April 11-17 Nixon Park

Red-winged Blackbird

Spring's marvelous bounty quickly exhausts the stockpile of adjectives, have you been out walking yet?

I'll be at the park Tuesday the 21st, weather permitting, to conduct a nature walk from 9:30 - 10:30 AM - sign up here.

Horn -faced Mason Bee, Cherry Mining bee, Black and Yellow Nomad Bee, Neighborly Mining Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee

There are (to me at least) an astounding number of bee species at the park. the first four above are first-time observations at the park for me - the brown-belted bumble bee is a familiar sight.

Lady Fern, Christmas Fern, Hay Scented Fern, and Sensitive Fern

Ground Ivy, Violets(especially abundant this year), Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Mayapple, Star of Bethlehem, Jacob's ladder, the trout lilies are mostly done flowering by now, and seed capsules are appearing as the petals drop.

Water Strider, Cabbage White butterfly, Orange Sulphur Butterfly, Ferruginous Carpenter Ant

Hairy Solomon's Seal, Mayapple, Poison ivy, more Mayapples.

White flowered Redbud Tree, Maple-leafed Viburnum, Umbrella Magnolia, Norway Maple, Black Haw Viburnum.

Tree Swallow, Female and Male Brown-headed Cowbirds, Carolina Wren, Eastern Phoebe gathering strips of bark for a nest, Common Grackle

Eastern Gray Squirrel, White-tailed Deer

April 18-24 at Anson B. Nixon Park

The next nature walk at the park is Tuesday the 28th of April 9:30-10:30 AM Sign up here I know that bees may not be the most exciting subject for some, but I do find them endlessly fascinating (see The Bees at Nixon Park). Several different mining bees

Interesting Birds, Bad Photos

The next nature walk at the park is Tuesday the 28th of April 9:30-10:30 AM Sign up here Truth be told it's not all that difficult to get a good photo of a cooperative bird. The small, shy, frenetic ones are another thing entirely. If the

The Bees at Nixon Park

The next nature walk at the park is Tuesday the 28th of April 9:30-10:30 AM Sign up here Over the past few years I have observed about 40 different species of bees at Nixon park, around half of those observations have been confirmed by other observers on iNaturalist.

Mourning Doves

The bittersweet call and whistling flight of the Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) make it one of our most recognizable local birds. Females are slightly duller brownish-tan; males show a bluish-gray crown and somewhat stronger pink tones on the breast. There's a patch of iridescent feathers along the side

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April 18-24 at Anson B. Nixon Park

Interesting Birds, Bad Photos

The Bees at Nixon Park

Mourning Doves