that came out on Foster Road. Near the end of the trail in the woods we found quite a bit of pale jewelweed. Wild life for the day was an angulose prominent caterpillar covered with tachinid puparia, a red squirrel, a pickerel frog and 15 red efts (it was raining quite a bit during the walk). Road kill was a garter snake.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

8/30/20. Quarry Road, Adamant, VT. 1.6 miles today, 2781.5 miles total.
Categories: birds, roadkill

This morning I went down to Adamant for a bird walk. I found mallards, bittern, turkey vulture, black-throated green, cedar waxwing. Insects in Adamant were Ancistrocerus adiabatus wasp and a large grey dagger caterpillar. I found 2 red efts crossing the road and turtlehead in bloom. There was massive amphibian carnage on the road after yesterday’s rain, with 7 dead frogs, and a dead toad.

Publicado por erikamitchell cerca de 3 anos antes

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