Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) don’t usually sit still for very long. It was a special treat to watch this one today. I snapped a few quick pictures when I first spotted it, thinking that it would be gone in a flash. It stayed on the branch long enough for me to adjust my angle for better… Continue reading A Resting Hummingbird
Tag: Birds
An Unusual Pair of Ducks in Bond Park
I came across a beautiful male wood duck (Aix sponsa) in Bond Park this week. He seemed to be friendly with a female mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos). I read that it’s pretty common for both mallard ducks and wood ducks to breed with other types of ducks. Their hybrid offspring are usually infertile, though. If… Continue reading An Unusual Pair of Ducks in Bond Park
Downy Woodpecker Feather
Have you ever found a feather from a downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)? This is my first sighting. Take some time to enjoy the little things today.
Great Backyard Bird Count 2025
Do you like to participate in citizen science programs? There’s a great opportunity happening this weekend. Join the Great Backyard Bird Count on February 14-17, 2025. This is a global project! In 2024, over 600,000 people participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Your count will help scientists gather data about bird populations before they… Continue reading Great Backyard Bird Count 2025
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
Killdeer Crossing
I was watching a pair of killdeer in the retention pond at the corner of Town Hall Drive and Harris Mill Road. At some point, one bird flew away while the other stayed in the pond. I finished taking my pictures of the bird in the pond, and started to walk to the other side… Continue reading Killdeer Crossing
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- March 12, 2024
Enjoy a dose of quiet nature today.
Surprise on the Trail
I came around a bend in the Shiloh Greenway yesterday and was surprised to see a group (a gaggle) of six geese walking up the trail toward me. Of course, the geese are very common around here, and I often see them on the Indian Creek Greenway at the trailhead by the water. When I… Continue reading Surprise on the Trail