This Week at Nixon Park - November 3 - November 10

Great Blue Heron making their morning rounds.

A warmer-than-usual week with more seasonal temperatures coming soon.

A chorus of White-Throated Sparrows Working their way through the thickets in early morning.

A Great Blue Heron making their way around the big pond.

Pileated Woodpecker, Dark-eyed Junco, Canada Goose, Bluejay

Eastern Comma Butterfly (the comma is a small white marking on the wing), Meadow Fritillary Butterfly, Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonfly, more Meadowhawks including mating pair.

I didn't find a common name for this striking looking fly. Best I can tell it's Gymnoclytia occidua, a tachinid fly that lays its eggs on adult stink bugs. The eggs hatch and the fly larva feeds on the bug ultimately killing it.

I am hearing Red Squirrels barking every day. The first has a couple of spare black walnuts stashed nearby in the branches. They were photographed just above the hollow log being used as a larder for more black walnuts. The last is another vigilant Red Squirrel that was barking away at something as I approached.

This spike-antlered buck Whitetailed Deer was crossing the entry road.

I spotted this Common Snapping Turtle travelling to the north end of the big pond.

On November 10 the Snapping turtle pictured above was observed on the asphalt trail beyond the far northwest end of the big pond. Over the next hour or so it climbed the steep bank, reached the edge, and slipped into the pond.

My first thought was that it had been returning to the pond after laying eggs, and that's what I told some folks. Now I am pretty sure I was wrong. Snappers nest in late May and June, and I couldn’t find any record of one nesting this late.

Snappers are usually settled for the winter by this time of year. This one may have come from the creek looking for a well-insulated spot to spend the winter, something biologists suspect drives movement this time of year.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are a common sight at the park (yes, they should be called "red-headed" but another species has that common name). The gray patch on the red crest marks this one as a female. The third photo is a male with a full red crest.

Savannah Sparrows

I thought the bird above was a White-throated Sparrow until observers on iNaturalist identified it as a Savannah Sparrow. Savannah and White-throated Sparrows both have yellow before the eye, but the White-throated has bolder eye stripes. Apparently it takes some practice to tell them apart. I saw

Hawks at Nixon Park

I have observed four species of hawks that are year-round residents of Nixon Park. Two are Accipiters: woodland or bird hawks with short wings and a long tails enabling them to hunt and chase birds through the forest. Two are Buteos; broad wings and shorter tails designed for soaring

This Week at Nixon Park - October 25 - November 2

Birds are easier to photograph once the leaves start to fall. Some of our winter migrants like the Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows have started arriving in numbers. Sign up for Nature Walks at Anson B. Nixon Park — Tuesdays 9:30–10:30AM Juncos and Sparrows have started

Vultures at Nixon Park

Nearly every time I visit the park there are vultures soaring overhead. Both Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) and Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) are in the park year-round. If you see a large bird in the air above the park it's almost certainly a vulture. Vultures spend a

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Savannah Sparrows

Hawks at Nixon Park

This Week at Nixon Park - October 25 - November 2

Vultures at Nixon Park