New discoveries in 2018 (non-odonates)

As 2018 is coming to a close quickly, it’s time to indulge in a little retrospection. This blog post features a few new non-odonates that I spotted for the first time in 2018.

Editor’s Note: Photos are presented in reverse-chronological order, based upon the date of the spotting.

Pandora Sphinx moth

This beauty was my reward after a long, mostly unproductive photowalk at Huntley Meadows Park. Posted on 24 September 2018.

20 SEP 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Pandora Sphinx moth

Wild Turkey

Although I have seen signs of Wild Turkey at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 10 August 2018 is the first time I’ve seen actual birds at OBNWR. Posted on 19 August 2018 and 10 September 2018.

23 AUG 2018 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Wild Turkey

Northern Black Racer (mating pair)

Look closely — both heads are shown in the following photo. Posted on 30 September 2018.

21 APR 2018 | Huntley Meadows Park | black snakes (mating pair)

---

Next post: New odonate exuviae in 2018 (by family).

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Life and death at Occoquan Bay revisited

I revisited the set of photos that I shot of an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) with a fish in its talons, perched on a dead tree limb overhanging Fox Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia.

The Osprey was looking at me directly in the following photo. I wonder what the bird was thinking. With a piercing glare like that, I’m guessing he wasn’t thinking “Would you like to join me for lunch?”

23 AUG 2018 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Osprey (male, plus prey)

In stark contrast with the Osprey’s piercing glare, notice the fish’s vacant stare.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

More Wild Turkey at OBNWR

Several Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) were spotted during a photowalk along Fox Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

23 AUG 2018 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Wild Turkey

There were four birds in the group, foraging along the road. The red-headed individual is a male.

23 AUG 2018 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Wild Turkey

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Life and death at Occoquan Bay

An Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was spotted perched on a dead tree limb overhanging Fox Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA. This individual, possibly a male, is shown with a fish in its talons.

23 AUG 2018 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Osprey (male, plus prey)

The fish appears to be an unknown species of goldfish. Did you notice the drop of blood in the preceding photo?

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Wild Turkey (“record” shots)

Several Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) were spotted along the edge of the parking lot at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

10 AUG 2018 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Wild Turkey

Appearances to the contrary, the photos in this set were taken at quite a distance. Wary of my approach on foot, the turkeys did the turkey trot, moving from right-to-left until they were out of sight quickly.

10 AUG 2018 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Wild Turkey

Although I have seen signs of Wild Turkey at OBNWR, this is the first time I’ve seen actual birds. Not my best work, but hey, these “record” shots provide documentation of the sighting. With any luck, it won’t be the last time I see Wild Turkey at the refuge.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

New discoveries in 2017 (non-odonates)

I’m an equal opportunity photographer. Although I tend to focus on photographing odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) I will photograph anything interesting that catches my eye. This retrospective features non-odonate new finds for 2017.

House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)

05 APR 2017 | The Beacon of Groveton | House Finch (male)

A House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) was spotted in the parking garage at the Beacon of Groveton, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male.

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)

10 MAY 2017 | HORP | Eastern Hog-nosed Snake

An Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) was spotted at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park (HORP), Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Mayfly (Hexagenia sp.)

27 MAY 2017 | Riverbend Park | mayfly (Hexagenia sp.)

A mayfly (Hexagenia sp.) was spotted at Riverbend Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a female subimago.

Northern Red-bellied Cooter (Pseudemys rubriventris)

02 AUG 2017 | JMAWR | Eastern Amberwing (male) and water turtle

A male Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (Perithemis tenera) was spotted perching on the nose of a Northern Red-bellied Cooter (Pseudemys rubriventris), at Mulligan Pond, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Blister beetle (Meloe sp.)

