Category: Animals

Honey Bees on Camellia Flowers in December

These sunny, seventy degree December days are bringing out the honey bees! My fall-blooming camellia is one of the few flowering plants in the area during this time of year. It was nice to see the bees enjoying it.

Hooded Mergansers

Have you seen the hooded merganser ducks that overwinter in North Carolina? Sometimes you can see them in the retention ponds. They seem to be very shy, though. As soon as they notice a person, they tend to go to the far side of the pond, if not fly away. The male’s head is black… Continue reading Hooded Mergansers

Joro Spider

We saw our first Joro spider (Trichonephila clavata) this weekend! The large web was what caught our attention. We didn’t realize what spider we were looking at until after doing some research at home. This yellow and gray spider is native to Asia. It was introduced to Georgia in 2014 and has been making its… Continue reading Joro Spider

Luna Moths

Be on the lookout for beautiful Luna moths in late May and early June. Luna moths spend just one week as an adult butterfly. They typically fly at night. I’ve had luck seeing them in the morning on cloudy days. Luna moths have three broods in North Carolina, each 8-10 weeks apart. They can be… Continue reading Luna Moths

National Bird Day

January 5, 2025 is National Bird Day. Take some time today to notice the birds outside. What are they doing? Are they looking for food? Are they singing? How many different kinds of birds do you see or hear? How many can you identify?

Nice Catch!

I always enjoy watching the Great Blue Herons in the retention ponds. They are such beautiful birds! Yesterday, I stopped to watch a heron standing along the edge of one of the ponds. It was still for quite a while, and then it jumped! I thought it was about to fly away, but it stuck… Continue reading Nice Catch!

Quiet Nature- April 17, 2024

Enjoy a dose of quiet nature today. Eastern tailed-blue butterflies are 0.75-1 inch wide. They are low-flying butterflies commonly seen in fields and lawns. Their caterpillars feed on plants in the pea family (clover and vetch species). They have very thin, antenna-like tails on their wings. Underneath, the wings are light blue to gray. There… Continue reading Quiet Nature- April 17, 2024