16 NOV 2017 | Occoquan Bay NWR | blister beetle (Meloe sp.)

A blister beetle (Meloe sp.) was spotted at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Wild Turkey feathers (Meleagris gallopavo)

16 NOV 2017 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Wild Turkey (tail feather)

A tail feather from a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) was photographed in situ along Easy Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Happy Thanksgiving!

On the traditional day when we give thanks for our many blessings, I am especially thankful for the opportunity to be a frequent and careful observer of the natural beauty of several wildlife parks located in Northern Virginia, and for many good friends with whom I share the experience. Happy Thanksgiving! Now let’s have some turkey…

Signs of Wildlife

Although I have never seen a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA, I know they’re there because of several items that were observed at the refuge recently.

A tail feather from a Wild Turkey was photographed in situ along Easy Road. The feather is approximately eleven inches (11″) long from end-to-end.

16 NOV 2017 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Wild Turkey (tail feather)

A wing feather was photographed in situ along Easy Road, near the preceding tail feather. The feather is approximately ten inches (10″) long from end-to-end.

16 NOV 2017 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Wild Turkey (wing feather)

Thanks to Mike Boatwright for confirming my tentative identification of the tail feather and for identifying the wing feather.

Lots of animal scat, possibly from Wild Turkey, was observed along Easy Road near the Wild Turkey feathers shown above.

Animal scat, possibly from a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), photographed in situ along Easy Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Animal scat, possibly from a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), photographed in situ along Easy Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Animal scat, possibly from a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), photographed in situ along Easy Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Animal scat, possibly from a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), photographed in situ along Easy Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Did you notice the brown flies on the animal scat? They may be Scathophaga furcata, a species of dung fly. Thanks to Matt Pelikan from the BugGuide Facebook group and Charles Davis from the Capital Naturalist Facebook group for help in identifying the flies!

Related Resource: The Feather Atlas – Flight Feathers of North American Birds, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory.

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

House Finches

Sometime after I moved to a new apartment, I noticed some cute little reddish-brown birds that sing a cheerful song. I used the free Merlin Bird ID App to identify the bird based upon a few simple observations. Turns out my little friends are House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus).

As time passed and months stretched into years, I realized the birds appeared in the spring, hung around all summer, and disappeared in the fall.

These newly established eastern populations have since become migratory, and now spend winters in the southern parts of the United States. Source Credit: BioKIDS.

05 APR 2017 | The Beacon of Groveton | House Finch (male)

These photos show two of several House Finches spotted recently near the top of the seven-story parking garage at the Beacon of Groveton, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. Both individuals are male, as indicated by their reddish coloration.

05 APR 2017 | The Beacon of Groveton | House Finch (male)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Don’t “leap” to conclusions!

The woodpecker shown in the following photos has a red head so it must be a Red-headed Woodpecker, right? Wrong!

This is a Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), probably a male, spotted on 29 February 2016 at River Towers Condominiums, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are relatively common, unlike some of their red-headed counterparts including Pileated Woodpecker and Red-headed Woodpecker, to name a couple.

By the way, did you catch the significance of the title of this post? I shot the photos on “Leap Day 2016.”

Copyright © 2016 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Red-headed Woodpecker

Although I have seen several Red-headed Woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) in the wild, they were never close enough to photograph. And then it happened!

I spent the morning of 07 March 2016 photowalking Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve with mixed success, so I decided to stop by Huntley Meadows Park on the way home.

I was surprised to see Mike Powell‘s car in the parking lot. Mike likes to start early and knock off by mid-afternoon. We met up and checked out one of our favorite spots. More about what we saw in a follow-up post.

As we were walking out of the park, I thought I heard Southern Leopard Frogs trilling near the trail. Mike correctly recognized the sound as one of several Red-headed Woodpecker calls. Mike scanned the tree canopy and quickly spotted the woodpecker high overhead.

It was nearly impossible to find an unobstructed view of the woodpecker. Fortunately a few of my shots are good enough to share. Nothing great, but hey, it’s a start!

Copyright © 2016 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.